Formula One Race Is Canceled

The speedy, crowd-pleasing Formula One boat races have been canceled for next year’s Three Rivers Regatta.

The cancellation is the result of a decision by Outboard Marine Corp. to withdraw its sponsorship of the Pittsburgh event and other Formula One races in the United States, Canada and Europe.

OMC said its decision was based on the Formula One organization’s failure to find prime co-sponsors to lend financial stability to the events.

Meanwhile, officials of the summer regatta and the city of Pittsburgh said that they are looking for something to replace the Formula One races.

William Roberts, executive director of the regatta committee, said the group is prepared to change the date of the regatta to accommodate a race promoter. The event normally is held the first weekend of August.

The Formula One boats, equipped with 400-horsepower outboard engines, drew an estimated 400,000 people in Pittsburgh in 1982, the circuit’s first race in the United States. Until that time, it had been a largely European sport.

The circuit eventually expanded to seven cities in the United States and Canada, drawing a total of 1.7 million spectators each season, according to the OMC.