Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to the Petit Le Mans, as well as AMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year. Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.[1]
Grand Prix Circuit (1998–present) | |
| Location | Hall County, Georgia, United States |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC-5 (UTC-4 DST) |
| Coordinates | 34°8′48″N 83°49′4″W / 34.14667°N 83.81778°WCoordinates: 34°8′48″N 83°49′4″W / 34.14667°N 83.81778°W |
| FIA Grade | 2 |
| Owner | NASCAR via IMSA Holdings, LLC (2012–present) |
| Broke ground | 1969 |
| Opened | September 13, 1970 |
| Former names | Road Atlanta (1970–2018) |
| Major events | Current: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Petit Le Mans (1998–present) Grand Prix of Atlanta (1973–1992, 1994–1999, 2003, 2005, 2013, 2020) MotoAmerica (1980, 1987, 1989–1990, 1998–2010, 2012, 2015–present) Trans-Am Series (1972–1973, 1982, 1984, 1986–1987, 1989–1990, 1993–1995, 1999, 2002, 2009–present) Former: FR Americas (2018–2019, 2021) Pirelli World Challenge (1990, 1993–1995, 1999–2009, 2011) NASCAR Xfinity Series (1986–1987) Can-Am Road Atlanta Can-Am (1970–1974, 1978–1980, 1982, 1984) Star Mazda (2004–2010, 2012) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1998–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.540 miles (4.088 km) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Race lap record | 1:07.056 ( Christian Klien, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, 2008, LMP1) |
| Motorcycle Circuit (2008–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.550 miles (4.104 km) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Race lap record | 1:23.421 ( Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2008, Superbike) |
| Original Circuit (1970–1997) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.520 miles (4.055 km) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Race lap record | 1:08.639 ( Davy Jones, Jaguar XJR-14, 1992, IMSA GTP) |
| Website | www |
History
In 1969, David Sloyer, Earl Walker, and Arthur Montgomery purchased a 750 acres (300 ha) plot of farmland in Braselton, Georgia, with the intent to build a world-class road racing facility. When a Can-Am race had to be canceled due to flood damage, the series organizers chose Road Atlanta to replace it. The track then began to take form quickly, taking only six months to excavate, grade, and pave the road course.
The first race was held on September 13, 1970. Vic Elford, in a Chaparral 2J, won pole and Tony Dean, in a Porsche 908/02, won the 300 km Can-Am event, with Stirling Moss as the Grand Marshal. Throughout the 1970s, more top-level series came to Road Atlanta, including Can-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA Camel GT, and Trans-Am.[2] The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) held their annual national championship, the SCCA Runoffs, at Road Atlanta from 1970 to 1993.[3] The first road race in NASCAR Busch Grand National Series history took place at Road Atlanta in 1986.[4]
The track was sold in 1978, and was passed from one owner to the next—culminating in bankruptcy in 1993 under the Whittington Brothers (Don & Bill). Business executives Frank Drendel, Jim Kanely, Eddie Edwards, George Nuse, and Bill Waddell formed a partnership to purchase the track. They spent the next three years making gradual improvements to the facility. New buildings were constructed, others were renovated, the track was widened and resurfaced and the grounds were landscaped.
In November 1996, Don Panoz purchased the track and made Braselton the base of operations for his motorsports-related ventures. Panoz introduced the first major changes to the track, removing the Dip and creating a chicane at the end of the long back straight. These changes brought the track up to FIA standards, so that international events could be held. A new pit and paddock area was also constructed on the infield side of the track, allowing for larger events, and a 10,000-seat terrace area was constructed around the new Turn 10 complex.
In 1998, major racing resumed at Road Atlanta with the first edition of the Petit Le Mans endurance race. The race attracted worldwide attention, and included entries from the Le Mans-winning Porsche factory team. The race would be the first race of the American Le Mans Series and included a spectacular accident where a Porsche 911 GT1 backflipped and flew into the side barriers. Petit has continued to be an annual event at Road Atlanta, and a marquee event in the ALMS.
Prior to the 2007 Petit Le Mans, the entire track surface was repaved. The works also included moving the walls in the esses away from the track, with the intention of improved driver safety and better sight lines for spectators.[5] In the late winter of 2007–2008, the circuit was again modified with the reconfiguration of turns 4 and 12, for the ostensible safety benefit of motorcycle racers (the racing line for cars remained essentially unchanged).
In April 2008, Road Atlanta hosted the 4th stage of the Tour de Georgia, one of the largest cycling stage races in the United States. The stage was run using standard racing bikes instead of the more aerodynamic time trial bikes. Slipstream Chipotle won the stage with a time of 19:38.86, while Astana and Team High Road finished second and third respectively. Used in local cycling events, the circuit is run counterclockwise (in reverse), owing to safety issues from the downhill Turn 11 to Turn 12, creating a steep climb from Turn 12 to Turn 11, and a much safer route for cycling.
The October 2008 Petit Le Mans had a four-day crowd of 113,000 people with an average weekend crowd of nearly 80,000 fans.[6] The race entry list includes a number of new and returning cars.
In September 2012, the track was purchased by IMSA Holdings as part of its acquisition of Panoz Motor Sports Group. The intention was to combine the Grand AM and American Le Mans Series. NASCAR K&N series has announced a return to the track in October 2013 as part of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
In December 2017, the track hosted its first 24 Hours of LeMons event, the Kim Harmon Scrotium 500. The series is also scheduled to return in 2018.[7]
In 2019, the track became Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta after Michelin and IMSA Holdings announced the naming rights agreement.[8]
In 2020, Michelin Raceway hosted the PNC Atlanta 10 Miler: Extreme Hill Edition and 4k Races because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In gaming
The track was first included in the 1999 PC racing simulator Sports Car GT. Road Atlanta is featured in the Xbox video game Forza Motorsport[9] and all its subsequent entries.[10]
The track was also digitally created for Electronic Arts' F1 series ('01 – '02), then modded to be compatible with multiple PC games. Scratch-made versions of the track have also been created for rFactor, Papyrus' NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, and BeamNG.drive. It also appears in the PlayStation 2 game Le Mans 24 Hours and on iRacing.com.[10]
In November 2022, the track was added to the PlayStation game Gran Turismo 7. The track was added to the game as part of update 1.26, which was released to mark the series' 25th anniversary.[11]
Lap records
The outright unofficial all-time track record is 1:01.200, set by Marc Gené in a Ferrari F2003-GA, during a 2018 Ferrari Corsa Clienti event.[12][13][14] As of October 2022, the fastest official race lap records at Road Atlanta for different classes are listed as:
Track configurations
Grand Prix Circuit (1970–1997)
Short Circuit (1998–present)
Grand Prix Circuit (1998–present)
Motorcycle Circuit (2003–2008)
Motorcycle Circuit (2008–present)
Events
Current
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
- Petit Le Mans
- IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (formally IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge)
- IMSA Cooper Tires Prototype Lites
- IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Yokohama
- Formula D
- Drift Atlanta
- Trans-Am Series
- Historic Sportscar Racing
- American Endurance Racing
- TireRack.com ChampCar Endurance Series
- 24 Hours of LeMons presented by Yokohama
- National Auto Sport Association
- Sports Car Club of America
- Global Time Attack
- Z Nationals[62]
The facility is also home to the Skip Barber Racing School.
Former
- PNC Atlanta 10 Miler (2020)
- Indy Lights (2001)
- NASCAR Busch Series (1986 & 1987)
- NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (2013)
- Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires (1999–2010, 2012)
- Star Mazda Series - East Championship (1999–2004)
- Cooper Tires USF2000 (2010)
- Can-Am (1970–1974, 1978–1979, 1982, 1984)
- AMA National Championship (1971–1974, 1980, 1986–1988) (races in 1986-1988 were also counted in the AMA Superbike Championship)
- SCCA National Championship Runoffs (1970–1993) (also known as the American Road Race of Champions, Valvoline Road Racing Classic, and the Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic)
- SCCA Formula Super Vee Championship (1971–1975, 1979, 1989–1990)
- SCCA Continental Championship (1972–1973, 1975)
- IMSA GT Championship (1973–1992, 1994–1998)
- AMA Superbike (1980, 1986–1990, 1993–1994, 1998–2010, 2012)
- American Le Mans Series (1999–2013)
- Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series (2013)
- World Karting Association
See also
References
- ^ "'Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta,' new track developments for 2019". Racer. October 12, 2018.
- ^ "History of Road Atlanta". Road Atlanta. from the original on 2012-10-04.
- ^ . Sports Car Club of America. January 6, 2005. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006.
- ^ "Busch Series champions and milestones". Yahoo! Sports. 8 May 2006. from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ . Road Atlanta. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ . American Le Mans. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ "The 24 Hours of Lemons - Road Atlanta". Road Atlanta. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
- ^ Klein, Jennifer (12 October 2018). . IMSA. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ Brown, Joe (April 2005). "Race Against Reality". Popular Science. Vol. 266, no. 4. pp. 46–54. ISSN 0161-7370.
- ^ a b "Road Atlanta". Giant Bomb. Fandom. Game appearances.
- ^ "Four new cars and a new track coming to Gran Turismo 7 this week!". racinggames.gg. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ "Watch a V10 Ferrari Formula 1 Car Obliterate the Road Atlanta Lap Record". 20 March 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "Watch Marc Gene Smash the Road Atlanta Track Record in a Ferrari F1 Car". 17 March 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "Watch A V10 F1 Car Annihilate Road Atlanta's Lap Record In This Stunning Footage". Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d "2008 Petit Le Mans". Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "2019 Motul Petit Le Mans Race Official Results (10 Hours)" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). 15 October 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "2000 Petit Le Mans". Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Petit Le Mans 1999". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Petit Le Mans 2002". Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ a b "2016 Petit Le Mans Presented by Harrah's Cherokee Casino Result Race Official Results (600')" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). 12 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Petit Le Mans 1998". Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Road Atlanta IMSA 1998". Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "2009 Formula Atlantic Le Petit Le Mans". Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ a b c "2021 Motul Petit Le Mans Race Official Results (10 Hours)" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). 16 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "2018 F3 Americas Championship powered by Honda Road Atlanta - Round 11 Official Race Result" (PDF). 23 September 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "2008 Indy Pro 2000 Atlanta Race Statistics". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli March 24 - 27 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta TA XGT SGT GT Round 3 TA XGT SGT GT Round 3 - Official TA/GT Results" (PDF). 29 March 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "2020 Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta >> Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 1 Official Results (50 Minutes)" (PDF). 9 September 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "2021 Motul Petit Le Mans >> Porsche Carrera Cup North America Race 2 Official Results (45 Minutes)" (PDF). 16 November 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "Petit Le Mans 1999". Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "2010 USF2000 National Championship Atlanta Race 2 Statistics". Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "2020 Ferrari Challenge North America Trofeo Pirelli Road Atlanta Race 2 Official Results (30 Minutes)" (PDF). 9 March 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ (PDF). IMSA Racing. 6 October 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli March 24 - 27 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta TA2 Round 3 - TA2 Race Provisional Results" (PDF). 26 March 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "2020 VP Racing Stay Frosty 240 Race Results" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). 20 October 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "2016 F4 US Championship Powered by Honda Race 3 - Round 12 Race (30:00 Time) started at 8:03:30" (PDF). 18 September 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Road Atlanta IMSA 1998". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Checkered Flag on the 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Season". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "2022 Fox Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Race Official Results (2 Hours)" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). 4 October 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "2021 MotoAmerica Championship at Atlanta Supersport Race 1 Results" (PDF). 1 May 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "2022 North America Talent Cup: Di Mario Wins Race One At Road Atlanta". 4 September 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "Road Atlanta Grand Prix 1992". Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Road Atlanta 2 Hours 1997". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Can-Am Road Atlanta 1984". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Road Atlanta 100 Miles 1978". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Road Atlanta Grand Prix 1992". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "1973 Road Atlanta F5000". Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Exxon Supreme GT Road Atlanta 1994". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Road Atlanta 3 Hours 1995". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "American Road Race of Champions - Classes ASR+BSR 1971". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ Ingram, Jonathan (7 September 1989). "Plainly Smith (Bosch / VW Super Vee Round 7/ Road Atlanta)". No. On Track Magazine. On Track.
Qualifying for pole effectively ended in the first session when Mark Smith clicked off what would prove the fastest lap at the outset. His time of 121.023 eclipsed Geoff Brabham's 10-year-old record of 122.430
- ^ "Road Atlanta [GT] 1991". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR+BSR] 1974". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ a b "SportsCar GTS Road Atlanta 2 Hours 1997". Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "1987 Trans-Am Road Atlanta". Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Road Atlanta [GT] 1991". Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Road Atlanta 100 Miles - Race 2 1975". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Road Atlanta 500 Kilometres 1973". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "US Champions Road Atlanta [BP] 1974". Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "IMSA Supercar Road Atlanta 1992". Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Trans-Am Road Atlanta - Two Five Challenge 1972". Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "2017 Z Nationals Information". znationals.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
External links
- Official website
- Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info
- at the Wayback Machine (archived April 17, 2014)