Red Bull Global Rallycross has unveiled the venue for their return overseas this season.
After every round of the 2016 season took place in the United States, the championship will visit Canada for the first time later this year for two rounds in capital city Ottawa.
The double header event will take place at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum On Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18, with the track using parts of the Rockcliffe Airport. The layout will reportedly feature “long straightaways and wide-open corners,” and “the paved main course and Joker Lap will merge leading into the dirt section, just before cars fly over the finish line on the series’ signature 70-foot jump”, while grandstands will be “set throughout the dirt section and up to the finish”.
“Ottawa represents a perfect fit for Red Bull GRC as we return to international competition in 2017,” said Red Bull GRC CEO Colin Dyne. “We’ve been fortunate to see many Canadian fans at our events in the United States over the years, and we’re looking forward to bringing our racing formula north for the very first time, and to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. As Ottawa 2017 celebrates the 150th anniversary of Canada, we can’t think of a better way to join the celebration than by staging an event in the nation’s capital.”
Although Red Bull GRC was the world’s first fully international rallycross championship, it hasn’t raced outside the USA since 2015 when a double header event was held at Bushy Park in Barbados. Previous venues also include Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, Munich, and Barcelona, although that event was cancelled due to the weather.
Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross duo Scott Speed and Tanner Foust currently have more international event wins than any other drivers, and are the only two drivers in the current field to win races outside the US.
Speed won in Brazil in 2013, is series début, and Barbados in 2014. Foust meanwhile took both wins on the series’ last visit to Barbados in 2015. Liam Doran and 2013 champion Toomas Heikkinen both took wins in Germany in 2013.
Previous Red Bull GRC international event winners
Scott Speed – Brazil 2013, Barbados 2014
Tanner Foust – Barbados I 2015, Barbados II 2015
Liam Doran – Munich I 2013
Toomas Heikkinen – Munich II 2013