IndyCar on Friday is set to unveil a major change to the series’ 2027 season — a race in Spain, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The overseas race would end a 14-year period in which IndyCar has never left North America.
Alex Palou, the five-time series champion, would finally get a home crowd. But the expected announcement raises questions about who pays for the trip, who signs off on it and how drivers and crews absorb it.
The announcement ceremony is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. EDT) in the circuit’s auditorium, billed as the “Presentation of the NTT Indycar Series at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya,” according to motorsports insider Bob Pockrass. Catalan President Salvador Illa, Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles and Palou are all expected to attend.
The race itself is expected in July 2027 under a multi-year deal, according to PlanetF1 reporter Sam Hall. Specific dates have not been released. IndyCar also has yet to publish the second half of its 2027 schedule, according to RACER.
IndyCar’s Overseas History Before Barcelona
The last time IndyCar left the North American continent was 2013, when the São Paulo (Brazil) Indy 300 wrapped up a four-year run, according to Last Word on Sports. Before that, CART-era cars raced on a Rio de Janeiro oval from 1996 to 2000. Twin Ring Motegi in Japan hosted through 2011, and the Surfers Paradise street circuit in Australia ran from 1991 through 2008.
Europe appeared on the schedule too, though only under the Champ Car banner. Rockingham in England hosted in 2001 and 2002, with Zolder in Belgium and Assen in the Netherlands also on the list.
Canada never left. Toronto and Edmonton came over in the 2008 reunification, when Champ Car folded into the Indy Racing League.
How did it get that tangled? Team owners Dan Gurney, Roger Penske and Pat Patrick founded CART in 1979 after USAC rejected their proposals, according to PlanetF1 writer Elizabeth Blackstock’s history of the organization. Tony George announced the rival IRL in 1994. CART filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and relaunched as Champ Car, and the IRL (which had started calling itself IndyCar) absorbed it five years later.
The George family eventually sold the series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Penske, according to Blackstock. Miles now runs Penske Entertainment.
IndyCar’s Barcelona Plans and the Cost of Travel
Is this IndyCar taking on Formula 1 for global market share? No F1 race is scheduled in Barcelona in 2027. The Spanish Grand Prix is moving to Madrid, and Barcelona will alternate with Spa-Francorchamps, hosting F1 in 2028, 2030 and 2032.
That leaves F1-free Barcelona weekends in 2027, 2029 and 2031, provided the FIA does not intervene. IndyCar governs itself, while F1 and the World Endurance Championship answer to the FIA. An IndyCar envoy is expected to meet with the federation this week at the Circuit of The Americas. Australia, Brazil and Japan remain destinations of interest, with Brazil no sooner than 2028.
Palou, a Barcelona native, has won five titles in six IndyCar seasons and became the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500.
Then there is the freight. IndyCar recently asked veteran teams whether they still own the shipping containers used for the last trips to Brazil and Japan. Spanish outlet El Periódico put the entire operation near 10 million euros, or $11.2 million, including the organizer’s fee and bonuses for teams.
Drivers face a six-hour time difference from the East Coast in July, plus the wear of moving cars, spares and crews across the Atlantic. Where Barcelona lands on the calendar will decide how much recovery time the field gets before the next round.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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