Circuit of the Americas Development Updates

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by electricron

http://barbermuseum.org/index.php

I'd point out that the Barber museum is in Birmingham, Alabama, NOT Birmingham, England.

And although it's a little narrow (originally a motorcycle track, although they run Indy cars there), I'd love to see F1 there.

Thought the COTA looked great, and it was a great event (from TV at least). Good job, and great pics.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by JoninATX

Those are some great pictures, also the more I look at the circuit tower the more I like it.

Me too, and apparently so do some of the other circuits who are inquiring about adding a tower to their tracks, according to SPEED commentators. Being an out of shape smoker, I'll never see the COTA facility from the top of the tower...I might be able to make it half way but only if I pre arrange oxygen stations along the way. Would love to see a second tower with elevators built for physical under achievers like myself.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Me too, and apparently so do some of the other circuits who are inquiring about adding a tower to their tracks, according to SPEED commentators. Being an out of shape smoker, I'll never see the COTA facility from the top of the tower...I might be able to make it half way but only if I pre arrange oxygen stations along the way. Would love to see a second tower with elevators built for physical under achievers like myself.

The tower does have elevators, in fact that's what most people took. The elevators are in the center of the tower. Most of the people seen on the stairs, I think, were coming down that way (and stopping to check out the views).

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by hookem

The tower does have elevators, in fact that's what most people took. The elevators are in the center of the tower. Most of the people seen on the stairs, I think, were coming down that way (and stopping to check out the views).

Good to know. I didn't see what I thought would be enough room at the top for elevator mechanics, such as motors and cable spools, so I assumed it was all stairs.

[Schertz1]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

I don't think you went to the Fan Fest if you think it was at all geared to the locals. What in the world was Austin about Fan Fest? There was nothing, absolutely nothing, about it that was geared to the locals. Which is the reason most people think if did so poorly.

Again, Fan Fest was geared to much to the locals? lol.

From my observation, I believe there were many locals at fan-fest. I’ve lived in Texas most of my live and I think, for the most part, I can tell when someone is not from the area. I saw more people I would consider local than tourist. I did hear several foreign languages, German, Swedish, and Spanish and a few accents. But, I would say the crowd, at least while I was there, was at least half locals. Not a bad thing, the fest was obviously planned to do so. I personally did not like many of the exibits, but had no proplem with the crowd.

“What in the world was Austin about Fan Fest?” Well let’s see, free music and food trucks for starters. And who says fan-fest did poorly, because I have not seen a report or article saying that? I guess that is your opinion.

Do you really believe the organizers of fan-fest did not consider their target group when planning this event when even the name, AUSTIN FAN-FEST, speaks volumes? Then, we can consider a few exhibits, the Texas Lottery Commission and the local Fiat dealer among others were clearly targeted to locals or Texans at best. Then there were child specific exhibits; they couldn’t possibly be for locals. I would bet just as many Austinites attended the race, even more went to fan-fest. Maybe Austinites didn’t go in to town to buy boots or shop but many certainly went for the free concerts, out of curiosity, or to support the F1 effort.

Like I said, I will not attend next year, unless there is an artist I want to see.

[the Genral]

Fan Fest...jeez... look guys, What do you do to entertain thousands of people when they are not at the track for a racing event? You stage an event close to where many of them are away from the track and call it Fan Fest. It connects F1 fans to the event and makes everyone feel welcomed. F1 is a commercial industry, Fan Fest was a commercial, Austin is commercial. Judging from the tweets I read, some liked fan fest some didn't. The City of Austin tried to do the best they could with a first time event and will probably do a better job next year. Hell, I think they went above and beyond. Its OK to agree or disagree with the outcome, but no one really knew what to expect for a FIRST TIME EVENT so its not worth arguing about. See what happens next year before damning the whole thing and being snarky.

BTW, what do you do with a herd of out of towners who don't know what to do or where to go, you coral them into a closed part of town called Austin Fan Fest. Next year, we'll call it the AFF Coral.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Fan Fest...jeez... look guys, What do you do to entertain thousands of people when they are not at the track for a racing event? You stage an event close to where many of them are away from the track and call it Fan Fest. It connects F1 fans to the event and makes everyone feel welcomed. F1 is a commercial industry, Fan Fest was a commercial, Austin is commercial. Judging from the tweets I read, some liked fan fest some didn't. The City of Austin tried to do the best they could with a first time event and will probably do a better job next year. Hell, I think they went above and beyond. Its OK to agree or disagree with the outcome, but no one really knew what to expect for a FIRST TIME EVENT so its not worth arguing about. See what happens next year before damning the whole thing and being snarky.

BTW, what do you do with a herd of out of towners who don't know what to do or where to go, you coral them into a closed part of town called Austin Fan Fest. Next year, we'll call it the AFF Coral.

That coral is a good idea. Tell them it's dangerous to go outside the barriers. That way the rest of downtown will be safe for the locals.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by thoraudio

I'd point out that the Barber museum is in Birmingham, Alabama, NOT Birmingham, England.

Never-the-less, no matter where it's located, museums already exist someplace else than in Austin. Most reading this thread haven't taken the trouble to go there, and few from elsewhere would take the trouble to visit a COTA museum as well.

So, what would be the purpose of having one now? To celebrate a single race that had no suspense, no side by side racing action, no eye candy wrecks, not one single memorable racing incident?

Oops, the most memorable incident of the race that everyone will remember was someone at Ferrari cutting a lead seal on Massa's transmission before the race.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by electricron

Never-the-less, no matter where it's located, museums already exist someplace else than in Austin. Most reading this thread haven't taken the trouble to go there, and few from elsewhere would take the trouble to visit a COTA museum as well.

So, what would be the purpose of having one now? To celebrate a single race that had no suspense, no side by side racing action, no eye candy wrecks, not one single memorable racing incident?

Oops, the most memorable incident of the race that everyone will remember was someone at Ferrari cutting a lead seal on Massa's transmission before the race.

Hamilton passing Vettle was pretty cool and memorable. But I do agree with you electricron, not that you need my endorsement, but if F1 is still around in a dozen or so years from now, and a structure was built on site housing memorabilia from those dozen or so races plus all the racing events during that period, heck, all the events at COTA, that might not be such a bad thing at least for attendees needing something to do while waiting for the race or event to begin. I just don't think many people would go out of their way to visit it as you said.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by electricron

So, what would be the purpose of having one now? To celebrate a single race that had no suspense, no side by side racing action, no eye candy wrecks, not one single memorable racing incident?

You must be a NASCAR fan, because you sure don't know what you are talking about when it comes to F1. For the record, though, I do agree with you about the F1 museum. Doesn't make sense to have one here.

The USGP had quite a lot of side by side racing, actually. And not the silly body-bumping kind in NASCAR, but the real wheel to wheel kind where the stakes are much higher. And the Vettel/Hamilton chase was extremely suspenseful for many laps. It was certainly the best race of the season on any modern F1 track, and possibly one of the top ones overall.

No, there were no dramatic wrecks, they are rare in F1. Again, it's not NASCAR. But if you want to see some NASCAR-style crashes, check out the V8 Supercars inaugural US race in May.

[Austin_Expert]

Originally Posted by electricron

So, what would be the purpose of having one now? To celebrate a single race that had no suspense, no side by side racing action, no eye candy wrecks, not one single memorable racing incident?

Lulz. I'm now quite sure you didn't watch the race.

I also remember you saying that Austin wouldn't get any exposure from the race coverage. Anyone that watched Speed's coverage, or read any articles about Austin's inaugural USGP would certainly disagree.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by hookem

You must be a NASCAR fan, because you sure don't know what you are talking about when it comes to F1. For the record, though, I do agree with you about the F1 museum. Doesn't make sense to have one here.

The USGP had quite a lot of side by side racing, actually. And not the silly body-bumping kind in NASCAR, but the real wheel to wheel kind where the stakes are much higher. And the Vettel/Hamilton chase was extremely suspenseful for many laps. It was certainly the best race of the season on any modern F1 track, and possibly one of the top ones overall.

No, there were no dramatic wrecks, they are rare in F1. Again, it's not NASCAR. But if you want to see some NASCAR-style crashes, check out the V8 Supercars inaugural US race in May.

I'll agree, the V8 Supercar race might be more to my liking.

And I agree, Hamilton did pass Vettel once. I'm still disappointed, over a 50 lap race, there was just one leader change.
Last year at Sonoma, NASCAR Cup race had at least 6 leader changes. It took Jeff Gordon 12 laps to pass Marcus Ambrose (1). 14 laps later, on lap 26, Clint Boyer passes Jeff Gordon (2). On lap 35, Clint Boyer pits, after everyone pits in this cycle, Martin Truex Jr. is leading (3) by lap 37. Clint Boyer assumes the lead as Martin Truex Jr. pits on lap 49 (4). On lap 72, Clint Boyer pits during the second cycle of pit stops, Martin Truex Jr. assumes the lead (5). On lap 75, Martin Truex Jr pits, Clint Boyer assumes the lead (6). Maintains the lead the rest of the race through lap 112 with a green-white-checker finish.
Clint Boyer started that race from the 6th position, and had to pass 5 other drivers to get the lead in 26 laps, without the benefit of pits stops or yellow flags. The first yellow flag didn't occur until lap 82.
That was a much better road racing experience than just one lead change requiring just one pass.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by electricron

And I agree, Hamilton did pass Vettel once. I'm still disappointed, over a 50 lap race, there was just one leader change.
Last year at Sonoma, NASCAR Cup race had at least 6 leader changes. It took Jeff Gordon 12 laps to pass Marcus Ambrose (1). 14 laps later, on lap 26, Clint Boyer passes Jeff Gordon (2). On lap 35, Clint Boyer pits, after everyone pits in this cycle, Martin Truex Jr. is leading (3) by lap 37. Clint Boyer assumes the lead as Martin Truex Jr. pits on lap 49 (4). On lap 72, Clint Boyer pits during the second cycle of pit stops, Martin Truex Jr. assumes the lead (5). On lap 75, Martin Truex Jr pits, Clint Boyer assumes the lead (6). Maintains the lead the rest of the race through lap 112 with a green-white-checker finish.
Clint Boyer started that race from the 6th position, and had to pass 5 other drivers to get the lead in 26 laps, without the benefit of pits stops or yellow flags. The first yellow flag didn't occur until lap 82.

It sounds like F1 is not for you. That's fine.

That was a much better road racing experience than just one lead change requiring just one pass.

Debatable. Formula 1 passing is much more rare, true... but it's a far more awesome experience (in person) than NASCAR. The cars, the speed, the pitstops... it's just all on a much higher level than NASCAR. Probably doesn't come across that way on TV, but perhaps NBC's F1 coverage next year will be more "accessible" to the typical US racing fan.

[Jdawgboy]

The race was great no doubt about it. I have seen F1 races before and I was hooked from beginning to end not only because it was here in Austin but it was really an exciting race and the vast majority of the commentary and response from people that were there attending had glowing reviews of the race. I did not go this year but I intend to go next as well as go to MotoGP and V8 Supercars.

Fan Fest did well though I think we will see some changes next year. The biggest reaction I have heard is how Austin has that party atmosphere that Montreal has and that Adelaide had when F1 was there before it moved to Melbourne. That is something that will be a huge advantage for us as not all F1 host cities have what Montreal has.

I took a really good pic that Saturday night and I need to upload and post it.

[shanny]

itll be interesting to see how fan fest copes with the construction of the third and colorado tower

[lzppjb]

I enjoy NASCAR much more, but to each his own.

I like the more physical nature of the driving. Bumping, swapping paint, lots of passing. It's more difficult to handle those bricks (relative to F1 cars) at high speeds and in traffic. I also prefer the lower rumble of the engines than the higher whine of F1.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by shanny

itll be interesting to see how fan fest copes with the construction of the third and colorado tower

They could (and probably will) move Fan Fest around a bit. If you recall, they wanted to use Auditorium Shores this year but the junior league protested (traffic concerns for their event at Palmer Events Center).

I'm really interested in seeing what the buildup to the 2013 F1 race will be like. With additional time for planning, we can expect earlier ticket sales and band announcements. Will they sell out the race? Will attendance be higher? Will the locals come out to downtown/SoCo (or whatever their usual haunts are)? Will COTA get their METF money from the event this year? What happens if they don't?

[hookem]

And then there is this:

Austin date remains unchanged on 2013 Formula One calendar

Personally, I think they were safe in keeping the date where it is. They must have been following the current Longhorn season, and came to the conclusion there is not much danger of competition

[turn1]

COTA cancels all 2013 track rentals...

http://jalopnik.com/5970719/austins-circ...e=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Austin’s Circuit Of The Americas Cancels Track Days, Screws Over Racing Fans Everywhere
Patrick George
If you were fortunate enough to go to the inaugural U.S. Grand Prix at Austin's Circuit of the Americas last month, you may have started counting the days until you got a chance to drive on it too. After all, the track opened to rave reviews from both fans and Formula One drivers.

That's not going to happen now. Apparently, officials at the circuit have canceled all rentals, club races, driver's education events and other track days for 2013.

Jalopnik was forwarded this email from Rick Schwalenberg, owner of The Driver's Edge, an HPDE school based out of Texas:

Dear Drivers Edge Drivers,

I just recieved a phone call from CoTA's Manager of Track Operations, it wasn't the one I wanted to get.

In short CoTA's executives have decided to cancel all "YES ALL" track rentals. They have decided NOT to rent the track, they plan to go in a diffrent direction.

The worst part is, our tipster says Schwalenberg paid in full and signed a contract for the event, which is supposed to happen in less than 20 days. On their Facebook page, The Driver's Edge said "We really don't know exactly what was behind the decision, but we were told they are canceling all rentals other than major races."

Similarly, MVP Track Time of Missouri had a track day set for Feb. 1-3. Participants received this notice last night:

Good Evening:

As many of you have heard or read, Circuit of The Americas has informed MVP Track Time, and other organizations, the track event we contracted for February 1-3, 2013 is not being honored.* This was a complete shock as we've already paid the entire rental fee (and yes the check was cashed by COTA) for February 1-3, 2013.*

I do not want add fuel to the fire until we have all the facts and have taken every possible action to secure the COTA date we have already paid (in full) for.* As soon as we have all the facts, I will send an e-mail to all attendees.

Thank you for your patience while we quickly work through this.

Circuit of the Americas' Facebook page is already brimming with angry comments from enthusiasts who feel like they've been screwed over.

Earlier this morning I sent an email to the circuit's media people, asking to confirm if this is true and if so, why it's happening. I have not heard back yet but I'll update this post if I do.

Hat tip to David!

[JoninATX]

Disappointed to say the least, hopefully they can work something out between now and next year so we can have at least a couple races. I was preparing to by tickets for the Grand AM race in January, but it looks like I won't be able to.