Nothing is more exciting than watching irresistible rally races... except maybe driving on those tracks yourself. Rally Motorsport first started as Monte Carlo Rally in 1911. It has come a long way, but the essence and the spirit are still the same. The rally tracks have dips, blind spots, bumps, rocks, and jumps.
The rally cars are different, too. They must be street legal, but they have to be able to endure all sorts of abuse on the tracks. Today, we are sharing with you 10 such rally tracks that are awesome and open to the public.
10 Road America
Road America is the oldest operating road race track in America. It's located near the shores of Elkhart Lake on Wisconsin Highway number 67. It opened in 1955 and has been hosting races and events since then. The road course is 4.048 miles long and has 14 turns. The track also has a karting road course which is 0.8 miles long.
This track has tons of elevation changes, a long front stretch, and it's signature “kink” and sharply slanted turns. You can join in the fun by booking a Skip Barber Racing School class or through a number of private car clubs that book the track for themselves and rent them out.
9 Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
This is a comprehensive auto racing track located in Troy township in Morrow county in Ohio. It opened in 1962 with a 2.4 miles long track and 15 turns, but so far, it has had a number of refurbishments. Now, it has two tracks, one original and one 2.258-mile long second course which has 13 turns. Both the Indycar and the NASCAR Xfinity series events are organized here.
Mid Ohio Motorsport Race track has its own school called Mid Ohio School which takes care of the courses and the programs. You can book a ride through their website for the school.
8 Palmer Motorsport Park
This racetrack is located at the intersection of West Ware Road and Bacon Road in Palmer in Hampden County Massachusetts. It is 2.3 miles long and has 14 bidirectional turns that are as challenging as it gets. The track was cut from a mountain of granite. The elevation is extremely difficult with 190-degrees of an uphill ride.
The runway is minuscule with numerous blind spots and tons of elevation. Driving here with your beast will give you a thrill like a roller coaster. The track is a closed-circuit knit around Whiskey Hill. To get a chance to drive here, check their website and book through the car clubs that are gonna have the tracks to themselves next. Easy peasy!
7 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta raceway is our very own timeless racetrack located in the North of Braselton, Georgia. It is a 2.54 miles long racetrack with 12 turns. And yes, the famous esses are between turns three and five. It has very sharp corners and notoriously difficult downhills. IMSA Holdings LLC owns the track and uses it for professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs, etc.
You must have played and driven through this track on Xbox, Forza Motorsport, Playstation 2, and others. Just book through car clubs to get a chunk of this track for your personal fun.
6 Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park is located in the state’s most famous corner in Lakeville, Connecticut. It's a natural terrain motorsport road racetrack. It's America's oldest racetrack which has been continuously operating after being launched in 1956. Interestingly, the track is owned by a former race car driver, Skip Barber. It is 1.50 miles long and has 7 turns. The track is tough because it’s not paved artificially, but is natural and offers all sorts of elevation, uphills, difficult downhills, dips and jumps.
The uphill turn five is incredibly difficult and such a thrill for us fanatics. To drive as individuals, you need to book through the car clubs or special seasonal programs.
5 Virginia International Raceway
This track is located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. Virginia International Raceway is known for hosting professional and amateur automobile and motorcycle events, club days, driving schools and surprisingly private test rentals too. It is 3.27 miles long racetrack and has 17 turns. There are various courses like North course, South course, Full course, and Patriot course.
This is a tough classic rally track where you can show your sporty soul off. You can try your luck at driving here by joining the VIR club, but that would surely set you back by several thousand dollars. We would suggest looking at the clubs that have the tracks in the coming months and booking for a couple of days or as many you want of course, through them. Go! Go!
4 Circuit de la Sarthe
This course is located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France and was named for the triangle circuit of the 1906 French Grand Prix. It is an 8.467-mile-long racetrack with 38 turns. Yes, it is one of the longest tracks on Earth. It is full of sharp corners, blind spots and famous turns like Dunlop curve, the Esses and the Porsche curve.
It hosted the first race in 1923 and started organizing annual races in 1949. It's one of the most famous motorsport tracks in the world. You can drive the 24H track on the Le circuit la Sarthe along the Mulsanne straight, Indianapolis, Arnage corner, etc. if you respect the French speed limits.
3 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Mazda Raceway is now simply known as Laguna Seca. It is a 2.24-mile-long racetrack with 11 turns and 180 feet of altitude in Central California. The racetrack has its signature turns, the difficult downhills corkscrew and a left to right combo turn all of which is as challenging as it gets.
If you're too confident, this track will chew you up and spit you out. You must have raced on this track while playing the Grand Tourismo or Forza Motorsport, but nothing like actually driving here. To join, just look into the track calendar at the Mazda Raceway to see which car club has secured access to the track on which days.
2 Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas is a racetrack in Travis County, Texas. It has 20 turns and is way more challenging than any other racetrack. It has more left side turns than the right ones which are quite a demand on the drivers because they are usually accustomed to the clockwise turns.
It's the first Formula 1 track of the United States which was actually built for the purpose and is the only racetrack of the US where an annual F1 race is hosted. You can join the fun of driving here by joining track day organized by Edge Addicts Speed Event.
1 Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway is 2.3-mile long track with 12 turns, numerous blind spots and lots of altitude ranges. We do not need to describe more about it to you if you have ever played Grand Tourismo or Forza Motorsport.
This racetrack is full of uphill, downhill, close walls, difficult sections, and high-speed corners. This raceway is in Sonoma, California amidst the famous wine country. You can race your car here after taking a class from the Simraceway Performance Driving Center. Or, if you just want to feel the thrill of driving your sports car here with no commitments, you can just do so on the drag strip that is open to the public for a small fee.