Timeline

Circuit of The Americas opened the new, world-class Austin360 Amphitheater (now known as the Germania Insurance Amphitheater) with a performance by country music superstar Kenny Chesney and with rising star Kacey Musgraves. The crowd roared as Chesney kicked off the highly anticipated spring 2013 season for the 14,000-seated entertainment venue.

Circuit of The Americas hosted the first of many amazing feats planned for the inaugural MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas when the Red Bull Air Force, a team of B.A.S.E. jumpers will catapult from the observation deck of the Circuit’s signature 25-story Tower and landed 251 feet below.

MotoGP fans witnessed the debut of World Championship motorcycle racing during the three-day MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas on April 19-21. Spectators were treated to a history-making performance, as rookie Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez became the youngest rider in MotoGP history to win a Grand Prix at just 20 years old. His teammate Dani Pedrosa finished second while 2012 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team rounded out the podium with a third-place finish. Repsol Honda claimed the constructor’s trophy.

In 2013, the Pirelli World Challenge debuted at Circuit of The Americas with V8 Supercars as the supporting race. GT, GTS, Touring Car and Touring Car B-Spec teams raced around the 20-turn, 3.41-mile track as part of the race weekend. Johnny O’Connell won the inaugural race at COTA in the #3 Cadillac CTS-V.

The 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas has won the coveted “Sports Event of the Year” award at the 2013 SportsBusiness Journal Awards held, Wednesday, May 22, at the New York Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.

The Formula Sun Grand Prix is annual solar-car race where teams from colleges and universities around the world design, build, test and race solar-powered vehicles around a closed loop track. Each team has three consecutive days to complete as many laps as they can around The Circuit, and the team with the most laps completed wins the race. There are strict regulations set for each time regarding the total area of solar cells allowed and related reflectors. The Formula Sun Grand Prix serves the qualifying race for the American Solar Challenge Road Race.

The Lone Star Le Mans is an endurance race for Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style cars that lasts for 6 hours and has no set number of laps. Car manufactures such as Porsche, Audi, Ferrari, Ford, Cadillac compete to design, build and race the fastest car. Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, and Loïc Duval won the inaugural race at Circuit of The Americas for Audi Sport Team Joest in the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro.

The inaugural U.S. Vintage Racing Championship was held at Circuit of The Americas on October 25th – 27th, 2013 and featured over 500 vintage race cars that competed in 12 different classes, with each class having their own respected National Champion. Each race took place on Circuit of The Americas 3.41-mile-long Formula 1 track and showcased some of the most valuable vintage race cars in the world such as the Bugatti Type 35, Ford GT40 and many pre-war race cars.

A massive crowd of race fans watched Formula 1 racing’s new driving powerhouse, Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel, make history, as the 2013 World Champion driver scored his eighth consecutive Grand Prix victory at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). In doing so, the 26-year-old German wunderkind topped the record of seven consecutive wins set by his racing idol, Michael Schumacher, who retired after the 2012 season.

The Pirelli World Challenge kicked off the 2015 season at Circuit of The Americas for the first race in their 26th season. R.Ferri Motorsport’s driver won the race with a thrilling pass on the final lap of the race in the #61 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.

Rain falling over Circuit of The Americas throughout the day didn’t stop the on-track action at the MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. Despite the wet track, top speeds in this morning’s practice sessions still topped 200 mph. Marc Marquez took first place in a thrilling race on Sunday, confirming the Spanish current World Champion as the true MotoGP King of COTA, having taken victory in all three MotoGP races in Austin. Motorcycle racing legend Kevin Schwantz, COTA’s official two-wheel ambassador, got up-close-and personal with fans all weekend, leading a motorcycle parade lap and taking part in multiple fan events throughout the weekend.

X Games Austin returned to Circuit of The Americas for the second year in a row. Over 160,000 fans attended over 4 days making it the most attended X Games since 2004. The event took over The Circuit and debuted three new events including Moto X Flat Track, Moto X Quarter Pipe and Big Double Airs. In addition to the premier sports competitions, fans were able to enjoy the X Games Music Presents Series with performances from world famous artists such as Nicki Minaj, Metallica and The Glitch Mob.

For 42 years running, American icon and Austin’s own Willie Nelson got together some of the biggest names in music to celebrate Independence Day Willie-style. Willie’s 4th of July Picnics have become a legendary Texas summer tradition, and this year the party came to COTA with over 20 top tier country artists across two stages. Circuit of The Americas became the setting for the biggest Independence Day celebration in all of Texas.

Student teams from around the world will race solar-powered electric vehicles that they designed and built, on the first purpose-built Formula 1 racetrack in the United States. Fourteen teams registered for this year’s event, representing colleges and universities from the world, however, only one team was able to complete 70 laps in a day. Iowa State’s Team PrISum was the only team to successfully complete over 200 laps throughout the weekend. On the first day the team completed 76 laps in 8 hours, then 70 laps on day 2 and finished off with 77 laps. Team PrISUm completed 233 laps in just 24 hours of racing around Circuit of The Americas.

Defending Formula One World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton, crossed the finish line 2.8 seconds ahead of MERCEDES AMG PATRONUS teammate Nico Rosberg this afternoon to win both the 2015 United States Grand Prix and the 2015 World Drivers’ Championship at Circuit of The Americas on Sunday – his third world title. Many expected the rain and wet track to take its toll on drivers and cars. While there certainly was a good deal of attrition during the race, with two virtual yellows and two safety-car yellows, the rain was not primarily to blame. Two cars crashed, but six others failed to finish, mostly due to mechanical problems. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas were both forced out with technical problem. Unfortunately for Williams, this was the team’s first double DNF since 2012 in Brazil. Lotus’s Romain Grosjean and Marussia’s Will Stevens completed the list of driver who retired early.

Circuit of The Americas welcome all cyclists for an evening ride around The Circuit for an all-new weekly community event. This event gives cyclists the opportunity to experience the 20 iconic turns that make up track at their own pace, and for those more daring the chance to ride up Turn 1. Finally, enthusiasts can cool off after the sunset ride with food and beverages at the COTA Biergarten.

Marc Marquez won his fifth consecutive race at Circuit of The Americas in 2017. Valentino Rossi finished the race in second place followed by Dani Pedrosa in third place.

The Lone Star Le Mans returned to COTA’s Formula 1 track on September 17, 2017 as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Drivers Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley took home the trophy for the Porsche Team after winning the race in the Porsche 919 Hybrid.

Hundreds of thousands of fans filled the seats at Circuit of the Americas to watch Lewis Hamilton win the 2017 United States Grand Prix after passing Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Max Verstappen originally finished the race in third place but received a 5 second time penalty for overtaking Raikkonen off the track on the final lap of the race. Kimi Raikkonen was awarded the position as a result of the penalty. Carlos Sainz Jr. moved teams from Toro Rosso to Renault replacing the British driver Jolyon Palmer. Mercedes secured their fourth consecutive World Constructors’ Championship with a 155-point lead over Ferrari as Hamilton won and Bottas finished in 5th.

Circuit of The Americas hosted the 2017 U.S. Vintage Racing Championship from November 2 -5, 2017. During the race, hundreds of the finest vintage cars in the world competed to take home the golden Bell Racing National Champions helmet.

Circuit of The Americas hosted the inaugural INDYCAR Classic race — the second round of the 2019 INDYCAR season. Colton Herta took first place, becoming the youngest INDYCAR race winner of all time.

Alex Rins finished the Grand Prix in first place making him the first racer to win at Circuit of The Americas to win other than Marc Marquez who crashed during the race. Following behind were Valentino Rossi and Jack Miller who finished in second and third place respectively.

Circuit of The Americas laid dirt on the track and welcomed the American Rallycross Championship to Austin, TX on September 28th, 2019. The American Rallycross Championship serves as the feeder championship to the FIA World Rallycross Championship for North America. Rookie, Tanner Foust became the youngest Rallycross Champion after fighting against Subaru Rally Team USA for first place.

Valtteri Bottas started the race in the pole position and maintained the lead throughout the race. Lewis Hamilton finished second place securing his sixth world championship with 381 points making him the second most accomplished Formula One Driver of all time behind Michael Schumacher. Max Verstappen finished the race in third and was unable to pass Lewis Hamilton on turn 12 because Kevin Magnussen’s brakes failed bringing out a yellow flag.

The inaugural EchoPark Texas Grand Prix was a NASCAR Cup Series Race that took place at Circuit of The Americas on May 21st, 2021. The race was originally scheduled to be 68 laps around the 3.41-mile track, but was shortened to just 54 laps due to heavy rain. The Hendrick Motorsports Team drivers, Chase Elliot and Kyle Larson, pulled off an exciting finish in first and second place. The NASCAR Cup Series featured supporting races by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during the race weekend.

After being postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, MotoGP returned to Circuit of The Americas in October 2021. Marc Marquez reclaimed his title at Circuit of The Americas winning his 7th race at this track. Fabio Quartararo finished the Grand Prix in second place following by Francesco Bagnaia in third.

Formula One returned to Austin with over 400,000 race fans in attendance after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the ninth time that Circuit of The Americas was the host of a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Max Verstappen led the charge and finished the race in first place followed close behind by Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. Verstappen was able to increase his lead to 12 points over the Mercedes Driver, Lewis Hamilton, in the World Drivers’ Championship after finishing the race first.

Circuit of The Americas welcomed The Rolling Stones to the Super Stage on November 20, 2021 as part of their critically-acclaimed NO FILTER tour. This marked the last tour date of the NO FILTER tour and the rock ‘n’ roll legends’ first time reuniting since the 2020 postponement. The Stones were electric on the Super Stage and performed hits such as “Start Me Up” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Circuit of The Americas and Austin non-profit TreeFolks planted hundreds of native saplings and trees in Richard Moya Park to honor now-retired racing legend Sebastian Vettel. As part of a broader awareness initiative, COTA reached out to Del Valle neighbor TreeFolks. The organization’s mission to restore green space, regrow native trees, and educate Austinites on the urban forest ecosystem aligned with COTA’s goal of simultaneously honoring a legendary F1 driver, preserving the local Austin ecosystem, and leaving a lasting legacy.

The first Bike Night Presented by Ascension Seton of 2023 was a huge success with cyclers of all levels cruising on the only permanent, purpose-built Formula 1 track in the United States for a fun-filled biking adventure. Friends and family gathered for a sunset ride around COTA’s 20 turns.

Alex Rins won the 10^th annual Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, securing the trophy for LCR Honda CASTROL and his first podium of 2023. Honda has now won 8 of 10 races at Circuit of The Americas, returning to dominance since Enea Bastianini took the win in 2022 for Gresini Racing.

T11 Car Condos officially broke ground this summer. COTA and T11 project representatives gathered for a sunny photo-op last week to mark the exciting occasion. After celebrating The Circuit’s 10th birthday last October, this groundbreaking denotes the beginning stages of COTA’s expansion project years in the making.

2023 World Champion Max Verstappen secured his 50th career win at the Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix. Over the weekend, COTA made history by hosting the first American Sprint Shootout and also crowning the first F1 Academy Champion, Marta García. The off-track entertainment included musical performances by The Killers (Friday), Queen + Adam Lambert (Saturday), and Tiësto (Sunday).

The Monday after USGP weekend was the busiest day of the year at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) with more than 43,000 passengers, according to figures from the Transportation Security Administration. The record-breaking figure topped the previous single-day record: the day after last year’s F1 weekend.

Peppermint Parkway at Circuit of The Americas opened exclusively for the Del Valle community Wednesday, Dec. 13. Over 4,000 Del Valle residents were welcomed by over 6 million holiday lights and a lap around the only permanent, purpose-built F1 track in the country. Guests also enjoyed rides, sweet treats and experiences like Pepper’s Petting Zoo, friendship bracelet making, letters to Santa and more in Peppermint Plaza.