:contrast(5)/https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/a088e880-67cc-41e5-90db-8bada5cb38bb "IndyCar poised to make major calendar move")
IndyCar’s growing fanbase in South America could see the series expand its footprint as soon as 2024 – but there’s a catch.
Argentina and Brazil are reportedly in the running to host an IndyCar event next year, but it wouldn’t pay points towards the championship.
IndyCar president Mark Miles revealed to The Race it’s “more likely than not” that the series will feature a new event with its soon-to-be-released calendar.
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While the current grid is made up predominantly of foreign drivers, it hasn’t left North America in a decade.
The only race outside the United States is its annual pilgrimage to Toronto in Canada.
If the series does add a race outside of North America to its calendar, then Argentina looks likely to get the nod.
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Part of that booming South American interest is being driven by Juncos Hollinger Racing and its Argentine driver Agustin Canapino.
The team is led in part by Ricardo Juncos, a second-generation racer turned team owner.
The team put on an IndyCar exhibition earlier this year with Canapino at the wheel, cutting laps around several Argentine circuits.
The displays attracted tens of thousands of fans and piqued the interest of IndyCar officials who visited Termas de Rio Hondo earlier this year.
That circuit currently plays host to MotoGP and is said to be the most suitable venue.
“If I take your question literally – ‘will anything be new?’ – I’d say it’s more likely than not,” Miles told The Race.
“As to where and how many, it’s a work in progress. The discussions include more than one option outside of the US.
“We expect to get our calendar out in August.
“For some of these (races under consideration), they’d be big enough things that they probably come out publicly before the calendar in August.”
IndyCar in its current guise has raced in Japan, Australia, and Brazil.
Champ Car, the series IndyCar merged with, was famous for visiting other parts of the world including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
IndyCar, and Champ Car before it, raced on the streets of the Gold Coast between 1991 and 2008.
The 2023 IndyCar Series continues on June 19 at Road America with coverage live, ad-free, and exclusively on Stan Sport.
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