Five-times IndyCar champion Alex Palou will race in his home country next year as the series has added a round in Spain.

IndyCar will race outside North America for the first time in over a decade when it visits the Circuit de Catalunya in July.

“I’m so excited to be part of IndyCar’s first race in Barcelona,” said Palou, who was born in the nearby town of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor. “It is an amazing opportunity, and it means so much to me to have a race at home in Barcelona, it’s hard to put into words.”

The permanent circuit will not hold a Formula 1 race next year for the first time since it was built in 1991. It will hold its first IndyCar race on July 18th, the Sunday between F1’s races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

F1 moved the Spanish Grand Prix to the new Madring this year. The Circuit de Catalunya is due to return on the 2028 F1 calendar, hosting the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corporation which owns IndyCar, said the announcement is “a monumental day for our sport.”

“We are pleased to be able to take our ultra-competitive brand of wheel-to-wheel racing to Europe and thrilled that we can showcase IndyCar in Alex Palou’s home town. We have seen Alex’s remarkable skill and talent for several years and know his fans in Spain have been clamouring to watch him race in person.”

Palou has become the dominant force in IndyCar racing since making his debut in the series six years ago. Following one season at Dale Coyne, he moved to the top Ganassi outfit the following year and has won five of the last six championships for them.

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