F1 racing coming to Austin 2012

[Belmont31R]

They are going to build a track for this....


http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/5/10824.html

[TehLlama]

God I hope they build a track where passing is actually possible. I'll need to take the wifey to this.

[WEC]

As you can see from the date of the article, the news has already been out for a couple of weeks. As much as I want this to happen there are still many hurdles that need to be cleared before this can come to fruition.

1. It's still unsure where the money will come from to build this facility. My initial thoughts were confirmed that many Austinites are very much against using public funding to finance this thing. As much oil and gas money the state has, Texas is (from what I've read) still operating on a relative deficit. Thoughts are that this event could pump a good deal of money into the state economy (as much as $1 billion annually), but the main problem is fronting the initial build-out cost, which has been estimated as $250 million.

2. Tavo Hellmund, CEO of Full Throttle Promotions, L.P., the front-running U.S. firm in charge of this event, has been known to blow smoke up peoples' asses before. I'm afraid that this could be all smoke and mirrors and once the true-to-life figures get ironed out, his house of cards will tumble.

3. Bernie Ecclestone is one hard-nosed SOB and the revenue generated from this event is primarily the property of Formula 1. This includes licensing and signage. The only revenue the track/facility will take home are admissions and concessions. This is NOT negotiable.

4. Herman Tilke has been given the reigns to design the track. Though this might stick in the craw of many F1 fans who believe his most recent designs are uninteresting and have very little passing zones, I believe his track design is fantastic given his limitations. It is no secret that the drivers love the tracks he has designed but the "boring" action, where there are very few passes (e.g. Bahrain, Valencia, Sepang and in some regards Istanbul), in my opinion, are because of the new safety regulations that have been put into place.

Regardless, being a HUGE Formula 1 fan, I was overjoyed to see the news that it will be coming to Texas and only a scant 2 hours drive from where I live. I will be on the edge of my seat to follow the news about how these negotiations progress.

[No.6]

I'm with you WEC.
I really don't want to throw a "wet blanket" over this, but how many times has a track been "envisioned" only to see it fall apart at some point in the process? Anyone remember Donnington Park? My fear is that it might play out the same way. Blue sky and blown smoke.
Will I attend, absolutely! I'd love to see a USGP on the calendar, especially one so close to home.
Regarding Tilke and his fondness for designing tracks that reflect the local heritage, my guess it'll look like a cowboy boot when all is said and done....

[WEC]

Tavo Hellmund stated today that the principle investor for the endeavor will be Red McCombs. 90% of the money to build the structure is supposed to be private and not public, so I was concerned that it wasn't going to happen. The news that McCombs, who has a ton of money, is stepping forward has made this thing about 10x more likely in my book. Great news, IMHO. I'm still waiting for the bottom to drop out, but things like this make me more confident.

The site has also been announced to be Wandering Creek, an area only about 10 miles southeast of downtown Austin and only 5 miles southeast of Bergstrom International Airport.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85604

[MTechnik]

That's great!

As someone who went to the F1 race in Indy after 9/11, it was a GREAT experience.

Then again, the pit and paddock access courtesy of HP (due to some high profile guests from Europe cancelling their trips post-9/11) made the experience all the more enjoyable.

4. Herman Tilke has been given the reigns to design the track. Though this might stick in the craw of many F1 fans who believe his most recent designs are uninteresting and have very little passing zones, I believe his track design is fantastic given his limitations. It is no secret that the drivers love the tracks he has designed but the "boring" action, where there are very few passes (e.g. Bahrain, Valencia, Sepang and in some regards Istanbul), in my opinion, are because of the new safety regulations that have been put into place.

Great point there. He IS given some strange limitations. It would be nice if they gave him a complete blank slate and let him do what he really wants to.

I can't wait.

[markdh720]

Good for you guys in TX, but this is BS for me.

By the time I was old enough and able to afford to go to the USGP, the Michelin tire fiasco happened. I figured I lucked out and would make it the next year. BAM! Cancelled! Indianapolis would have been a 90 minute drive for me. TX? Out of my budget once again!

On the other hand, I have friends around Austin, so if this actually happens, I would probably fork over the dough to be at the return of the USGP.

[austinN4]

The site has also been announced to be Wandering Creek, an area only about 10 miles southeast of downtown Austin and only 5 miles southeast of Bergstrom International Airport.

I agree that it is good news that McCombs money is behind it, but I wonder how the teams and fans will feel when they find out that our "international" airport has so few nonstop flights into it. When I fly out of Austin I almost always have to connect somewhere (houston, dallas, atlanta, salt lake, newark) else to get anywhere in the US. Delta doesn't even bring full size jets into AUS anymore, and Continental only about half the time.

[austinN4]

Indianapolis would have been a 90 minute drive for me. TX?

The Indy track sucked for F1, IMO. I long for the days that the USGP was held at Watkins Glen (long live the bog!) and the Canadian GP was at Mosport. Too bad they didn't have the money or backing to make the necessary improvements to keep F1.

[WEC]

The Indy track sucked for F1, IMO. I long for the days that the USGP was held at Watkins Glen (long live the bog!) and the Canadian GP was at Mosport. Too bad they didn't have the money or backing to make the necessary improvements to keep F1.

The dream is still alive! There's some discussion, though only preliminary at first, that if the USGP in Austin gets a decent following, Ecclestone is all for a second grand prix in the US. He is eying the New York area so Watkins Glen has to be in the conversation... but Ecclestone has some grand mental image of a course which has the NYC skyline in the background as cameras following the cars whizzing by on a long straight.

I'd like to think that Austin would step up its game for such global events as a Formula 1 race, possibly allowing more direct flights for that week or so span. This would probably take some very creative logistics , but I am not affiliated with any airline nor do I pretend to know anything at all about flight planning and airport management.

I'm glad that at least on a niche forum like this, there is still some enthusiasm. I really hope this can draw a great following, possibly to the end result of a US based F1 team (waaaaaaayyyy down the road) or at least fielding a worthy US driver (not Scott Speed).