San Jose officials have approved a new course that will bring a new road race through the heart of downtown.

The San Jose City Council voted yesterday for a route that will bring the first-ever San Jose Grand Prix past the McEnery Convention Center, past some of the downtown hotels and the Tech Museum of Innovation. Officials hope the new course will showcase San Jose´s downtown to television viewers. The previously planned route had the race circling H-P Pavilion. The San Jose Grand Prix is scheduled for the end of July.