Travis Pastrana has announced the first details of a new rallycross track he is building in his home state of Maryland.
The venue, named Circuit 199, will be the second permanent purpose-built rallycross track designed by the five-time US rally champion after the track at the Utah Motorsports Campus that has hosted Nitro Rallycross for the last two years.
The Utah track (pictured) was a groundbreaking addition to the rallycross landscape, with a 100-foot gap jump, banked turns, and multiple routes across a single lap. While a layout for Circuit 199 hasn’t been revealed yet, it is likely to incorporate some of these features.
Credit: Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
“Our goal is to be a positive outlet in the community.” Pastrana said. “We want to build a facility that promotes fitness, camaraderie, and provides entertainment as well as economic growth for our community.
“We want to open our doors for local charity events whenever possible and we want to give people access to top driver and rider coaches who can help coach and mentor everyone from beginners through the most elite.
“I want to spend time with my family, outside and active, doing what we all love together. That’s why I chose Maryland. This is our home.”
Circuit 199 will incorporate a state-of-the-art paved circuit which will host all tiers of motorsport, from karting right the way up to rallycross Supercars.
It has already been confirmed that kart racing, Supermoto, side-by-side (SxS), flat track motorcycle racing and spec series car races will be hosted at the track, while the upcoming Nitro Rallycross series will also be hosted at the venue.
An action sports progression park and year-round bicycle, skateboard, and scooter pump track will also be at the facility.
Pastrana alluded to Circuit 199 in a recent interview with DirtFish where he explained the thinking behind his then-unnamed facility.
“I’m building a rallycross track for proof of concept to show what I believe can be done,” he said.
“But it will take a lot of testing until we get all the angles and all the jumps just right and we can then go forward from there.
“The biggest thing for me is courses. My goal is to bring it back to where the tracks are challenging; bring it back to the beginning of freestyle motocross where when we got there every track was unique, every track had elements where someone like a Scott Speed, who was really good at being clean and tidy and bringing that F1 or [Sébastien] Loeb style to rallycross, might struggle with gravel tires.”
