Boston

Circuit History

First announced for Labor Day weekend, the event was planned to stimulate development of Boston's waterfront area, in much the same way as the fabled Grand Prix has done for Long Beach.

A 10-turn course was designed by former Indycar vice president of competition Tony Cotman, whose NZR Consulting company also designed the Baltimore and Edmonton Indycar courses.

Relatively fast, with speeds of up to 170mph and an average lap of 115mph predicted, the course was anchored around the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Unusually for a modern street course it wasn't flat or filled with exclusively 90 degree corners; the design featured some interesting sweepers and even passed underneath a hotel. 

Final details of the course layout were never revealed, with organisers set to reveal the final composition of the pit lane before the event was canned. Theories suggested that Cotman was considering dual pit lanes, where half the field stops for service on one side, and the other pits directly opposite, while overhead viewing was also been suggested as a possibility, to allow fans and corporate guests to watch the pit lane action from above.

However, in April 2016, the event organisers informed Indycar that the race was off, citing public opposition to the race's location and a wavering commitment from local leaders.

City officials were quick to hit back. “As we continued to work with Boston Grand Prix they were unwilling or unable to meet the necessary requirements to hold an event of this size,” Patrick Brophy, the city’s chief of operations, said in a statement. “The mayor feels strongly in protecting the taxpayers and limiting the impact to residents, and we are not shy that we held them to very high standards.”

In a letter sent to IndyCar team owners, series CEO Miles said the promoters “concluded that constantly-evolving financial conditions the city was trying to impose on the promoter were unsustainable.

The place on the 2016 schedule was taken by a race at Watkins Glen and, while some still hold out hope for an eventual race in Boston, no concrete plans have been put forward to date.