IndyCar will race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya starting in 2027 with a ten-year agreement. This marks the championship's first return to Europe since Assen 2007.
IndyCar will return to Europe in partnership with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, with a ten-year agreement starting in 2027. According to palco23.mundodeportivo.com, the announcement was made the week before an interview with Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, the company that owns the series.
Miles acknowledges that the competition did not have Europe on its map until the proposal came from Barcelona. According to the executive, that conversation was their first date in Europe.
“It was our first date in Europe”
The return will be the championship's first to the continent since Assen 2007. Miles clarifies that they did not engage in discussions with Madrid and its new MADRING circuit.
For Catalan fans, the decisive factor is Álex Palou, the series champion, who considers Barcelona his hometown. His parents live just a few minutes from the circuit, something the executive highlights as one of the reasons for choosing the track.
The international strategy, according to Miles, will remain limited and selective, and will only focus on markets with which the series already has a relationship, whether through fans, drivers, or infrastructure. He notes that almost half of the grid comes from outside the United States.
IndyCar justifies the leap with growth in North America, where television viewership has increased by more than 57% in the last two years. The series raced in Brazil in 2013, but a political change in the country made it unfeasible to maintain the race.
The first event in Spain is scheduled for summer, on a date that, according to the organisation, fits both the circuit and the championship's calendar.
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