USA: Indianapolis Track Facts

By Honda Racing F1
June 29 2006

The fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500, has only been a venue for Formula One since 2000 and retains its mid-season slot for the second time this year.

Tony George, head of the Speedway Corporation and a descendant of the Hulman family that has steered the fortunes of the historic American track, pulled out all the stops to create a world-class racing circuit that could provide a permanent home for the United States Grand Prix. In pursuit of that goal, he made radical changes to the original speedway by demolishing buildings, erecting a new pit complex and grandstands, and building today's challenging road course.

Overtaking at Indianapolis is much easier than at most tracks, with clear passing opportunities into Turn 1 and Turn 8, both second-gear corners preceded by long straights.

The slowest part of the track is the 40mph Turn 8, the first part of an extremely tight S-bend, while the fastest is Turn 13. This is the first corner of the speedway and is taken flat-out at 320km/h in an F1 car.

Honda-powered drivers dominated the United States Grand Prix from 1987 to 1991; Ayrton Senna victorious in 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1991 and Alain Prost took the chequered flag in 1989. Keke Rosberg won the US GP in a Williams Honda in 1984 and 1985.

Just over two weeks ago, Honda won the IRL Indy 500 for the first time; Briton Dan Wheldon led a clean sweep at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Honda-powered drivers took the top four positions.