Formula One returns!! (update track layout pics)
05-26-10, 09:03 AM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
A lot of people do not share your opinion. That is obvious from NASCAR ticket sales, though the bad economy, of course, has a lot of people cutting back on purchases.
Depends on what you mean by "better". Super-speedways, despite being simple banked-ovals, can be VERY difficult to drive....the old stereotype of the chimp driving around them doing endless-left turns is grossly inaccurate. You often have 40 or 50 cars out on the track at once, approaching 200 MPH (it would be even faster without the carburator-restricton-plates), bunched up on turns and going 3 and 4-abreast, all getting blown around by each other's drafts, and one tiny error or incident can cause an 20-car pileup. If you think THAT is easy..........well, it isn't.
I agree...it's worth a shot. But I'm not holding my breath on its success.
It's time to prove a point that there IS something better (than just racing around and around in one giant oval.
)
)
Hurray for F1 returning to United States of America (and I think F1 is also coming back to Canada as well?)
05-26-10, 09:26 AM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
Houston, on the other hand, is like neighboring Louisiana.....a sauna bath in summer.
05-26-10, 05:15 PM
#19
Lexus Champion
05-26-10, 05:21 PM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
I've been to Dallas and Houstin, I was amazed how quickly and drastically the weather can change from one day to the next.
05-27-10, 05:08 PM
#23
Advanced
I haven't posted in awhile, but this is good news!!! I can't wait, our summers can be very hot, and unpredictable in the spring. I just wonder where they will build the track.
05-28-10, 06:08 AM
#25
Out of Warranty
I lived and went to school in Austin for years, and later kept a boat on Lake Travis - meaning I spent a lot of weekends in or near the city. I always loved the place, from a sleepy college town in the early '60's to today's "Silicon Gulch". Most people familiar with both places view Austin as a cultural outpost of Southern California. The popular vibe is laid-back, suburban, high-tech, young, and liberal - in contrast with some of the surrounding counties.
It's Mediterranean climate, and poor soil makes it ideal for vineyards, and with the large, native German/Czech cultural influence and spring waters, it has had a long reputation for fine beer and a rapidly growing wine industry. It is a relatively wealthy city, although not as picturesque or culturally deep as San Antonio, a 90 - minute drive south, it has a certain charm of its own. Maybe a little too pseudo-sophisticated, but well-meaning. Sort of LA vs. San Diego.
A purpose-built F1 track will need to attract other races to be a success, but there has always been an active sports car community in Austin, and it could become the focus for SCCA and other events. Back in the early '60's there was a popular annual hillclimb event at Mansfield Dam that brought out weekend hotshoes from all over the state, and later, Austin Raceway Park sported Texas' first road course - both of which venues saw a younger version of myself at the helm of a Healey, TR, Sunbeam, or once, an early 289 Cobra, chasing the piquant scent of flambéed Castrol and fresh-ground Michelin toward the finish.
The annual Aqua Festival, held in early August, brought out the racers, first to a round-the-houses course around the Civic Center, and later at ARP. Crowds were large and knowledgeable, but the flat venue of the old Civic Center made the Governor's cup a contest that was more akin to a drag race with a hairpin at either end. The sweltering summer heat on the pavement made the pits seem like the seventh circle of hell, but the fans showed up in droves anyway just to see one of the two sports car events on road courses in Texas (Grapevine, near Dallas had the other). Galveston had a well-attended event out at Scholes Field, the local airport and WW2 Bomber training base, but it required drivers to have a sharp eye for orange cones and a backside tolerant of free-standing tar seams.
NASCAR never had a permanent venue in Texas until just a few years ago when Texas Motor Speedway came to Dallas. But the state has been the home to more of a Midwest Modified kind of racing at dozens of local quarter-mile bullrings. F1 should find a nice home here in the beautiful Texas hill country.
It's Mediterranean climate, and poor soil makes it ideal for vineyards, and with the large, native German/Czech cultural influence and spring waters, it has had a long reputation for fine beer and a rapidly growing wine industry. It is a relatively wealthy city, although not as picturesque or culturally deep as San Antonio, a 90 - minute drive south, it has a certain charm of its own. Maybe a little too pseudo-sophisticated, but well-meaning. Sort of LA vs. San Diego.
A purpose-built F1 track will need to attract other races to be a success, but there has always been an active sports car community in Austin, and it could become the focus for SCCA and other events. Back in the early '60's there was a popular annual hillclimb event at Mansfield Dam that brought out weekend hotshoes from all over the state, and later, Austin Raceway Park sported Texas' first road course - both of which venues saw a younger version of myself at the helm of a Healey, TR, Sunbeam, or once, an early 289 Cobra, chasing the piquant scent of flambéed Castrol and fresh-ground Michelin toward the finish.
The annual Aqua Festival, held in early August, brought out the racers, first to a round-the-houses course around the Civic Center, and later at ARP. Crowds were large and knowledgeable, but the flat venue of the old Civic Center made the Governor's cup a contest that was more akin to a drag race with a hairpin at either end. The sweltering summer heat on the pavement made the pits seem like the seventh circle of hell, but the fans showed up in droves anyway just to see one of the two sports car events on road courses in Texas (Grapevine, near Dallas had the other). Galveston had a well-attended event out at Scholes Field, the local airport and WW2 Bomber training base, but it required drivers to have a sharp eye for orange cones and a backside tolerant of free-standing tar seams.
NASCAR never had a permanent venue in Texas until just a few years ago when Texas Motor Speedway came to Dallas. But the state has been the home to more of a Midwest Modified kind of racing at dozens of local quarter-mile bullrings. F1 should find a nice home here in the beautiful Texas hill country.
05-28-10, 06:52 AM
#26
Guest
Posts: n/a
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/28/e...ot-of-hurdles/
ESPN Columnist: U.S. Grand Prix in Austin has a lot of hurdles
by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on May 28th, 2010 at 9:29AM
There has been no shortage of entrepreneurs over the last couple of decades hoping to play host to a Formula One race. But as many of them have discovered, hopping into bed with Bernie Ecclestone is a surefire way to prove Roger Penske's motorsports maxim: "The quickest way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with large fortune."
Tavo Hellmund and his team at Full Throttle Productions have some mighty big dreams for a new dedicated F1 race track in Austin, Texas. So far, however, they don't seem to have land, financing or much of anything else. The owners of the Donington Park track in England already had a track and more time to get ready to host the British Grand Prix and they still failed.
According to ESPN columnist Terry Blount, the $200-300 million estimate for the track seems very low compared to the $250 million spent on Texas Motor Speedway – a facility that was built 15 years ago. The odds of a brand-new track being ready for a race in Austin by 2012 seem pretty slim unless the cash starts flowing and the bulldozers start moving the dirt very soon. Now, a street course, on the other hand...
by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on May 28th, 2010 at 9:29AM
There has been no shortage of entrepreneurs over the last couple of decades hoping to play host to a Formula One race. But as many of them have discovered, hopping into bed with Bernie Ecclestone is a surefire way to prove Roger Penske's motorsports maxim: "The quickest way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with large fortune."
Tavo Hellmund and his team at Full Throttle Productions have some mighty big dreams for a new dedicated F1 race track in Austin, Texas. So far, however, they don't seem to have land, financing or much of anything else. The owners of the Donington Park track in England already had a track and more time to get ready to host the British Grand Prix and they still failed.
According to ESPN columnist Terry Blount, the $200-300 million estimate for the track seems very low compared to the $250 million spent on Texas Motor Speedway – a facility that was built 15 years ago. The odds of a brand-new track being ready for a race in Austin by 2012 seem pretty slim unless the cash starts flowing and the bulldozers start moving the dirt very soon. Now, a street course, on the other hand...
05-28-10, 06:56 AM
#27
Lexus Champion
05-28-10, 07:18 AM
#28
Guest
Posts: n/a
http://jalopnik.com/5548584/how-new-...d-by-formula-1
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1Despite New York possessing the demographics, infrastructure, history and desire to support a stateside return, Formula 1 announced this week the next U.S. Grand Prix is headed to Texas. Here's how — and why — New York get screwed.
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1The last American Formula One race was the 2007 F1 U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the location where the series had a turbulent and unsuccessful seven-year stay. Prior to that, the race was held on a number of street courses in cities like Las Vegas and Detroit. The historic home of stateside F1 is Watkins Glen International in upstate New York, where the race was run from 1961 to 1980.
As recently as May 5th, it seemed like F1 was set to return to the New York area. Formula One Management, Ltd. — the company that manages and licenses the sport — announced a track layout for the U.S. Grand Prix in Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City's mayor quickly put the kibosh on those plans after local community groups objected.
But that wasn't the only bright hope for New York. A letter from Ari Straus, president of the Monticello Motor Club, located a couple hours North of the city, was leaked to the press three weeks later. In it, Straus revealed that F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone and chief track designer Hermann Tilke visited Monticello in hopes of using the facility for an upcoming event.
In the letter, Straus detailed how close he was to sealing the deal:
Since receiving a letter of understanding from [Formula One Management] confirming their hope to bring the U.S. Grand Prix to Monticello, Bill and I have continued to secure the backing and support of local, state, and federal politicians and organizations.
Jalopnik had arranged to speak with MMC about their plans for Formula 1 well ahead of Tuesday's Austin announcement.
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1
Straus told us he was as shocked as everyone else about the Austin selection, especially given how much New York had to offer in terms of demographics (large, diverse population center), the infrastructure needed for international travelers (more than one mid-sized airport, trains, public transit) and an existing (or somewhat, in the case of Jersey City) course.
"Formula One, in my opinion, still belongs in New York," he said, adding that he was still happy to see F1 in the United States and honored to have MMC seriously considered for the location.
A source close to the negotiations was also stunned by the announcement, saying that "Bernie has said to everyone who would listen, anytime there was an open mic, that he wanted to be in New York... It's wild. Who in a million years would guess it? [Out of] all the cities in North America, Austin would be 197th on the list."
Meet Tavo Hellmund
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1The mystery man behind the deal to bring the Grand Prix to Austin is Tavo Hellmund, a race-car driver and managing partner of a mostly unknown marketing company called Full Throttle Productions. The Austinite raced in Europe as part of the British Vauxhall and Formula 3 series, including nabbing a third place at Snetterton, England in 1995. He's also old friends of Ecclestone.
A 1995 article in the Austin American Statesman says Hellmund ran out of money in his pursuit to be the first American to win a Formula 3 championship. ''It's frustrating,'' he said. ''You work your rear off putting things together on and off the track, but you still fall short financially.'' He eventually moved to the NASCAR Grand National series and co-founded Full Throttle.
People we spoke with said Tavo was the main driving force behind the move, somehow jumping from producing NASCAR Grand National short-track event to producing an event for the biggest car-racing series in the world, one that involves a purpose-built racing facility that will cost upwards of $250 million. The key to Hellmund's victory over New York appears to be a mixture of yet-unnamed private backers and total acquiescence from all levels of government, something F1 couldn't get in New Jersey. Texas's governor, the state comptroller, and the mayor of Austin were all enthusiastically on board.
"This was driven entirely by Full Throttle Productions and their CEO," says Matt Curtis, a spokesman for Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell. "Tavo had a longstanding relationship with the State of Texas and with the comptroller's office, and then brought the city of Austin into the conversation about six weeks ago."
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1Both Hellmund and his company declined to comment, citing the overwhelming amount of media inquiries, but the former did tell the Statesman that his company spent $1 million just to bid for the U.S. Grand Prix, and that they'd make it happen without state or local funding — although Austin's Matt Curtis says local governments can apply to the Texas Major Events Fund to offset their own costs related to preparing Austin for the race and reports suggest they've been promised up to $25 million a year in support.
He also responded in advance to critics who might say Austin lacks the proper infrastructure or fanbase for the sport. "Austin is more of an F1 crowd than a NASCAR crowd," Hellmund told the Statesman. "The geography, the tech money, the nightlife, the music. It all just fits with what Formula One is all about."
Monticello's Straus still isn't convinced that Formula One made the right choice. "I'll get to see Bernie [this weekend] and I'll congratulate him," he said. "But I'll let him know that he made a mistake, and that Formula One still belongs in New York."
Still, it sounds as though Bernie's likely got 25 million reasons for his decision.
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1Despite New York possessing the demographics, infrastructure, history and desire to support a stateside return, Formula 1 announced this week the next U.S. Grand Prix is headed to Texas. Here's how — and why — New York get screwed.
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1The last American Formula One race was the 2007 F1 U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the location where the series had a turbulent and unsuccessful seven-year stay. Prior to that, the race was held on a number of street courses in cities like Las Vegas and Detroit. The historic home of stateside F1 is Watkins Glen International in upstate New York, where the race was run from 1961 to 1980.
As recently as May 5th, it seemed like F1 was set to return to the New York area. Formula One Management, Ltd. — the company that manages and licenses the sport — announced a track layout for the U.S. Grand Prix in Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City's mayor quickly put the kibosh on those plans after local community groups objected.
But that wasn't the only bright hope for New York. A letter from Ari Straus, president of the Monticello Motor Club, located a couple hours North of the city, was leaked to the press three weeks later. In it, Straus revealed that F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone and chief track designer Hermann Tilke visited Monticello in hopes of using the facility for an upcoming event.
In the letter, Straus detailed how close he was to sealing the deal:
Since receiving a letter of understanding from [Formula One Management] confirming their hope to bring the U.S. Grand Prix to Monticello, Bill and I have continued to secure the backing and support of local, state, and federal politicians and organizations.
Jalopnik had arranged to speak with MMC about their plans for Formula 1 well ahead of Tuesday's Austin announcement.
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1
Straus told us he was as shocked as everyone else about the Austin selection, especially given how much New York had to offer in terms of demographics (large, diverse population center), the infrastructure needed for international travelers (more than one mid-sized airport, trains, public transit) and an existing (or somewhat, in the case of Jersey City) course.
"Formula One, in my opinion, still belongs in New York," he said, adding that he was still happy to see F1 in the United States and honored to have MMC seriously considered for the location.
A source close to the negotiations was also stunned by the announcement, saying that "Bernie has said to everyone who would listen, anytime there was an open mic, that he wanted to be in New York... It's wild. Who in a million years would guess it? [Out of] all the cities in North America, Austin would be 197th on the list."
Meet Tavo Hellmund
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1The mystery man behind the deal to bring the Grand Prix to Austin is Tavo Hellmund, a race-car driver and managing partner of a mostly unknown marketing company called Full Throttle Productions. The Austinite raced in Europe as part of the British Vauxhall and Formula 3 series, including nabbing a third place at Snetterton, England in 1995. He's also old friends of Ecclestone.
A 1995 article in the Austin American Statesman says Hellmund ran out of money in his pursuit to be the first American to win a Formula 3 championship. ''It's frustrating,'' he said. ''You work your rear off putting things together on and off the track, but you still fall short financially.'' He eventually moved to the NASCAR Grand National series and co-founded Full Throttle.
People we spoke with said Tavo was the main driving force behind the move, somehow jumping from producing NASCAR Grand National short-track event to producing an event for the biggest car-racing series in the world, one that involves a purpose-built racing facility that will cost upwards of $250 million. The key to Hellmund's victory over New York appears to be a mixture of yet-unnamed private backers and total acquiescence from all levels of government, something F1 couldn't get in New Jersey. Texas's governor, the state comptroller, and the mayor of Austin were all enthusiastically on board.
"This was driven entirely by Full Throttle Productions and their CEO," says Matt Curtis, a spokesman for Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell. "Tavo had a longstanding relationship with the State of Texas and with the comptroller's office, and then brought the city of Austin into the conversation about six weeks ago."
How New York Got Screwed By Formula 1Both Hellmund and his company declined to comment, citing the overwhelming amount of media inquiries, but the former did tell the Statesman that his company spent $1 million just to bid for the U.S. Grand Prix, and that they'd make it happen without state or local funding — although Austin's Matt Curtis says local governments can apply to the Texas Major Events Fund to offset their own costs related to preparing Austin for the race and reports suggest they've been promised up to $25 million a year in support.
He also responded in advance to critics who might say Austin lacks the proper infrastructure or fanbase for the sport. "Austin is more of an F1 crowd than a NASCAR crowd," Hellmund told the Statesman. "The geography, the tech money, the nightlife, the music. It all just fits with what Formula One is all about."
Monticello's Straus still isn't convinced that Formula One made the right choice. "I'll get to see Bernie [this weekend] and I'll congratulate him," he said. "But I'll let him know that he made a mistake, and that Formula One still belongs in New York."
Still, it sounds as though Bernie's likely got 25 million reasons for his decision.
05-29-10, 10:52 PM
#30
Pole Position
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That was a memorable experience. I'll never forget how this young rookie was passing and outdriving the more experienced pilots and had us all cheering and admiring his brave style of driving. His name...Ayrton Senna...R.I.P.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Dallas_Grand_Prix
If I'm still alive and in good health, I'll be driving to Austin for this race.