Two of the five original international drivers announced for the Armor All Gold Coast 600 street race have been omitted from the final list.
Mark Blundell and Christian Fittipaldi did not secure drives in the new V8 Supercars race. The other three original star announcements – David Brabham, Alex Tagliani and Scott Pruett, were all signed up by teams.
In a statement, Blundell said that business commitments have kept him out of the Gold Coast race meeting.
“When the opportunity was presented to be a part of this new-look concept on the Gold Coast I leapt at the chance,” the former F1 driver said.
“Unfortunately growing business interests and an unavoidable date clash in the week of the race has meant that I cannot make it down to Surfers Paradise.
“I wish everyone well with the ‘re-birth’ of that great event and look forward to possibly getting down there next year.”