Formula One will race in the United States next year after organizers of a new Grand Prix in Texas reached a deal with commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone Wednesday. “Mr Ecclestone received his check today,” Red McCombs, a founder of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, said in a statement. Ecclestone confirmed the agreement in a separate email to the local American-Statesman newspaper: “Yes, there will be a race there. We hope it will be for 10 years.” The US race and the Bahrain Grand Prix, which had to be canceled this year due to unrest, had looked uncertain ahead of a meeting of Formula One's governing body in New Delhi but both were given the green light. “The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar was confirmed as previously published,” the International Automobile Federation said in a statement. Construction work at the 5.5-km Texas track, the first purpose-built F1 facility in the United States, was halted last month amid wrangling over fees due to Ecclestone. The 81-year-old Briton had handed organizers a contract ultimatum of this week. Track officials in Austin said building work would resume immediately for the Nov. 18 race. Bobby Epstein, a founding partner, said: “Our investors have believed all along that this project has tremendous benefit for our region, and provides a strong economic engine for the future. “We're glad that Tavo's vision of bringing F1 to the people of Texas will become a reality,” he added, referring to the original promoter Tavo Hellmund who has now stepped aside. “Mr Ecclestone is a masterful negotiator. He fights hard for his company's best interests,” Epstein told the Statesman. Bahrain's April 22 slot had been called into question by some in Formula One due to the unrest that continues to trouble the Gulf kingdom, although Ecclestone has consistently said it will go ahead. However, last year's race was only removed from the 2011 calendar when events on the ground forced organizers to admit defeat.
