Not to go too far off the thread ranch but like Tony George or not... How would you feel to own a place like the Indy Motor Speedway and have CART tell you that you could not run any other races there except for their own one race; the Indy 500? As grand a race as it is, it takes nothing away from it to have other series compete on the same track. Maintain a facility like that for one race a year? Crazy. Tony did what needed to be done and CART should have removed their heads from their collective arses to begin with..... 2cents Now back to our regularly scheduled thread..lol
:blush2: I guess I missed that post. :blush2: I've been hearing/reading stuff like this sporadically for a few years now. Based on those ticket prices I'd say there's more than a grain of truth in there. Well done Tony! Bring back prices like those and I'd drive to Austin. :yesnod:
If I remember correctly, I paid 80 bucks for an awesome grandstand seat at Indy in 2006. Beer was reasonable, food was great, people were terrific and hotels were cheap (considering). Had an awesome time and couldn't believe the value.
MotoGP headed to Austin GP track in 2013? By STEVEN COLE SMITH on 4/07/2011 If well-placed sources in Europe are correct, the MotoGP motorcycle world championship series will move its U.S. venue from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the new Formula One track under construction in Austin, Texas, probably in 2013. Formula One United States and Full Throttle Productions, which are building the Texas track, have scheduled a press conference for April 12, and it is possible they will announce the MotoGP deal then, likely along with a name for the new track. Tavo Hellmund, chairman of F1US and managing partner of Full Throttle, declined to comment when reached by AutoWeek on Wednesday night. MotoGP has raced at Indianapolis since 2008, with the 2011 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix scheduled for the last weekend in August. The other U.S. MotoGP race is at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California a month earlier. The Austin race is expected to feature the top MotoGP class, as well as the 125-cc and 600-cc Moto2 classes. All three classes run at Indy, but Laguna races only the top MotoGP class, with the rest of the weekend made up of AMA races. If both Formula One--which has a 10-year contract to race at the Austin facility beginning in 2012--and MotoGP compete at the Austin track, it will place both world-championship series at the same circuit in the United States, which never happened at Indianapolis, as F1--which raced at Indy from 2000 to 2007--ended its deal before MotoGP began in 2008. Indy announced its MotoGP deal on July 16, 2007, one week after F1 announced it would not return for the 2008 season. The Madrid-based MotoGP is the two-wheel equivalent of F1, currently with an 18-race schedule in 14 countries. The championship is presently contested by riders for Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. The series claimed an attendance of 2.2 million in 2010. That the Austin track would host motorcycle racing is no surprise, as Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 world champion and winner of 25 Grand Prix motorcycle races, is one of Hellmund's partners and helped advise designer Tilke GmbH on the layout of the 3.4-mile, $200 million track. Unlike F1, which has no American drivers, the 62-year-old MotoGP series has several U.S. stars, including Ben Spies (Yahama), Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and John Hopkins (Suzuki). Source - Autoweek
Austin GP promoters: MotoGP confirmed to join F1 at Circuit of the Americas Formula One United States and Full Throttle Productions on Tuesday announced the new Grand Prix track's official name, and confirmed that it will host not only F1, but also MotoGP. F1 U.S. and FTP are presently at work building the Austin, Texas, road course that is set to host F1's U.S. Grand Prix in 2012. Tuesday marked their first major press conference of the year. As predicted on autoweek.com last week, the track is scheduled to host MotoGP motorcycle races, beginning in 2013. Austin will apparently become the third U.S. venue on MotoGP's schedule, joining Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The contract with both F1 and MotoGP is for 10 years. The other big news item is that the 20-turn, 3.4-mile track now has a name--Circuit of the Americas. The press conference, held at a city-owned conventional hall just south of downtown Austin, included a collection of area politicians, as well as representatives of local businesses. Track officials saved their confirmation of the MotoGP race until the end, when 1993 MotoGP champion Kevin Schwantz joined project chairman Tavo Hellmund onstage with one of Schwantz's motorcycles. The news that the Circuit of the Americas will host motorcycle racing comes as no surprise, as Schwantz has been involved in the project since it began. “We are delighted to be adding the Circuit of the Americas to the MotoGP calendar,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports. “It's an honor to expand our championship to Texas, which has a rich history of producing world championship riders. We have had a wonderful and special relationship with Kevin [Schwantz] for 20 years and often talked about a mutual dream of increasing the popularity of MotoGP in the U.S. and raising our already successful worldwide profile. Now, with what Tavo Hellmund is doing in Austin, we have realized that situation and are looking forward to this new venture together. The 10-year agreement is a sign of our confidence and commitment to the future success of MotoGP racing in Austin.” Hellmund said, “We are extremely pleased to add the best motorcycle world championship to our annual schedule. This is a fantastic opportunity for the State of Texas and this region, and I believe it is the first time in American motorsports history that both the cars and the motorbikes world championships are held at the same facility annually. We are very proud of becoming the United States' international facility for motorsports. “Kevin [Schwantz] and I have been close friends for a long time, and I enjoy a great relationship with Carmelo. I respect so much what [Dorna] and the FIM have done for MotoGP globally. It's going to be great for the state. The product is fantastic and you never know, we may even have a reigning Texan in Ben Spies as world champion for our first event. That would be icing on the cake.” Schwantz added, “For me this is a dream come true, that the FIM MotoGP world championship will be in my home state of Texas. I am such a believer in the sport and know how popular motorcycling is in Texas. I am sure that this will be a resounding long term success.” MotoGP has raced at Indianapolis since 2008, with this year's Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix scheduled for the last weekend in August. The Austin race will feature the top MotoGP class, as well as the 125-cc and 600-cc Moto2 classes. All three classes run at Indy, but Laguna hosts only MotoGP, with the rest of the weekend made up of American Motorcycle Association races. When F1--which has a 10-year contract to race at the Austin facility beginning next year--and MotoGP do compete at the track, this will, in fact, place both world-championship series at the same circuit in the United States, which never happened at Indianapolis. F1--which raced at Indy from 2000 to 2007--ended its deal with the Speedway before MotoGP arrived in 2008. Indy announced its MotoGP race on July 16, 2007, one week after F1 announced that it would not return for the 2008 season. But on Tuesday, Indy issued a statement in support of the Austin deal. “We're pleased to learn of the addition of another MotoGP event to the United States,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. president and CEO . “This can only help elevate the profile in America of this thrilling form of motorsport, which will benefit all existing MotoGP races in this country and enhance the global prestige of the world championship. We're committed to the growth of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP and motorcycle road racing in the United States.” Madrid, Spain-based MotoGP currently has an 18-race schedule in 14 countries. The championship is contested by riders for Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. The series claimed an attendance of 2.2 million in 2010. Unlike F1, which has no American drivers, the 62-year-old MotoGP series has several U.S. stars, including Spies (Yahama), Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and John Hopkins (Suzuki). Hellmund, who used to race formula cars in Europe as well as in a NASCAR-sanctioned series in the States, said the Circuit of the Americas is in talks with multiple other series--some U.S.-based and some from outside the country--that are interested in holding events at the track. One candidate is the American Le Mans Series--CEO Scott Atherton, in an exclusive interview with AutoWeek on April 11, said he believes the track would be “a good fit” for the sports-car series. Rival sports-car series Grand-Am reportedly is weighing a possible street race in Galveston, and if that happens, it seems unlikely that Grand-Am would want two races in the central part of Texas. The Izod IndyCar Series also seems a possibility, but there are rumblings from Indianapolis that some within IndyCar might not be eager to support a facility that has now essentially replaced IMS on the F1 calendar. Following the press conference, officials hosted media members for a tour of the track, which is under construction near the village of Elroy, just southeast of Austin. A startling amount of work has been done to the 900-acre site since builders began moving dirt at the end of December, seven months after the project was announced, at which time the 900-acre site was almost covered completely with scrub brush and small mesquite trees. Hellmund agreed that the project--which was budgeted at $200 million but seems likely to exceed that--is on an ambitious time schedule to be ready for its first F1 race in 2012 but insisted it is achievable. If the track isn't ready in time, organizers would have to pay a penalty, which has happened with other tracks, including Korea last year. But Hellmund said that isn't in the plans, as suggested by the amount of construction equipment at work on the site. Now, talk is likely to turn to when the inaugural F1 race will fall on the series' 2012 calendar. It likely will be at least October before F1 announces its official 2012 schedule, but speculation is that the Austin race could be held immediately before or after the F1 race in Montreal, Canada, which traditionally runs in June. Any later than that, and the Austin race would face the often sweltering summer temperatures. Not forgotten is the July 8, 1984, F1 race in Dallas, where driver Nigel Mansell's Lotus ran out of fuel near the end. Mansell tried to push his car across the finish line before passing out in the 100-degree heat. It also seems possible that the FIA could pair the Austin race with the season-ending event in Brazil in late fall. Source - Autoweek
USGP Tracks How many different tracks have been used for the USGP. Sebring, FL Watkins Glen, NY Long Beach, CA Las Vegas, NV IMS, IN
Steve Thanks for filling in blanks. I think the worst was the Las Vegas parking lot race. What a sham. The Detroit races were just wrecks organized on public streets. You can not copy Monaco!
Did anyone see the report that Rupert Murdoc of Fox wants to buy F1. Bernie's bad enough. Rupert would make it a political farce.
Great, another outlet for Murdoch to flout his conservative agenda in addition to Fox News Yeah Nate I know....take it to the political section.....
Bernie says it's "rubbish" and F1 isn't for sale. Then again, he's currently in a bit of a legal battle over how the F1 rights, etc, changed hands the last time so who knows what's really going on? Plus I never trust a word he says anyway... This also came up just as all the major F1 players are starting to talk again about the Concorde Agreement and who deserves how much of the money Bernie's band of thieves rake in. When I heard about this Murdoch biz my first thought was "Why?" as in "Why in the world would he want F1?" Given the current slight vulnerability at the top I suppose it might just look like a potential source of easy money. Personally, I'm more inclined to think it's speculation spawned from a bit of casual conversation taken out of context. Any time someone with Mordoch's kind of influence/money says anything out loud there's always some media parasite hiding behind a bush nearby taking notes and trying to think of a way to spin it into sensationalistic "news." On the plus side, if the rumors are pissing off Bernie then I'll be happy to help spread them.
I wonder who they will get to sing the national anthem? They would have to be representives of the great state of Texas. Wear a 20 gal. hat (anybody can wear a 10 gal hat). Know the lyrics. Ability to carry a note (not in a bucket). Any suggestions? ZZ Top
ZZ Top - that little 'ol band from Texas. And as far as the National Anthem at a Motorsports event, this is my favorite. Jimi would be proud: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sJsGbY-VBg]YouTube - badboyvettes.com - Mike West Star Spangled Banner Le Mans 08[/ame] So my vote has to go for Mike West of Corvette Racing. p.s. The video I was looking for has the crowd reaction after he finishes. As Visa says - priceless.
The new U.S. Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, has received a preliminary date of June 17, 2012--smack in the middle of summer and presenting a hot climate for race fans who wish to attend. Temperatures in Austin in June easily hover around the 100-degree mark.