Next year the Verizon IndyCar Series is scheduled to run the inaugural Grand Prix of Boston in the city’s downtown area.
Of course, this will mean having to convert a large portion of the Seaport District area into an 11-turn, 2.25-mile temporary street course that surrounds the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
Over at the Boston Globe, you can watch video of Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay driving the proposed race route giving his insight on how drivers will navigate the track.
“The location is what got me. Second to that, the layout, the actual circuit shape and how long the straights are,” Hunter-Reay told the Globe. “Sometimes with a street circuit, you’re forced into doing a shorter track. But this one seems like it’s the proper length. You can tell the time and effort went into picking the right route, and it seems like a great one.”
The race is set to be run on Sept. 4 and will be the race before the season finale at Sonoma. The 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner told the Globe he expects the cars to reach 200 mph.
“I think Long Beach is a great example of how to do a street course race,” he said. “That is an example of a great setting, right next to the beach and right in the heart of it all in Long Beach. That’s what you’re going to get in Boston.
“We have our key West Coast street race and now we’re going to have our key East Coast street race.”