It was hoped Kiwi driver Chris van der Drift would ply his trade on home soil in November in the Superleague Formula.
But the event, tentatively scheduled for Taupo, has been put back a year. Taupo now has an option to stage a round of the world series in December2012.
"The New Zealand round will be the final in the championship," says Geoff Langham, CEO of the Taupo Motorsport Park. Langham has recently returned from Europe after discussions with the organisers.
"They were still keen for us to stage a round at the end of this year, but after discussions with our potential financial backers we believe the timing is not quite right," he says.
"The cost of staging a round of a series of this magnitude is quite high, and we sense the New Zealand economy is not yet at the right level given the impact of cost increases, GST, the earthquakes and so on."
Langham says Superleague bosses have given the Taupo circuit a big tick. "The final round of the series makes sense because teams and spectators stay on for a holiday break."
The single-seater Superleague cars are close cousins to F1 cars but use a V12 engine developing 560kW. Drivers can also use a "push-to-pass" button eight times a race, giving them an extra 37kW.
Up to 20 cars and drivers compete for about $5 million in prize money racing under their country's flag, a bit like the old A1GP series.
They race over eight weekends on circuits on four continents.
The qualifying and race format is quite different from any other form of motor racing.
