Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of

Braselton, Georgia Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,6 ...

, 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 A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

, and is the home to the

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...

, as well as

AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year.

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larg ...

acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.

History

In 1969, David Sloyer, Earl Walker, and Arthur Montgomery purchased a plot of farmland in

, with the intent to build a world-class road racing facility. When a

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada (''Can'') and four races in the United ...

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 Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranea ...

2J, won pole and Tony Dean, in a Porsche 908/02, won the 300 km Can-Am event, with

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of com ...

as the

Grand Marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. The following ...

. Throughout the 1970s, more top-level series came to Road Atlanta, including Can-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA Camel GT, and

Trans-Am The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includi ...

. The

Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional ...

(SCCA) held their annual national championship, the SCCA Runoffs, at Road Atlanta from 1970 to 1993. The first road race in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Busch Grand National Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

history took place at Road Atlanta in 1986. 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 Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

). 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 Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded various pharmaceutical companies. Early life Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States f ...

purchased the track and made

Braselton Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,65 ...

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 A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

at the end of the long back straight. These changes brought the track up to

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

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

endurance race. The race attracted worldwide attention, and included entries from the

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

-winning

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company ...

factory team. The race would be the first race of the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' h ...

and included a spectacular accident where a

Porsche 911 GT1 The Porsche 911 GT1 is a car designed and developed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche AG to compete in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street-legal version for homologation (motorsport), homologation purposes. The ...

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. 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 The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage rac ...

, 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 A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a Wake (physics), wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning ...

won the stage with a time of 19:38.86, while

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

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. 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. In 2019, the track became Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta after

and IMSA Holdings announced the naming rights agreement. 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 Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire ...

Sports Car GT ''Sports Car GT'' is a 1999 racing sim game based on GT racing. It was published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by Image Space Incorporated for Microsoft Windows, and Point of View for PlayStation. Both editions of the game feature co-d ...

''. Road Atlanta is featured in the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

Forza Motorsport ''Forza Motorsport'' is a 2005 simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox gaming system. The word ''Forza'' is Italian for strength. The game is the first installment in ...

'' and all its subsequent entries. The track was also digitally created for

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

' '' 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 ''rFactor'' is a computer racing simulator designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. ''rFactor'' aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time. Released in Nov ...

'', Papyrus' ''

NASCAR Racing 2003 Season ''NASCAR Racing 2003 Season'', or ''NR2003'' for short, is a computer racing simulator released in February 2003 by Papyrus Design Group for Windows and Mac OS X. The game was the last to be released by the company before EA Sports bought the ...

'', and '' BeamNG.drive''. It also appears in the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

game ''

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

'' and on ''

iRacing.com ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, t ...

''. In November 2022, the track was added to the PlayStation game

Gran Turismo 7 ''Gran Turismo 7'' is a racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game is the eighth mainline installment in the '' Gran Turismo'' series. The game was announced on June 11, ...

. The track was added to the game as part of update 1.26, which was released to mark the series' 25th anniversary.

Lap records

The fastest official race lap records at Road Atlanta for different classes are listed as:

Track configurations

File:Road Atlanta track map until 1998.svg, Grand Prix Circuit (1970–1997) File:Road Atlanta club circuit map.svg, Short Circuit (1998–present) File:Road Atlanta track map.svg, Grand Prix Circuit (1998–present) File:Road Atlanta moto circuit map 2003-2008.svg, Motocycle Circuit (2003–2008) File:Road Atlanta bike circuit map 2008.svg, Motocycle Circuit (2008–present)

Events

Current

* IMSA

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

**IMSA

Michelin Pilot Challenge The Michelin Pilot Challenge is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. Originating from the Canadian Motorola Cup, the series was taken over by Grand-Am in 2001 to become the Grand-Am Cu ...

(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 The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...

Historic Sportscar Racing Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) is an automobile club and sanctioning body that supports historic racing in the United States. The organization traces its roots to the first running of the Walter Mitty Challenge in 1977 at Road Atlanta. HSR conti ...

** The Mitty *American Endurance Racing * TireRack.com ChampCar Endurance Series * 24 Hours of LeMons presented by Yokohama * National Auto Sport Association *

*Global Time Attack *Z Nationals The facility is also home to the Skip Barber Racing School.

Former

* PNC Atlanta 10 Miler (2020) *

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a progra ...

(2001) *

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

(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) *

(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 The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the end-of-year championship race meeting for Sports Car Club of America Club Racing competitors. Divisional champions and other top drivers from the SCCA's 116 regions are invited to participate at the ...

(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 The SCCA Continental Championship was an annual, professional, open-wheel motor racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), under various names, from 1967 to 1976. The inaugural series was staged in 1967 as the SCCA Grand Prix ...

(1972–1973, 1975) *

IMSA GT Championship IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada. History The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill ...

(1973–1992, 1994–1998) *

AMA Superbike AMA Superbike Championship is an American motorcycle racing series that has been run every year beginning in 1976. For most of its existence it has been considered the premier motorcycle road racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned b ...

(1980, 1986–1990, 1993–1994, 1998–2010, 2012) *

(1999–2013) *

Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

(2013) *

World Karting Association The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to curre ...

References

External links

*
Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info
* {{Navboxes , list = {{Atlanta sports venues {{Can-Am circuits {{IMSA GT circuits {{ALMS circuits {{Barber Pro Series tracks {{Grand-Am circuits {{Atlantic Championship circuits {{NASCAR Nationwide Series racetracks {{NASCAR K&N Pro Series racetracks {{Le Mans Series circuits {{Pirelli World Challenge circuits {{Trans-Am tracks {{Circuits of United SportsCar Racing {{MotoAmerica circuits {{Indy Lights racetracks {{Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America circuits {{IMSA Prototype Challenge racetracks {{Global MX-5 Cup tracks {{F3 Americas Championship circuits {{United States Formula 4 Championship circuits Buildings and structures in Hall County, Georgia Sports venues in Atlanta Motorsport venues in Georgia (U.S. state) Panoz Auto Development IMSA GT Championship circuits NASCAR tracks American Le Mans Series circuits Tourist attractions in Hall County, Georgia 1970 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports venues completed in 1970 Road courses in the United States