IndyCar reveals new venue for first open test in 2023

The Club’s lavish 470-acre plot surrounded by villas, restaurants and multi-car garages, first opened in 2012 and contains three tracks. On 2-3 February 2023 IndyCar will utilise a combination of the North Palm and South Palm circuits to create a 17-turn, 2.9-mile layout for the test.

“We liken this to a preseason scrimmage,” said IndyCar president Jay Frye said. “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.”

Located at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains, The Thermal Club was named Professional Motorsport Facility of the Year at the 2017 Professional Motorsports World Expo in Germany.

"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 John Rogers, the facility’s owner. “It's a wonderful thing, and we’re very happy it’s worked out with INDYCAR and Thermal.”

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

The Indy 500 Open Test is set for Thursday and Friday, 20-21 April at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and, according to IndyCar, “the entire field for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing is expected to participate in the test.”

The third and final Open Test of the 2023 season will be held on Thursday, 7 September at Laguna Seca, just three days before the season finale at the same venue.

In effect, it adds an extra practice day to the event, turning it into a four-day weekend, providing teams and drivers an extra day to learn the nuances of what will then be a repaved course.