IndyCar will hold a pre-season open test for the first time since 2020 next year, and will use Californian venue Thermal Club for it.
There will also be two other tests through the year open to the whole field.
The Thermal Club is located near the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains in Palm Springs, California, and IndyCar will combine two of its circuits to create a 17-turn, 2.9-mile layout.
The regular trackday venue has luxury houses, a motorsport village and gourmet restaurants and counts some IndyCar’s sponsors and stakeholders among its frequent clientele.
“We liken this to a preseason scrimmage,” said IndyCar president Jay Frye.
“The teams will be doing everything it takes to prepare for a run at the 2023 championship at a new and unique backdrop for the NTT Indycar Series.
“The facility is spectacular, and I know everyone at The Thermal Club cannot wait to welcome our paddock.”
#INDYCAR meets The Thermal Club.
The first NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test of 2023 will be held February 2 and 3 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California.
Click below to read more about the circuit previously named the "Professional Motorsport Facility of the Year".
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) October 10, 2022
The last full-field pre-season test came just before the COVID pandemic in February 2020 at Austin.
Thermal Club track owner John Rogers expressed his delight at attracting IndyCar.
“For us, it means every IndyCar fan is going to get an inside look at the best cars in the world on what we think is the best track in the world,” said Rogers.
“It’s a wonderful thing, and we’re very happy it’s worked out with IndyCar and Thermal.”
There will be two more official tests during the season.
The annual Indianapolis 500 open test takes place on April 20-21, where newcomers can undertake their Rookie Orientation Programmes and teams can hone set-ups for the main event in May.
The other open test will take place at Laguna Seca on September 7, just before it hosts the season finale. That’s the day before the race weekend gets underway.
Outside of these open tests, each car will get two test days for the season, but will have to use one of those test days before March 24, or forfeit that day.
Teams with rookies will need to use a day to test their new driver on an oval prior to the Texas race on April 2.
Each car also gets two days for evaluation tests, which can be used to assess drivers that are not in the series.
