IndyCar races in Edmonton finished; promoter pulls out, city won’t step in

EDMONTON – The Edmonton IndyCar race is history.

The city has announced that the promoter of the event, Octane Motorsports of Montreal, has told them it will not produce the race in 2013 as planned.

The city says it will not search for a replacement promoter, meaning the eight-year run for the event in the Alberta capital is over.

Mayor Stephen Mandel called the decision disappointing given the economic benefits and media exposure the race brought to Edmonton.

The series began in Edmonton in 2005 under the Champ Car Series banner and then three years later under the IndyCar series when the two circuits merged.

The race has been controversial from the start, with taxpayers saying the exposure and spinoff benefits didn’t justify the millions of dollars spent to promote the July event.