The promoter of F1’s newly announced New York round has denied doubting the separate US grand prix in Texas will ever take place.
Austin is scheduled to host the sport on a purpose-built circuit late next year, but there has been speculation construction is seriously delayed and that state funding may be in danger.
New Jersey’s 2013 race, however, will take place on existing roads alongside the Hudson river, and the event is being funded privately.
"There’s not a yard of dirt being moved," promoter Leo Hindery told a New York Times blog. "We’re pennies on the dollar compared to Austin."
The column also quoted Hindery as saying: "I wouldn’t bet on Austin making it."
But in a telephone interview with the Austin American Statesman newspaper on Wednesday, Hindery denied making the latter statement.
The NY Times author Jonathan Schultz insists however that Hindery was quoted accurately.
But Hindery told the local Austin publication: "I have no scepticism about Austin."