Most liked posts in thread: F1 Coming to .... TX!!

From Austin chosen to host Grand Prix in 2012 - Austin Business Journal

More questions than answers remain after an announcement Tuesday that organizers of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix plan to hold their race in Austin from 2012 to 2021.

Formula One World Championship Ltd. and Formula One Administration Ltd. made the announcement Tuesday with its Austin-based promoter Full Throttle Productions LP.

Promoters, who want to build a track specifically for the race for the first time in its history, did not specify a location and offered few other details. A Formula 1-style race track in India cost more than $300 million, according to reports.

Meanwhile, city of Austin and Austin Chamber of Commerce officials were unfamiliar with race organizers’ plans and do not appear to have been deeply involved in the deal, according to city and chamber sources. Although Mayor Lee Leffingwell was cited in the news release on the Formula 1 website, a staffer said the mayor was not informed prior to the announcement.

Various Texas state government officials appear to have been the main local driver, according to published reports and interviews.

Little is in the public domain about Full Throttle Productions. Company officials could not be reached.

The suddenness and lack of details or public relations support surrounding the announcement is perplexing to Richard Galganov, a Dallas businessman who has spent years in the racing industry.

Formula One races involve a small army of support staff, with a full logistics operation, Galganov said, adding that 600 or more people are required to support 24 drivers, along with mechanics, promotional, safety and hospitality workers.

In 2007, the last time the race was held in the U.S., ESPN reported that 100,000 to 200,000 people attended the race each year while it was held in Indianapolis from 2000 to 2007.

Other U.S. host cities include Watkins Glen, N.Y.; Long Beach, Calif.; Las Vegas; Detroit; Dallas; and Phoenix.

“This is a case of the right timing in the right place. As many Americans know, Austin has earned a reputation as one of the ‘it’ cities in the United States. Austin features that rare combination of ideal geographic location and beauty,” Full Throttle Managing Partner Tavo Hellmund said in the news release.

 

Me Going for my fourth time in 4 years. Main straight away, behind pit row, few hundred yards from the start/finish line, can't wait. Makes for a long day, drive 500 miles round trip, and watch 500 miles of racing:lol:.

Mark

 

FYI here's a note that I received yesterday from a racing person I know with some background on one of the founders of "Full Throttle Productions". This is probably at least third-hand, so take it for what it's worth....

I still haven't heard/seen anything to indicate where the $$ are coming from...


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Tavo is a good friend of mine, fraternity brother and runnin’ buddy in college. He has always been a racing fanatic. He grew up in Mexico City while his father (Gustavo) worked with CART and F1. There he raced and won go-carts. He was and still is an extremely talented driver.



After graduating from college he moved to England and raced Formula 3. He learned quickly that there are scores of talented drivers and only a few are fortunate enough to afford a full season of racing... getting sponsors is largely based on politics and who you know. After 3 years or so, he moved saw the NASCAR boom in the United States (happened on the heels of the INDY/CART division). He moved back and sporadically raced in the Winston West Series. The Central Texas Chevy Dealers were one of his main sponsors, along with Suzuki. He assembled a team of mechanics and would pull his car on a flatbed trailer to the venues. All the other teams were decked out in fancy uniforms and had the big rigs and technology. Tavo routinely placed 1,2 or 3. Unfortunately, I think the money ran out and Tavo moved back to Austin and started a “Safe and Sober” presentation that he gave to area schools. He also created “Full Throttle Productions” (I think I drafted the Agreement for him) and he coordinated a couple NASCAR races at the bullring in Kyle.



He told me a year ago that he was working on something big and that he was working with the governor’s office in bringing big-time racing to Texas. He did it.

 

Promoter: Austin Formula One track 'has long been in the works' Read more: http://ww

From Autoweek
By Adam Cooper

Veteran Formula One circuit designer Herrman Tilke will be responsible for the Austin F1 track, promoter Tavo Hellmund said on Wednesday night.

Hellmund also said the project is much further along than has been assumed.

“This has been long in the works,†he told AutoWeek. “Everything is in place.â€

Although the former racer told local media on Tuesday that three possible venues were still under consideration, that suggestion apparently was a smokescreen.

While several alternatives were under consideration, Hellmund said one site was settled on some time ago and the land--more than 800 acres--has been purchased. Additionally, initial permissions for amenities such as water and waste, which are usually time-consuming affairs, have been granted.

Although Hellmund has yet to divulge details, he said that the site is to the east of Austin, a few miles from the airport, apparently in hilly countryside that has provided Tilke with a good starting point for a design.

The German architect is charged with creating a fast circuit with challenging corners that resemble those of classic, established tracks such as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

Tilke first sent a representative of his company to Austin about two years ago and allegedly has made many personal visits since. He is looking for office space in the city from which to base the project.

Hellmund was adamant that Austin is an ideal location.

“Other than New York or L.A., which already have 10 million people, where are you going to find a place that within a 150-mile radius you have three of the top-10 largest markets in the United States? That is the wonderful thing. Our position between Canada and the United States, North, South and Central America, is unbelievable.

“You take that into account, you take into account the draw that Austin is--it's the state capital, it's in the hill country, it's got a huge, huge vibe and tag of being the coolest place.â€

As reported previously, the race is set to benefit from the Texas Major Events Trust Fund, which is intended to reimburse cities for costs they face when hosting big sporting events.

However, that relates only to specific events and does not have an impact on the cost of building the facility, budgeted at $200 million. The track project is financed by unknown private investors, Hellmund said.

One of the key elements that helped generate funding is that, aside from F1, the circuit will be used to help develop alternative fuels.

Hellmund said he has known F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone since he was a teenager. His father was involved in promoting Indy-car and Trans-Am races in Mexico City and also helped to bring F1 back to the country in 1988. Hellmund's father also was involved in the 1986 World Cup of soccer and in organizing music events.

Read more: Promoter: Austin Formula One track 'has long been in the works'

 

are any of them on the pole? :devil:

 

Not this year, but it would not surprise me if one or three of them aren't someday in the future.

Danica's been close before, DeSilvestre is fast, and Anna Beatrice is the fastest of all the rookies this year. It all bodes well, IMHO.

The only one I don't understand is Milky Don't Know, she may be good looking and a pretty good sports car driver, but she's always pretty much dead last and way off the pace so far in every race I've seen her run in IRL.

 

F1: Schumacher Excited By US GP Return
Michael Schumacher enjoys visiting the United States...
Adam Cooper | NASCAR News, F1 News, and Racing News on SPEED - SPEEDtv.com | Posted May 27, 2010 Istanbul (TUR)

Michael Schumacher says he’s happy to see the US GP return to the calendar in 2012, which will be the third year of his current contract with Mercedes.

Schumacher has long felt an affinity with the USA and used to go on motorcycle tours either side of the Indianapolis trip.

“Certainly, it’s one of the beautiful places around the world to go to and enjoy some good times, lots of great opportunities,” he said in Istanbul on Thursday. “For me, naturally, I love to go and race there as it allows me to spend some days before the race to hang out there and enjoy it. But more important for most of the manufacturers that are involved in Formula One, America is a very important market.

“If you think of how many countries like Brazil, Argentina, all those countries in South America, how many we had of those guys at Indy, then we should have even more, because logistically it’s easier to go to Texas than all the way up to Indy. Hopefully, that’s the case because one of the points that we have been missing is the sort of excitement that Formula One can create and can give to the fans that are in America.

“Yeah, it has not fully arrived, but quite honestly you cannot expect those things to happen overnight. You have to give it continuation, and this continuation hasn’t happened for a long enough time, plus maybe we haven’t yet got a known or successful American driver in our group that would be quite helpful for this. But certainly from our point of view, we are very happy to go there.”

Meanwhile, Schumacher says he expects his team’s form to improve...

 

That is great
I will be there in 2012!!!

 

Ditto, a trip to Texas is in my future!!

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

I am there too in 2012! I drove from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis for those GPs, I'll fly to Austin for the next series of F1 no problem. I'll hope to reunite with my Metroplexmini folks also.

Graham
Co-founder and 2nd President MetroplexMINI.org

 

That's the first thing that struck me too. Austin's traffic infrastructure is the absolute worst of any city I have ever experienced. I used to live there and there is no such thing as a short cut. I'm convinced that whoever designed Austin's roadways was an Aggie getting their ultimate revenge.:arf:

 

Bernie Speaks!

This week's announcement that a United States Grand Prix will be run in Austin, Texas, in 2012 came as a huge surprise, even to the sport's insiders. But race promoter Tavo Hellmund has been dealing with Bernie Ecclestone for more than two years while trying to put the deal together.

Hellmund is adamant that the funding is in place to build the track. It is now known that the state government will provide $25 million per year to help with the expenses of running the event.

In Turkey on Thursday, AutoWeek spoke with Ecclestone about plans for the Austin race. While he wasn't giving too much away, what he did say was, as ever, fascinating:

Is it fair to say that Tavo's dad brought F1 back to Mexico in 1988?

I think together, we did, yes!

And you've been friends ever since?

Yes, we've kept in touch. And with Tavo, I've known him since he was born.

Did the Austin idea come up straight away after F1 finished with Indianapolis?

No, but we've been talking about it for a long time.

What was it that convinced you to go there?

Well, it's a good place. Texas is a great place, it's something that suits us.

But Dallas didn't work in 1984.

No, but it would have been nice. Dallas was good.

Had you been to Austin before this came up?

No, I only went there because of this.

What were your impressions?

Good; it's a nice place. It's got all the features that we want.

What is it about Tavo that convinces you that he can get the job done?

Well, I trust him.

But it was a difficult job, even for Tony George.

Yeah, but he's got a different way of looking at things. He knows about F1.

What's the biggest hurdle he's going to face?

I think he's going to face hundreds of them. He'll have to jump over them all as he gets there! Building the circuit, for a start, is not going to be easy. But we'll get it done, no fear. He's got a lot of help from the government.

In that sense, he's got a head start compared with Tony George?

Tony was unfortunate. It was the right and the wrong place. Right place for the type of racing they have, the wrong place for us.

I mean, as far we know, he never got any government help, did he?

No, not at all. I think everybody thought that Tony didn't need any help.

Even in Texas, finding $200 million to build a circuit isn't easy.

He's done it, otherwise he wouldn't embark on it.

And a permanent track is the way to go?

This sort of facility [Istanbul]. It's going to look good.

It's a better bet that a street race?

Yes, sure, I think we've got enough street races now.

Is it fair to say that street races like Phoenix were not the best way for the American public to see F1?

I don't know what the American public want to see in motorsport. I think they've seen too much oval racing, so I hope we can wean them off that!

Do you think he can get a crowd?

Yes, sure. Dallas was good, it was full up.

In somewhere like Las Vegas, you were always going to get people coming from all over the world. Austin's not really got the same appeal.

The difference is that Austin will have a track, and Vegas didn't have one.

Read more: I trust Hellmund for Formula One in Austin, Ecclestone says

 

Can't really argue with that.

 

From Thursdays Drivers Press Conference (only relevant parts included here)

Dan Knutson, National Speed Sport News: To all of you: Bernie Ecclestone has announced that there will be a US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. I'm looking at your T-shirts and caps and I see names like Mercedes Benz, Red Bull, AT&T. How important is it for your teams' sponsors to have a race in the US?

WEBBER: It's a huge market, we know that. A lot of people live in North America and they're very passionate about their sport. There's naturally a lot of people involved in our business that do business in North America. If it's of benefit for all of us to go there and hold a Grand Prix under their noses and for them to embrace Formula One racing as best they can – because obviously it's a different kind of sport for them, let's say – so we've seen in the past that it has worked OK at Indy, and it can be exciting in Texas, so let's see how it goes. For Red Bull, we sell a lot of cans over there and it will be good if we can sell some more.

SCHUMACHER: Certainly, it's one of the beautiful places around the world to go to and enjoy some good times, lots of great opportunities. For me, naturally, I love to go and race there as it allows me to spend some days before the race to hang out there and enjoy it. But more important for most of the manufacturers that are involved in Formula One, America is a very important market. If you think of how many countries like Brazil, Argentina, all those countries in South America, how many we had of those guys at Indy, then we should have even more, because logistically it's easier to go to Texas than all the way up to Indy. Hopefully, that's the case because one of the points that we have been missing is the sort of excitement that Formula One can create and can give to the fans that are in America. Yeah, it has not fully arrived, but quite honestly you cannot expect those things to happen overnight. You have to give it continuation, and this continuation hasn't happened for a long enough time, plus maybe we haven't yet got a known or successful American driver in our group that would be quite helpful for this. But certainly from our point of view we are very happy to go there.

CHANDHOK: It's more of the same, really. I think America is a more developed market than say India. It's a similar thing, they are huge markets with untapped potential as far as Formula One and its partners are concerned. I think that to have a dedicated venue is a new thing. I guess Watkins Glen, so Bernie was saying, was the last time we had one. Maybe that's what it needs, a dedicated Formula One site. I'm very excited to go there. My mum's from San Antonio and my grandparents still live in Texas, so I'd love to go there and have a race.

BARRICHELLO: On a personal side I love America as a whole. I've also spent a lot of time there with the family, so it's really good to be going to that side. From the manufacturers' point of view, it's just a great opportunity that's back again and we should never have stopped racing there. Even though the fans don't know Formula One, they are aware and they obviously know more of NASCAR and Indycar but it's a great opportunity for us to show our show and get together.

TRULLI: I like going to the US, I think it's a good market and I also think that the Formula One circus is a worldwide business, so why not? We would be more than welcome to go there.

Read more: F1 drivers talk about Monaco, racing in the United States

 

Street races like Phoenix suck for the crowd. I worked that race and unless you were a corner worker, you really couldn't see much. Between the barriers and the chain link fence, the "insurance" was so thick between you and the track you could barely tell what color the cars were.

The ticket prices were ridiculously high for general admission and if you wanted to sit, it got even sillier.

It was an awesome race from the worker/driver standpoint, but I do not think the crowd was getting their money's worth.

 

Organisers of a United States Grand Prix risk penalties if the race does not go ahead in 2012.

That is the warning of F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, who more than a month ago announced a 10-year contract for a race in Austin, Texas. The contract, with promoter Tavo Hellmund's company, involves the construction of a purpose-built circuit.

But given a lack of details so far, and the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway's failure to make the US GP a success, some pundits are sceptical about Austin's bid. For example, the source of the bulk of the funding is a mystery, with Ecclestone revealing nothing more than that the backers are from the US.

It has also been suggested that 2012 is an overly optimistic race debut date, but Briton Ecclestone insists it will take place then.

"That's what the contract says," he said. "It might turn out to be expensive for Tavo. We've got some penalty clauses, although I wouldn't want to use them."

Ecclestone said he is confident Hellmund's project will succeed.

"Until he doesn't [succeed], we won't know," Ecclestone added. "You might say I couldn't run the 100 metres in seven seconds, but until I try, you don't know."