Motorsports

Do you need a Motorsport Permit?

View Motorsports page on Caltrans Permits website to find out if a permit is needed or not.


Senate Bill 1175 - Changes to Motorsports Exemption

SB 1175 required changes to the motorsports exemption as of January 1, 2015. Copied below is the California Vehicle Code language that became effective on that date.

Permits are now issued for qualified vehicles attending motorsports events by the Department of Transportation Permits Office. To apply for a permit, go to the Caltrans Permits website

New Motorsports Law in the CVC

The California Vehicle Code (CVC) section that was in effect on January 1, 2015, is posted as the chaptered SB 1175 on the California Legislative Information website:

  35401.5 (g) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 35400 and 35401, a combination of vehicles consisting solely of a truck tractor semitrailer combination with a kingpin to rearmost axle measurement limit of not more than 46 feet, a trailer length of not more than 56 feet, and used exclusively or primarily in connection with motorsports, may operate on the routes identified in subdivision (a) as well as on any other routes authorized for that purpose by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, when issued a permit as set forth in paragraph (3). As used in this subdivision, “motorsports” means an event, and all activities leading up to that event, including, but not limited to, administration, testing, practice, promotion, and merchandising, that is sanctioned under the auspices of the member organizations of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States.
   (2) (A) The Department of Transportation shall conduct field tests of the truck tractor semitrailer combination authorized under paragraph (1) for motorsport trucks with a trailer length of not more than 56 feet to evaluate their performance on transition routes connecting to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. 
   (B) (i) The Legislature finds and declares that the Department of Transportation established the existing transition routes described in subparagraph (A) based on records from the 1990s. 
   (ii) The Department of Transportation shall update the transition routes to reflect road projects completed since the 1990s and shall update the transition routes every five years thereafter. 
   (iii) The Department of Transportation shall develop new transition routes, as necessary, for the truck tractor semitrailer combination authorized under paragraph (1) for motorsport trucks with a trailer length of not more than 56 feet. 
   (C) The Department of Transportation shall, no later than January 1, 2017, submit a report to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, that includes the results of the field tests for the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, the Sonoma Raceway, and the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, an overview of the related roadway improvements identified and made, and, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, a recommendation as to whether the maximum 56 foot trailer length should be reauthorized. (D) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the requirement for submitting a report under this paragraph is inoperative on January 1, 2019.
   (3) Permits for a combination of vehicles consisting solely of a truck tractor semitrailer combination with a kingpin to rearmost axle measurement limit of not more than 46 feet, a trailer length of not more than 56 feet, for use exclusively or primarily in connection with motorsports, to operate on the routes identified in subdivision (a) as well as on any other routes authorized for that purpose, as provided in paragraph (1), shall be issued by the Department of Transportation, pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 35780) of Chapter 5. The permit requirement for travel on a specific route to or from the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, the Sonoma Raceway, or the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, shall apply only until field tests for each of those raceways by the Department of Transportation determine that no additional projects need to be performed on the specific route, or, if projects are required to be performed on the specific route, until those projects are completed.