During the course of this week, the IndyCar site made public the official layout of the new circuit. As initially announced, the 2.6-mile, 11-turn circuit was designed through the streets of the Brazilian city. To be more precise, the layout was set up in the Anhembi area of the city, while the start/finish line will be located in the Sambodromo – one of the main streets of the annual carnival.
“Two of the long straightaways have relatively slow corners leading onto them. There are some good 90-degree turns at the end of the straights, and on one occasion a little tighter than that,” said Tony Cotman, the designer of the circuit.
“It's a track that's challenging but can create some exciting racing and will provide a challenge for the teams deciding on their downforce levels for both qualifying and the race. Less downforce generally means less grip. Combine that with the longest straightaway of any track in the IZOD IndyCar Series and overtaking should be exciting. It should be a spectacular sight for the fans at Turn 11 watching the cars braking from about 185 mph to 50 mph as they enter the Sambodromo.”
“Running through the middle of the stadium that hosts Carnival, which holds about 30,000 people, I think will be an electric atmosphere for the drivers. That portion of the track through the stadium is concrete and everywhere else will be asphalt, so there will be some surface changes. That's always good for the racing. From the grandstand perspective, how could you have run around it or not use it?” added Cotman.
The Sao Paulo Indy 300 will consist of 75 laps, and will count for the season opener of this year's IndyCar Series. The race is scheduled to take place on March 14.
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