Tickets on sale for Puerto Rico Grand Prix

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Tickets will go on sale Friday, July 18 for the Puerto Rico Grand Prix, scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 23-26, at San Juan's Isla Grande Airport. The Puerto Rico Grand Prix is the season finales for both the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich® Tires Cup and the SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car Series.

Tickets can be purchased by calling TicketPop at 787-294-0001 or by visiting ticketpop.com.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to construct the 1.6-mile, 10-turn temporary airport circuit. The picturesque circuit, which uses San Juan Harbor as its backdrop, boasts a wide racing surface and complete track visibility for fans. The circuit will have at least 10,000 grandstand seats and 20 custom-made, air-conditioned hospitality suites.

Eagle West Construction, which has built many temporary street courses in North America, including the Molson Indy Toronto and the Molson Indy Vancouver Champ Car World Series tracks, has been hired to build the circuit. According to renowned race track designer Martyn C. Thake, Eagle West is the perfect choice. Thake, whose most recent projects include the Monterrey, Mexico and Mexico City Champ Car World Series circuits, and the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Champ Car and Trans-Am Series street course, is assisting the design and logistics of the race course.

"Eagle West has been building Vancouver for 13 years," said Thake. "They also did the Houston and the Washington, D.C. race circuits. This year, they're currently in the process of building Vancouver. They'll then move on to build Denver, then Miami and finally Puerto Rico."

"Eagle West's experience makes them uniquely positioned to build the Puerto Rico circuit," added Thake. "They are certainly the right company for the job."

The fencing being used for the Puerto Rico Grand Prix comprises a unique modular system that speeds construction time.

"It's a panel system just like the ones used by Formula One and the Champ Car World Series," said Thake. "It's the same system that was used at Monterrey Mexico and Mexico City for the Champ Car events."

"It's much faster to install and remove," added Thake. "We're going to build the entire race track in about two weeks as opposed to the 30 days it normally takes."

Also in the planning stages is the training of track workers. SCCA Pro Racing will conduct training sessions in the areas of flagging and communication, fire safety and vehicle extraction for event volunteers. These training programs are held in conjunction with the Puerto Rican FIA delegate.

"We will put together a three-day training program in August or September," said Thake. "We will bring in five or six SCCA-approved instructors from the U.S. who will train the local Puerto Rican workers in SCCA procedures. We're putting together a flagging and communication school, a fire school and a wrecker school."

SCCA Pro Racing is thrilled to be part of such a world-class event.

"(Promoter) Jorge Diaz has brought together some of the industry's top leaders to pull off a world class event," said Mitch Wright, SCCA Pro Racing Vice President and General Manager. "SCCA is excited to be racing in Puerto Rico and we will do our part to make sure the event is a success."

The Puerto Rico Grand Prix, the season finale of the 2003 Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich® Tires Cup, is scheduled for Oct. 26, and will be aired on a tape-delayed basis on SPEED Channel Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. The Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich® Tires Cup features closed-fendered, production-based, V-8-powered sports cars. The Trans-Am Series is America's oldest continuously running sports car racing series and celebrates its 38th anniversary in 2003.

The Puerto Rico Grand Prix, the season finale of the 2003 SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge Championships, is scheduled for Oct. 24-26, and will be aired on a tape-delayed basis on SPEED Channel, Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4:00 p.m. Split into two different series, SCCA Speed GT and SCCA Speed Touring Car, the SCCA Speed World Challenge Championships are the premiere production car racing series in North America. For more information, please visit www.world-challenge.com.