The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, the venue for this week's U.S. Grand Prix, has paid tribute to 1978 F1 World Champion Mario Andretti by renaming its final corner after the motorsport legend.
COTA's tight left-hand Turn 20 has been named 'The Andretti' in honour of the twelve-time Grand Prix winner and the last American to win the F1 world championship.
An official naming ceremony will take place at the circuit on Thursday with the 82-year-old Andretti in attendance.
Andretti was closely involved in the design of The Circuit of the Americas ahead of the track's inauguration in October of 2012.
The vision of two men, investors Bobby Epstein and Red McCombs, COTA was the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the United States.
Since, the 5.514 km track has become one of Formula 1's most popular destinations for fans and competitors alike, with 400,000 spectators attending last year's event of three days.
And ticket sales for this year's race indicate that even more fans will converge to vibrant Austin this week, with organisers adding additional grandstands to accommodate demand.
Andretti was initially scheduled to take to the track at COTA onboard a modern F1 car for a few demo laps, courtesy of McLaren's Zak Brown.
But the American hero's "bucket list" joy ride actually took place last weekend at Laguna Seca, where Andretti drove in anger a 2013 Mercedes-powered McLaren MP4-28.
You can read more about Mario's modern F1 experience here.
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