» IndyCars: Brazil back on 2015 calendar

Brazil is back on the IndyCar Series calendar after a one-year absence. Championship organisers have confirmed that the open-wheel series will visit the Autódromo Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet in the country’s capital, Brasília.

The circuit will be the third difference venue that the IndyCar Series has visited in South America, after separate stints at Rio de Janeiro (1996-2000) and the streets of São Paulo (2010-2013, pictured above).

The announcement of a March 8 calendar slot was made by Mark Miles, chief executive of IndyCar parent company Hulman & Company and Maruska Souza Holanda, the president of Terracap, the government-run company that owns the circuit.

Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet

“We’re eager to continue IndyCar’s rich history of racing in Brazil with today’s announcement of a Verizon IndyCar Series event in Brasília next season,” Miles is quoted as saying.

“This event is an instrumental step in the growth of IndyCar as we continue to execute our strategy of adding race markets and events that drive us forward.”

Built in 1974 and originally named the Autódromo de Brasília, the 5.476-kilometre anticlockwise circuit played host to a non-championship Formula 1 race in 1974, one week after the official Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

The venue was leased to the Nelson Piquet-owned NZ Empreendimentos firm, but the Federal District took back control of the circuit after it fell into disrepair – despite this, the track continues to have the Piquet moniker in its name.

The circuit was meant to have staged a round of the MotoGP championship this year, but was subsequently dropped from the calendar.

The announcement comes after further news that the IndyCar Series’ sole visit to Canada will move from the Toronto street circuit to the Mosport road course, in addition to the championship making its inaugural visit to the NOLA Motorsports Park near New Orleans.

Officials are expected to finalise and announce the full 2015 calendar in the coming weeks.

Privisional 2015 IndyCar Series Calendar:

Date	Event	Venue
08 March	Brasilia Indy 300	Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet
29 March	Grand Prix of St Petersburg	St Petersburg street circuit, Florida
12 April	Grand Prix of Louisiana	NOLA Motorsports Park, Louisiana
19 April	Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach, California
26 April	Grand Prix of Alabama	Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama
09 May	Grand Prix of Indianapolis	Indianapolis Motor Speedway RC, Indiana
24 May	Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana
30-31 May	Indy Dual in Detroit	Belle Isle, Michigan
06 June	Firestone 600	Texas Motor Speedway, Texas
TBA	Grand Prix of Mosport	Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
02 August	Honda Indy 200	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ohio
23 August	Grand Prix of Sonoma	Sonoma Raceway, California