Sonoma Raceway

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Sonoma Raceway is a 2.5 mile, twelve-turn road course in Napa Valley, California. It was founded in 1967 as Sears Point International Raceway (no affiliation with Sears-Roebuck; the course was named after a local ranch). Decades later, it became Infineon Raceway after the naming rights were sold to Infineon Technologies. Several years later the rights expired and the course was renamed Sonoma Raceway.

Series Hosted

• NASCAR
• IndyCar
• Formula 5000
• World Challenge
• IMSA
• Grand Am

Configurations

• Full Circuit
  • Default circuit for most events.
  • Turn two is noted for having inverse banking, making it a tricky part of the course
  • The Carousel is a downhill curve leading into the dragstrip
  • The dragstrip acts as a high-speed straight when not used for NHRA events
  • The tight back hairpin leads into the high-speed esses
  • The esses lead into the front hairpin and ultimately the front straight
• Indy Circuit
  • The back hairpin was modified to use an outer turn, making the area not as tight. This was changed back to the original hairpin in 2012, but Forza 6 does not feature the new configuration.
  • A bus stop cuts off much of the esses due to lack of runoff. The exit was widened in 2012. Forza 6 does not have this change.
  • The front hairpin was cut off due to lack of runoff. This was modified to add a small amount of the hairpin in 2012. Forza 6 does not have this change.
• NASCAR Circuit
  • The downhill, Carousel, and back hairpin are omitted due to the NASCAR vehicles being unable to handle such tight areas. The vehicles instead use a back straight called the Chute.
  • The outer part of the back hairpin formerly used by the IndyCars is used as the inner part is too tight.
  • The full esses are used as the NASCAR vehicles cannot handle the bus stop.
  • The entire front hairpin is used as the NASCAR vehicles cannot handle the cutoff.