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

Austin promises unique F1 circuit

By Jonathan Noble Thursday, July 15th 2010, 16:14 GMT

Formula 1 fans and drivers have been promised that the new United States Grand Prix track in Austin will be one of the most challenging and spectacular in the world.

Tavo Hellmund, the promoter of the Austin event that is scheduled to hold its first race in 2012, has revealed that the circuit will be a break from the norm of modern F1 venues and is set to feature a selection of the very best sequences from other tracks around the world.

"I would say that, hopefully, people will view it as a throwback to some of the older, traditional tracks - although obviously with the added safety features and requirements that the FIA has," Hellmund told AUTOSPORT during a visit to the British Grand Prix.

"It will be a track that the drivers will walk through and think: 'Man, I have to be on my best game today!'"

Hellmund said that final details of the location of the track will be released imminently, and that the actual layout should be made public in the next few weeks. He said he was excited by what he had seen from the plans, being put together by F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke.

"It is going to have a really fast section, which will have some pretty challenging corners," he said. "I am partial to a couple of sections that I've seen at Silverstone, so you could see those turn up too.

"There is also going to be significant elevation – probably more than 100 feet of difference from top to bottom. There will be pretty views, and I think it will be a bit of a departure from the tracks that have been built recently for F1. So, in that regard, I am excited.

"Americans will be proud of it – and it won't be a 'cookie cutter' track. I think people in Texas will be proud of it as well."

Hellmund said one of his priorities was to make sure the drivers liked the venue – because that would help ensure the event became a hit.

"When you really get down to it, the drivers should be your best endorsement," he said. "They are the ones that talk, and everyone wants to hear what they have to say. So I think between access, mobility, location and then obviously the asphalt within both fences, I think we're going to be good."

Hellmund also echoed recent comments from Bernie Ecclestone, who said there were no doubts that the funding for the event was in place.

When asked about the financial situation, Hellmund said: "With all due respect, I think it is interesting – because it is nobody's business what my funding is. I can tell you this – the group we have together is world class.

"Some of them are well known individuals who will probably never appear publicly – which is for a reason because their privacy and anonymity is part of the deal.

"But, I can tell you that Mr. Ecclestone would not have embarked on a deal if he was not pleased with the financial package. And the state of Texas would not have done what they have done without that either.

"And I want to be clear about what Texas have done because there are a lot of misconceptions there. They are not subsidising anything – the state of Texas has basically passed legislation, just like they did for the Superbowl, that allows for the contribution of incremental sales tax revenue that is created by that event. So, some of the liberal media in Texas have been trying to take shots at that, but that [the subsidy claim] is a fabrication.

"We are excited, because it puts Texas on a platform with the great global events – the Olympics, the Superbowl and the World Cup. They would have not been doing it either if they thought it was a bit wishy-washy."

 

Austin Formula One race a done deal, says Texas comptroller


Texas state comptroller Susan Combs has downplayed potential criticism of the planned U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, by insisting that the deal is done.

Combs has committed the state to a $25 million per year payment from the Texas Special Events Fund. The fund is designed to cover expenses related to major events, and that is believed to represent the annual fee paid to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for the right to host the race. The state is not involved in the actual development of the circuit.

Local media have suggested that not all taxpayers will be supportive.

“The legislation is already passed; it's a done deal,” Combs told AutoWeek. “I think they're going to be very excited.”

Combs was at Silverstone last weekend with a group from Texas that included promoter Tavo Hellmund and other key figures in the project. It was her first visit to a Grand Prix, and from a base at Ecclestone's motor home, the Austin delegation met a number of key F1 figures.

“It's very, very exciting,” she said of the event. “It has lots of technology, which I found particularly interesting, and it's a real crowd-pleaser, a real show. We're now more excited. With the incredible impact that this has on England, we hope to have a similar impact on the United States.”

She said she has no doubts about what a race can achieve.

“It's going to put Texas on the international and global map, it's going to put Austin on the international and global map, and it will brand Texas as the home of cars.”

The race was also Hellmund's first visit to F1 since he became a promoter.

“I think there's a lot of excitement,” he said. “People are looking forward to coming to Austin, and it's been great. I was going to try to go to Montreal but had a scheduling conflict.

“I needed to bring some of my partners over, and it just coincided that the comptroller was going to make a visit to a Grand Prix as well just to see the size and the scope and everything, so the timing was perfect.

“There's about 12 people here [with us]. Two or three of them are partners of mine. We've got some of our legal team, and a couple of our communications people. I needed for them to get to know the [Formula One Management] system, see how things are run at a Grand Prix.”

Hellmund insisted that plans are moving ahead.

“We're almost done with the [circuit] design stuff. We've changed a few things based on the site, and the biggest thing is trying to finish the proper plan for the FIA Circuit Commission. I believe that's in September. [F1 track designer Hermann Tilke's] people have been in Austin pretty much nonstop and have met with our architects and our contractors. We're hammer down.”

Read more: Austin Formula One race a done deal, says Texas comptroller

 

ROAD TRIP ! ! !

 

Get on the email list

Formula 1 United States | Austin 2012

 

FANNNNNNNNtastic!

I am SO there!

 

On the email ticket info list!

_Dave_

 

Expect to pay through the nose for the privilege of attending...for the first time in 20 years, the promoter in Montreal is trying in vain to sell seats for next June at this year's prices. The deadline is Saturday and next year's prices are at least $50 more than 2010 prices...first real increase in years.

Would you pay $750 for two seats that your arse won't sit in for another 11 months?

Thanks Bernie!

 

Wonder how long it'll be before ALMS hits the asphalt there...:arf:

 

Done.......and let's hope they aren't way out of line.

 

I figure tickets, lodging and food are going to be stupid expensive.

 

But I heard you were offering to put us all up..........

 

Sure, you can stay here. It's only like a 4 hour drive to Austin where the race will be. Add the traffic and leave on Sat to arrive hopefully on time for Sunday.

 

U.S. Grand Prix investor Red McCombs says that bringing Formula One to Austin in 2012 could be compared with the city hosting the Super Bowl.

McCombs Partners, owned by the Texan business and sporting legend, was confirmed on Tuesday as the main investor behind the project, which is led by Tavo Hellmund. McCombs is closely associated with basketball and has owned three major-league sports teams, although he admits he had no previous interest in F1.

“Bringing Formula One back to the United States represents the opportunity of a lifetime and one that any city in the world would want,” McCombs said in a statement. “The size and scope of an F1 event is comparable to hosting a Super Bowl and will bring substantial economic benefit to Austin, San Antonio and the entire state of Texas.

“We know Tavo has a clear vision for developing Formula One into a major event with year-round opportunities. Over the past few years, he has built a solid business foundation and has assembled a great team, one we are proud to be part of. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and work alongside Tavo to make this project a huge success.”
Tavo Hellmund

Tavo Hellmund is shown at the wheel of a racer sponsored by a Red McCombs dealership in 1989.

Hellmund added: “This project has been a tremendous undertaking. But for at least the next decade, Texas will host a global sporting event on an annual basis in a new world-class multipurpose facility. Knowing that our hard work is being rewarded and that my dream is becoming a reality is extremely gratifying. It is a great honor to have Red McCombs and McCombs Partners as our primary investor and partner. Red's success in business and the professional-sports arena is legendary. Working together as a team and under Red's direction, we will ensure that this project will make all Texans very proud and will benefit our great state.”

Also involved are Prophet Capital Management, an Austin-based investment company, and Hellmund's close friend, former two-wheel star Kevin Schwantz.

It has now been confirmed that the track will be located on a 900-acre site in southeast Austin along the SH 130 corridor near FM 812. Close to the airport, the site was formerly a proposed housing development called Wandering Creek.

Read more: McCombs: Grand Prix compares to Super Bowl

 

It appears that we finally know the location of the mooted 2012 U.S. Grand Prix near Austin, Texas.

According to local newspaper Web site Statesman.com, one of the land owners involved in the deal said that plans call for the track to occupy “about 900 acres near Elroy in southeastern Travis County.”

Race promoter Tavo Hellmund began a press conference in Austin at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday morning to reveal further details, which we should have later today.

The newspaper reports that “most of the land was previously planned for a residential subdivision called Wandering Creek. It is land with rolling hills and a small lake, north of FM 812, south and west of Elroy Road and east of Texas 130.”

Speculation about the track's location has been rampant since late May, when Hellmund and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone revealed Austin as host of the next U.S. GP. Hellmund has insisted all the while that everything is in place to make the race a reality, but had kept details tucked firmly away until now.

The Statesman story also said that an unnamed source close to the deal revealed that “Wandering Creek covers about 650 acres, and organizers have recently secured adjacent acreage.”

Read more: U.S. Grand Prix site revealed

 

So you are saying yes.........:ihih:

 

Well seeing as the main financial backer owns Clear Channel............

 

The Austin, Texas, Formula One track will cost $180 million to build, according to documents given to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

The documents also suggest that the race will have a $300 million impact on the Austin area.

The newpaper requested information on the project, and despite the documents being marked "Confidential," they were released by the city after the Texas attorney general decreed that they were not exempt under the Texas Public Information Act.

Aside from quoting the cost of building the track, the documents contend that the project will require 1,500 construction workers, and that 1,200 people will be employed over the grand prix weekend. There also will be 40 full-time employees at the venue.

Other activities expected to keep the track busy for up to 250 days a year include testing, alternative-fuel research, driving schools, police training, music concerts and "high-end auctions." There also is mention of NASCAR and drag-racing events.

Read more: Texas F1 race will bring Austin $300 million a year, documents show