Formula One Comes to Austin, TX with Decade Commitment

[Gregg(What's his name)?]

Talking is one thing. But getting dirt moved, concrete poured for the special garages and a 3mile road course is once thing. They couldnt move the course out west of the city. No major roads and no airport. Lets hope they can get a move on it, but I think the overhaul that INDY did for the F1 race took longer than 2 years. Plus they had the Brickyard and the 500 to worry about.

[elmariachi]

Buzz up here on the hill by the lake is that the property is on the 130 corridor, and private funding and a commitment from the Major Event Trust Fund is already in place. The notion of it being built near Bastrop might explain why the Austin mayor's office (and that knuckleheaded boycotting mayor) didn't know about the deal. But there they go again building it out in the country.

[Trevor Legate]

I'll only believe this when the trucks roll into the paddock. Might be in Austin, might be someplace else (witness the chess game played between Silverstone and Donigton in the UK - the result was the closure of Donington with over $2million of damage done to the track and its infrastructure. Guess who didn't pick up that bill! And as for the 17-year Donington 'contract'....)

And find another track designer - fast! I'll draw something nice for under $1mill (it'll be better than what you're gonna get)

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

While I'd love to see F1 return to the US, I don't trust Bernie to honor any contract he'd sign. It seems anyone doing business with Bernie gets the short end of the stick.

[lovehamr]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

Comparing TWS to a new F1 track in Austin is not even close to a fair comparison. TWS was built long before NASCAR had any television money to subsidize the losing proposition of a super speedway in the middle of nowhere. Arguably, South Central Texas was not then "NASCAR country" in the way that Talladega or Darlington is/was. The median income in College Station in the 70's was probably $10k/yr. Its $200k/yr now in Austin. There is ONE road running past TWS and until recently it wasn't even four lanes. The closest major airport to TWS is 90 miles away. The list goes on. I am not bashing CS or TWS, but let's face it, F1 is an elitist sport for the uber-wealthy. Based on Austin's appetite for Lambos, Ferraris, Gulfstreams and $5M homes, I'd say the chances of success are far greater today than a speedway on the prairie was in 1975.

Just my 2 cents....

Does TWS still have the huge bump over the infield tunnel? That puppy got my attention while deep in triple digits on more than one occasion.

Steve

[whichonetodrive]

I agree about I-35 traffic problems and not to sure about the austin airport size, but one thing I can tell you after flying to germany, driving for hours and parking 1 to 2 miles walking distance from the Nurburgring is, F1 doesnt worry about people not showing up. Samething last year when I went to WRC race in spain, you drive for hours out the middle of nowhere to walk up a mountain just to see 2 turns and it was standing room only. But for a F1 track here in texas and/or USA I can walk, just hope its one of the early season races, if they race in the summer heat, dont see them wanting to come back to soon.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by lovehamr

Does TWS still have the huge bump over the infield tunnel? That puppy got my attention while deep in triple digits on more than one occasion. Steve

The Pony Express route was smoother than TWS.

Originally Posted by whichonetodrive

you drive for hours out the middle of nowhere to walk up a mountain just to see 2 turns and it was standing room only. But for a F1 track here in texas and/or USA I can walk, just hope its one of the early season races, if they race in the summer heat, dont see them wanting to come back to soon.

The Euros will crawl across a mile of broken Guinness pint glasses to watch a race or soccer match. Here people moan if they have to walk 50 yards. But you are right, if they try and have a race between June 1 and August 30, its doomed.

[SandyC]

When they had F1 out here in Phoenix for a couple of years the drivers, in their interviews, said it was really different here; they could walk around freely and go to local restuarants and such and no one would bug them because no one knew who they were. Relatively speaking, F1 was pretty much a non-event here.

If Austin wants F1 to be successful there they should look at what Phoenix did -- and do the opposite.

[Gregg(What's his name)?]

Well the tock is ticking. I think we have a better chance of a gay/lesbian spec prius race through the streets of Austin then the F1 race in 2012.

[Trevor Legate]

Just don't forget this is Formula One we're talking about, and the type of 'people' who run the corporate entity (in order purely to line their own pockets). Some businesses are run by responsible and trustworthy people, so in this case there's nothing to get excited about - not by a loooooong way. (much can be gained from reading the relevant posts on www.pitpass.com)

[lovehamr]

Originally Posted by Gregg(What's his name)?

I think we have a better chance of a gay/lesbian spec prius race through the streets of Austin then the F1 race in 2012.

Well, it IS Austin, that's prolly not that far fetched.

[elmariachi]

Billy Joe and his bankroll to the rescue:

http://www.statesman.com/sports/form...or-826878.html