[Cloud9...68]

I almost fell out of my chair when a co-worked forwarded an email stating that our humble little town of Austin, Texas, has snared the US Formula 1 Grand Prix for the 2012 - 2021 seasons! In my reply to his email, I told him I need to double-check my calendar to confirm it isn't actually April 1! Here's the complete press release:

F1 in Austin

(I hope I did that right).

I find this pretty amazing, as Austin isn't exactly much of a car kind of town. It's more of a grannola-and-live-music kind of place, and is politically on much the same wavelength as San Francisco and Boulder, CO, which makes me wonder if one of the contract stipulations was that the cars need to be converted to solar power for the race...

Anyway, this is pretty exiting news. I haven't followed F1 much the last few years, so I need to get up to speed (so to speak...), but I definitely plan to go. I'm hoping a good-sized contingent of 968 forum folks will converge on Austin for the first race in 2012. My only request is that someone, anyone, bring their car. My 968 is pretty lonely out here, and I'm dying to see how mine sounds, runs, looks, etc., compared to another one.

Hmmm.... It doesn't look like my link worked. Here's another try:

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2...10824.html

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[PorscheDude]

Wow!
No disrespect, but Austin of all places??
Very interesting, perhaps you'll see me there.

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[Cloud9...68]

"No disrespect, but Austin of all places??"

None taken! I had exactly the same reaction. But I have to say, for the moment, I'm in the "I'll believe it when I see it" camp.

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[tom968]

Great news. And on a purpose built track, not
a cheap street circuit.

The costs are staggering. I don't know if it makes sense
given the level of interest of F1 in the U.S.A.

Indy was a great location, a historic track, but the infield
section was'nt so great.

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[Cloud9...68]

Yeah, I'm more than a little skeptical that this is going to happen. Seeing the disaster the F1 races were in Phoenix while I lived there, I can tell you the interest level in F1 in the US doesn't seem adequate to justify the ginormous expense of building this type of facility. We'll see how it unfolds...

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[rxter]

Perhaps if we have a circuit that can stay in the series for 10 years we'll see more interest in F1. And we need an American team and American drivers - that will help big time. Maybe Danica is ready....

Peter Windsor tried this year but could not pull off the sponsorship. A race in the US would likely be combined with the Canadian races (only 1 this year???) which means mid June. I loved the Austin PR in the article - average 67 degrees. Been there in mid June? At least the tires won't be cold.

And then there is the circuit. The newest circuits are a site to behold. Check out Abu-Dahbi or Singapore - stunning. I'd find a way to get to Austin to see this if it really comes. And I'll drive Cloud - we can 968 tail gate race in the parking lot. F1 Texas style.

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[Cloud9...68]

Sounds like a plan! 67 degrees? Yeah, for a year-round average, that sounds about right. Kind of like knowing the average depth of the river you're about to cross is 3 feet [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] . Honestly, the summertime temperatures here aren't a lot hotter than many other places in the country. The real killer is the humidity. Not as bad as Houston, I suppose, but it can get very sticky in July through September. It would be nice if they could have the race early in the season, maybe right after the swing through South America (if I'm remembering the general scheule correctly).

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[ds968]

they already sold out the VIP tickets at $ 1,500 to $ 2,500 each, there are only about 20,000 grand stand tickets ( in the $ 500 range ) left which will go on sale next month, after which the rest are all general admission, going on sale in August ( GA are the the " good-luck-finding-your-place-on-the-grass" kind..) so the demand seems to be as high as any other track on the circuit. I have my flights and hotel booked, and put down a deposit to be on the preferred waitlist for one of the grand stand tickets. But talk about the most interesting F 1 season start in maybe a decade ! It's anybody's game.



p.s Oh please, Danica ..driving Indy and Nascar in a perpetual left hand turns oval... Could not handle a Honda Accord going to the grocery store, she'd be completely lost in a Formula car..100 ft from the starting line she'll ram that thing into a wall and take out another five cars in the process.

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[Cloud9...68]

I've heard there are a few promising young American drivers, though. But everything depends on what kind of team you get on. A tough road, for sure.

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[Chris Vais]

Wasn't yesterdays Spanish Grand Prix great? The pre-race show on Speed had some pictures of the new track.

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[rxter]

I just got the email from the Austin track asking about ticket prices preferences. Looks like the range will be $150 to $600.



And I bet Danica could get off the line quicker than Webber. What is the deal with his starts?

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[ds968]

The $ 150 would be the general admission ones, the Grand Stands prices vary somewhat but the main GS, the Turn 1 GS, and one more which I can' recall at the moment will all be be in the $ 500-$ 600 range. The less expensive GS reserved tickets will likley be those where the vantage points are not the greatest, but still ok I presume..



Yeah, crazy things going on all around - Williams team wins and then moments later a huge fire engulfs their pit.. Webber can't seem to take off right if his life depended on it, and Mclaren must have cut off some gypsy caravan on the road to the track because they are definitely cursed !

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[robadams56]

Received the same email and survey. I am planning to attend if I can get the tickets and would like to get together!

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[greg968CAB]

I cannot wait for this race. Right now as we speak I am having a good friend and world class mechanic rebuild the front brakes and the steering consumables/replaceables on the front end. Once that is done its A/C repair time and then I move on to a repaint since the clear coat is delaminating and making an otherwise beautiful car look like a cheap 1980"s paint job. Assuming all that gets done- its road trip time to Austin even if all I can afford to do when I get there is sleep in my car and get the cheapest GS ticket.

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[rxter]

Sounds like an epic road trip greg - go for it.

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[zama]

Guys enjoy the first GP, sorry to say I have a bad feeling about this event. US Car fans need to get behind it (as in 100,000+ to the first one), Bernie is ruthless, and tracks are so expensive, many recent tracks have proved a disaster just ask Turkey / the new Nurburgring etc We funded via our government a new racetrack in Sydney about 12 years back to host world class events, it hosted a few Moto GP's then nothing, it is now used and supported by our local motor racing clubs but owes the taxpayers hundreds of millions, and really is on the end of dying peeling paint and no investment, the drag track behind it by contrast is self funding. I hope Austin works particularly with Bernie able to run a GP with the New York skyline in the background. He is quick to move on and demands his pound of flesh, there is argument he will take our GP of us at some point. I have enjoyed it locally for 20 years but if it needs to go to a country willing to lose tens of millions so be it.

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[zama]

Funny have just bought today the local version of EVO from the UK, it always runs a few months late and has Tiff Nedal making his bold tips for 2012, surprising how far out they are, he did not tip Lotus to be as competitive as they are and best of all but writes the obituary for Williams, turns out he was wrong!!!!!!! We would all love to see them bounce back get some sponsors and rise back to the top. It really is a great year, it will never be Nascar with leaders changing every lap, but for small teams (Lotus / Sauber / Williams) punching it out with the big guns is terrific.

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[ds968]

They need to add Las Vegas to the circuit if they want to attract huge crowds in the US.

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[ds968]

Just bought my tickets - grand stand at turn 12, and they're 29 rows up ( which is what I like ) because that should give a very decent vantage point over much of the course .. FYI, Turn 1 GS , the Main GS and Turn 15 GS tickets are only available at $ 2,500 each. OUCH ! Mine cost $ 500 each .

Hotel is booked, flights are booked, now tickets.. woooo hooo , all set !

   

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[Cloud9...68]

Dan,



You beat me to it. I was pleasantly surprised that the ticket prices aren't THAT outrageous - general admission, which allows you to mill about the grassy area around the track wherever you want, is only $159 for three days. With the huge chasm my car build has opened in my wallet, general admission is all I'd be able to do, if that, and I'm going to wait to see how the finances look later in the year before deciding, and it may all be sold out at that point. But it would be fun for any forum members to get together for drinks in any event.

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