1991Z07

Austin, Texas will host the U.S. Grand Prix on a new, dedicated road course starting in 2012 going through 2021!!

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/artic...to-host-us-gp/

Austin will finally have a race track!!! There have been 3 other efforts in the past 20 years, but this will be the bomb for Central Texas.

I'm stoked...can't wait.

yakisoba

It will be the third track in the area. Driveway austin and Harris Hill Road are existing tracks. I too am real happy. Racing and sleeping at home == win.

John Shiels

I will be going this time. Can't believe Turkey is being extended ten more years.

1991Z07

I'm not too sure I'd consider Harris Hill a "track"...it is primarily a driving school venue. Granted, it is 1.82 miles and all, but isn't anything like a Watkins Glen or Road America class venue.

This will be an F1-class venue...but I can just imagine the rental fees for using THAT for a weekend

John Shiels

3 Americans in GP-2 now so hopefully we can see an American racing their in TX

1991Z07

Even though their attendance is abysmal, nearly ALL the drivers to a man absolutely LOVE Istanbul's track. I'm sure that the Turkish government subsidizes the race, but as long as they take car of the course and the drivers still enjoy racing there I see no issues with another 10 year extension.

Turn 8's quad-apex is absolutely NUTS! The top guys were going flat out...never lifting. One can only hope the Austin track is as interesting. Same designers will be doing it as Istanbul, so we'll see. They have not broken ground yet...and they have a GP to host in 2 years. There will be LOTS of $$$$ thrown out to make sure they reach the deadline.

I wonder if Peter Widsor and the US F1 team will locate here from the Carolina's now? Will be interesting to see what happens for sure

yakisoba

That was one of my questions too. If US F1 effort would relocate. Makes sense to do so, but I would think it's like the tech industry: There's a LOT of talent in the carolinas that know a lot about making fast cars. If they move the team to Austin, they'd have to relocate that talent. I dunno. Hopefully it's a boost for our city.

Re: Harris Hill. The main issues I see with this place are the increasing roughness and the lack of enough parking to support NASA, SCCA or Porsche club racing events. It's actually a fun place, with a lot of elevation change and signature off camber, downhill turns. Sometime soon though they will have to fix the roughness; it's getting worse pretty fast now.

1991Z07

While I agree the Carolina's are a good resource for making cars go fast, they are completely different types of racing. They only turn left. NASCAR talent making an F1 car would be like Radio Shack (or Dell) building a Cray supercomputer...

US F1 will have hired in talent for their effort, so in truth where they are located is not an issue. Being in close proximity to an actual F1 track for testing is HUGE. There are what...5 teams at least headquartered within a stones throw of Silverstone? Ferrari has their own personal test track, as well as Imola close by. It would just make too much sense for them to come here.

And we have a pretty high-tech environment here as well. The city now boasts 1.7 mil in the metro area now.

Any way you slice it, it will be an economic boost for the city. As some have said in their writings it is like Austin hosting the Superbowl every year for 10 years. Over the course of the contract, literally a billion dollars could funnel into the Austin economy. I've seen quotes of $100M/year for other F1 venues, so I'm sure they'll be along the same lines for us.

Can't wait to see WHERE they plan on building it. They say they've secured a 700 acre location for it...I just hope it is west or southwest of the city. The Austin hill country would give them some dramatic elevation changes for the track. North and east of the city it flattens out too much.

sspeed30043

there may be some hope but I think the US F1 team is done....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_F1_Team

1991Z07

Maybe we'll see something come out of this...

efranzen

Did you watch Friday practice with the telemetry data? They were sustaining 4.5 g's through that entire corner!

1991Z07

sspeed30043

Yea that's what I meant by some hope, I went to their website and it
stated they won't even apply unless they have all the of the money up front, which makes sense.... because they don't want to embarass the US....even better sense.

If you go on Facebook , there is some reference to the the C and H being capitalized, Chevrolet power??? hmm that would be interesting.

I have heard rumors of them coming back to Indy....who knows.

BWF07

The news that the US GP would be back in the US in 2012 was graet news, the area is a big suprise. Nothing against Austin Texas, but I was suprised that it is not on the west coast or the east coast. I can just see the Europen market now and all the cowboy references. Please don't get me wrong, I have family in Texas an it is a great state (however they are Aggie's), but I don't think it is known as a hot bed of racing.

I hope it is a complete sucess I just worry about Bernie and his demands for more money after a few years. In Europe, the different country governmant usually step in and cough up what he wants. This is not the NFL or MLB, so I don't see that happening. This is why the Indy race no longer exists on th F1 schedule. Well here is to the US GP in 2012 qnd I sure hope it does well.

1991Z07

You would be wrong as to the hot bed of racing...

It is also ideal because of location...Austin is less then 5 hours from 3 major cities with large populations. Austin alone has 1.7 million, San Antonio is about 1.5 million, Dallas/Fort Worth is 2 million, Houston is 2.1 million. We also have 2 major airports within 1 hour of the facility, Austin and San Antonio.

The state is committed to this effort. There is a slush fund set up for cities doing major sporting events. They help to subsidize the security and planning for major sporting events in the state.

We are as high-tech as you can get. AMD, Texas Instruments, IBM, Dell, Applied Materials (the guys who BUILD the machines to make the chips)...the list goes on...as well as the best college in the U.S.A. (OK, so I'm a LITTLE biased about the Longhorns).

As long as they don't put it on the schedule between August and October we'll be fine. If it DOES fall into that range, get ready to roast. August to October is typically in the upper 90's every day, humidity in the 80% + range. We have extended runs of 100+ weather lasting 20-30 days straight at times. Drivers in those Nomex racing suits will literally roast alive (ask me how I know these things).

This is the BEST area to have it. Centrally located in the continental US. Less than an hours flight from Dallas, the central hub for the US airlines. Great terrain for a track, lots of elevation changes.

Believe me...I thought it was like the movies...flat, arid, brown. I couldn't have been more wrong. Been here since 1981, and I even moved my parents here from the great frozen north. It's NICE sitting on the patio on New Years in shorts and 70 degrees. Other years, it might be in the 20's...one thing you can be sure of is the really cold stuff only hangs around for a few days and then melts away and you are back in light winter garb.

I only go back to Ohio when I have to...too many blizzards when I was growing up.

BWF07

This is what I meant about not a real hot bed for major auto racing.


Don't get me wrong, I did not mean that the location was out in the sticks. I am very familiar with the location and the surrounding cities. It was just a shock to see that Austin was picked and based on your original opening comment you were surprised also.

As for the slush fund you mentioned is not the money matter I was referring to. As a follower of F1 you must know the dealing of Bernie Ecclestone. I don't think that the slush fund will cover his blackmailing he is known for on other tracks. If you remember the reason he dropped Indy was that he demand millions more from Tony George if he wanted to keep the race at Indy. Montreal was off the racing list until they came up with whatever BE wanted. We all know the drives love Turkey but Bernie does not keep it on the schedule for that reason, it does it because the government is willing to pay his price. I can just see the tax payers of Texas agreeing to a large tax increase simply to keep a single race in the state. Now if the large corporations are willing to step up and foot the bill that would be different, but the economy will need to improve a lot more then it is now. Of course Bernie won't pull and tricks until the race is showing real interest and that will be a few years into it, say 2015.

I as an F1 fan and a true believer that it needs to have a race in the US market that it is a huge success. In fact I plan a vacation to Houston to see my sister at that time of the GP so I can attend the inaugural event.

As for the timing of the race, it will most likely be after the Montreal race that way the cars will be in North America already. That is how they scheduled the Indy race, and that was normally in June.

1991Z07

I was surprised a bit, but not because we don't have race fans here...there are many from Austin and San Antonio who drive to DFW for NASCAR and Indycar races all the time. Many hold season tickets. I just figured we'd get outbid by another city. When it didn't happen, I was at first wondering why. Then Bernie said something in the interview about it that made sense...he said "the Austin organizers were willing to do what we (F1) wanted to make it work". After seeing his interview on SpeedTV, it makes sense why it will be here.

I would hope that Tavo learned from Tony's issues and have an ironclad contract written spelling out how much that SOB gets for the entire 10 years of the term.

Also, some of the issues with Indy was the track itself. Being an infield course using some of the banking, it really wasn't an ideal layout for an F1 circuit. It "worked", but was not optimal. The distances were not what a normal F1 race usually is. It also made it difficult for watching, since all the seating is positioned for an oval race. Much of the infield course was hard to see because you sat outside the oval in the bleachers.

I would imagine that when they lay out this course it will be along the lines of Istanbul. Blocks of bleachers scattered around the course so fans have a great, up close view of the action. If they do it right and don't get greedy and charge outrageous amounts for tickets they'll sell out every year. If they charge to much, then the stands will be empty...period. Here's some good stuff from Varsha's interview with Tavo...http://formula-one.speedtv.com/artic...s-gp-location/

I know that Bernie was making some unreasonable demands of Tony, and the only reason he can get away with it is because people let him. Sure, he has moved F1 into the front as THE premier auto racing venue, but he has tarnished it as well.

Too bad the teams and owners don't have the clout to replace him with someone else...

BWF07

I cannot agree more with you on two points. The first one being that Indy was not a true F1 facility, and I am sure this new track in Austin will be a class facility for both drivers and fans.

The only thing that is still an issue is the American F1 fan base. Bernie may have moved F1 to the front as a premier auto venue, but not in the US. NASCAR is still #1. As you stated, fans from Austin drive to Dallas for the NASCAR and Indy Car races. Both ovals. What F1 and ALMS as well as the Grand Am needs to do is market their venues better. It will be a tough go to compete with NASCAR however.

Maybe have the ALMS series run as a support race for the F1. It is a support race at Long Beach and was at St Pete, except this year when the ST Pete GP was a week after Sebring.

Now lets just sit back and wait for 2012.

efranzen

My guess is that having the race in Austin will also attract fans from Mexico and Central America. Tavo's dad was a promoter of the Mexican GP in the 80's and I'm sure that had some impact on the decision.

I've also heard Indianapolis didn't really have the flavor of city that Bernie likes to bring the F1 Circus to, and that Austin has more of the international fun factor.

Gatorac

Anyone read the Bear's commentary on the announcement? http://murphythebear.com/blog/index....i-laguna-seca/

He's not the optimist at anything by any means but F1 coming to America like this doesn't seem very likely.