(Reuters) - Fernando Alonso can look forward to another familiar track if he moves to IndyCars next season after Austin's Circuit of the Americas (COTA) announced on Tuesday they will host the U.S. open-wheel series as well as Formula One.
McLaren's Alonso is mulling the switch as part of a bid to win the Indianapolis 500, the only race he needs to become the second driver to complete the so-called 'Triple Crown of Motorsport'.
The Spaniard, a double Monaco Grand Prix winner and two times F1 champion who won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Toyota in June, led the Indy 500 on his debut last year.
COTA, which also hopes to continue with MotoGP, is the only purpose-built F1 circuit in the United States. It will host the second race of the IndyCar season on March 24, 2019, and the F1 race on Nov. 3.
"I think we're going to get a whole new audience of enthusiasts," said COTA chairman Bobby Epstein on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)