July 8, 2010 — Red Bull Air Race officials announced Wednesday that the final round of the 2010 World Championship, which was to be held in Portugal on September 4-5, is canceled due to delays in reaching a revised host city agreement.
According to a press release, the negotiation process with Tourism Portugal and the associated cities of Lisbon, Porto and Gaia was positive; however, time ran out to organize a race of this size, complexity and of the quality expected of the strong fan base in Portugal.
The 2010 race was originally to take place in Portugal's capital city, Lisbon. But earlier this year Lisbon officials, in an effort to secure a longer-term agreement for Portugal, approached officials from Porto and Gaia to develop a joint proposal that would have seen the race alternate between the north and south of Portugal over the next four years.
"The Red Bull Air Race is committed to keeping Portugal on the race calendar; however, due to the delays in finalizing the agreement, we were faced with making a tough decision to cancel the race for 2010 due to the time available to plan and execute a quality event." said Bernd Loidl, CEO of Red Bull Air Race GmbH.
"Making such a decision is not easy and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our valued sponsors, broadcast partners and fans around the world for their support and understanding,” Loidl said. “I would also like to thank the cities of Lisbon, Porto and Gaia, along with Tourism of Portugal and Tourism of Lisbon, as every effort was made from all sides to reach a revised agreement; however, time simply ran out. “
The next Red Bull race will be held on August 7-8 in Lausitz, Germany.
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Hungary’s Peter Besenyei races during a prior Final 4 round in Port. Photo courtesy Red Bull Air Race
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