PWC's COTA event to continue as scheduled amid Harvey

This weekend's Pirelli World Challenge Series event will go on as scheduled at Circuit of The Americas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's effect on the region.

"We were very concerned for everyone that lives here and all the first responders,” PWC CEO Greg Gill told RACER, emphasizing that the series will be mindful of how to use the event in ways that can help others in the state.  

An official statement released by Gill later Tuesday detailed participation in charity efforts:

"As a resident of Texas, our prayers are with the victims of this tragedy as well as the communities and first responders dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the ongoing flooding. We hope those areas receive relief as soon as possible. Since Monday, August 21, and through the past weekend, I have been in constant contact with the officials at COTA regarding the possibility of damage at the racing facility and in Austin in general. 

"We have watched the weather situation closely throughout the state of Texas and particularly the Austin area. After this past weekend, the Austin area did receive significant rain but nothing like the Houston, Rockport and Corpus Christi areas.

"Working with the track officials and looking at the long-range weather forecast, WC Vision and COTA decided to precede with the weekend schedule of the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Texas. The track officials have assured us that the facility is in proper shape from the rain and the PWC weekend will operate as planned. 

"While we know the extreme difficulty going on in Houston and other areas, we have hundreds of personnel from racing teams, race officials, sponsors, media as well as spectators on their way to COTA for an exciting weekend of competition.

"WC Vision has announced its participation in two Red Cross charity efforts to assist the Hurricane Harvey victims. A GOFUNDME link has been established at the www.world-challenge.com website as well as on the Pirelli World Challenge social media outlets at @WCRacing on twitter and Pirelli World Challenge Championships on Facebook. We ask that people donate any amount of funding to assist the victims.”

COTA officials prepared for the hurricane-related weather in the Austin area – which dumped heavy rain but caused less damage than the devastation in a large part of the state – and drainage will continue through the week until PWC action gets underway Friday with practice, qualifying and the CMTP SprintX Round 4 make-up race at 7:30 p.m. CT – all of which will be free to the public on Friday. Testing is also scheduled for Thursday.

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In addition to the three SprintX events to determine the 2017 titles, the PWC Grand Prix of Texas will have doubleheader races in the GTS/GT4 divisions (GTS/GTS Am) and the Touring Car classes with TC, TCA and TCB categories.

Rounds 4 (Friday), 9 (Saturday) and 10 (Sunday) for SprintX (60-minute, two-driver format) will feature a 34-car field for the weekend action led by an impressive list of sports car machinery including Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes, Nissan and Porsche.