Indycar returns to Europe after 20 year absence with home race for Palou

Oct 23 - US-based Indycar will race in Europe for the first time in 20 years with a July 2027 round at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya in a multi-year deal announced on Friday.

The race will be a return home for Spain's five-time Indycar champion Alex Palou, who was born near Barcelona.

• Indycar last raced in Europe at the Assen circuit in the Netherlands in 2007. The championship has not raced outside North America since 2013, when there was a race in Brazil.

• Palou, 29, has won the last four Indycar titles and also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2025.

• The Circuit de Catalunya hosted Formula One this year but drops off the calendar in 2027 and will alternate with Belgium until 2032.

• "We’ve been witnessing his (Palou's) extraordinary talent for years, and we know that his fans in Spain have been eager to see him compete live," said Mark Miles, CEO of Indycar owner Penske Entertainment Corp.

• "It is an amazing opportunity, and it means so much to me to have a race at home in Barcelona, it’s hard to put into words. I know the fans are going to love it, and I think we are going to put on a great show," said Palou.