IndyCar aiming for ‘one or two’ races outside North America

IndyCar’s top brass is looking for new frontiers. In an exclusive interview with our free online magazine Motorsport Monday, the championship’s bosses outlined part of their ambitious strategy to take a bite out of the international market.

When life gives you an active two-time F1 champion at the Indy 500, you don’t just make lemonade. The sweeping epidemic of Fernando-Alonso-mania that originated in Gasoline Alley last year drew a significant number of new eyeballs from all over the world to IndyCar. The bump in ratings and social media buzz in May was an opportunity that the series could not let slip by 

“Certainly, Fernando Alonso lifted the presence of the Verizon IndyCar Series in Europe, with 2.2 million viewers tuning in to IndyCar’s live stream of his initial test”, said Curt Cavin, Vice President of Communication for the series. “Even before Fernando’s visit to the Indy 500, INDYCAR had seen renewed interest from journalists around the globe, with more and more international journalists at each race, particularly the Indianapolis 500.”

Alonso’s American adventure was very well-timed for the series, as it was already riding on a wave of positive growth. However, management knows that they cannot rely on surprise one-offs for long term success.

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“In the U.S., IndyCar has experienced four consecutive years of growth with motorsports media, on TV, social media and indycar.com”, said CJ O’Donnell, Chief Marketing Officer for IndyCar’s parent company Hulman Motorsports. “While Alonso was part of that momentum the sport was already ascending. IndyCar is larger than one driver, and it will continue to be.”

While this season will have the new aeropackage and an expanded driver field as its main selling points, 2019 might prove more than vital for IndyCar’s international aspirations for more than one reason. 

“We have also seen ongoing interest from broadcasters in Europe, which is important given our international broadcast rights are open for 2019 and beyond”, said O’Donell. “We will strengthen our international broadcast position in 2019 and you will see the addition of one-two races outside North America.”

Click here to read our full interview with IndyCar’s top executives on Motorsport Monday.