COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

[bill shoe]

The Austin GP fiasco is now pure entertainment. The COTA-initiated contract to Bernie is just crazy. Bernie would sooner be bent over a chair and get f@cked than sign a contract that someone else drafts and sends to him. The dude ain't working at age 84 because he needs the money. He does it because he like the power and control. The COTA offer seems weird and wimpy even by the standards of dead-on-arrival publicity ploys.

I think Bernie will frame the unsigned contract and hang it on his wall next to an aerial picture of the unfinished dirt shithole called "Circuit of the Americas".

I hope Tavo does go away to Tahiti to work on his tan so we'll be done with this whole fiasco. Perhaps Bobby Epstein can meet up with Ken Anderson to commiserate.

Viva New Jersey!!!

[hairy_scotsman]

Cooper has updated with Bernie's reaction:

Asked by this blog about Epstein’s comments, Bernie said:

“The guy that was going to do it in the first place [Tavo Hellmund] didn’t think it was unfeasible, and it’s not for him [Epstein] to say that it was unfeasible. What he should do is go to the bank and see if he can get some money.

“If he does what we asked him to do he’ll have a contract.”

[hairy_scotsman]

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/2 ... UQ20111124

Asked by Reuters at the Interlagos circuit whether he thought the Texas race might now happen, Ecclestone was dismissive.

"I doubt it," he said, with a copy of the Austin statement in his hands.

"The truth is they're not complying with the terms and conditions of the contract. And as we make the contract, we will award the event or not award the event. They are not awarding anything to us.

"It's normal," he added.

"They have been messing around now for four months, there's two partners arguing and two different groups arguing with each other and in the end none of them have got the money."

Asked whether his contract was really "unrealistic and unfeasible", Ecclestone replied: "Yeah, well they shouldn't sign it. My advice to them is don't sign it. And they probably won't get the opportunity."

[Jeffsvilleusa]

Wow- things look pretty bleak. Cota tried to play hardball with Bernie! That's the difference between Tavo and his backers- Tavo was probably willing to give up some lucrative aspects in order to get the deal closed, while cota would rather see the project die than lose all the cream.

[bhall]

You'd think by now that everyone even remotely associated with the world of motorsport would know not to get into a pissing contest with Bernie Ecclestone.

And I just can't seem to win. I moved out of New Jersey, and they got a grand prix a month later. I'm moving to Texas (tomorrow), and now the chances that the USGP in Austin will actually happen are just about even with chances that Flavio Briatore will ever win a swimsuit competition.


(You're absolutely right; that's totally uncalled for. However, my misery truly loves company, and that should be enough to bring nearly everyone down. Bon appetit!)

[raymondu999]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN3T8DJ2uh4[/youtube]

[scuderiafan]

So Bernie would go to Bahrain which is a terrible track and has political turmoil, and not a new GP in the US (which looks fantastic) which many fans, not to mention SPONSORS and BIG MONEY are. Bahrain probably already has money lined up and everything, but I don't like how he plays. Getting tracks built all over the place, sucking them dry of money, and then dumping them.

[Richard]

Bernie is doing what he always does. He sticks to the facts. The contract is void and will remain void until someone pays the fee.

If the race is so lucrative there shouldn't be any problem for someone to pay the fee. Couldn't be any simpler.

[strad]

Bahrain???
You mean where King Khalifa had to sit embarassed as the comission listed the toture, excessive force, and a dozen other charges, 500 pages in all, that he and his administation were guilty of?
Yeah Bernie,,,great place.

[Scorpaguy]

Leeds is right. Likely still no race even though the money is there. I guess Tavo was able to sugarcoat the degree to which Bernie bends folks over in his contracts....CotA just didnt want to get "stump-broke". It's a shame as low-brows here in the states are starting to tire of the F1 fiasco's (Indy, USF1, now Austin, and a likely $1000 ticket for Jersey).

[hairy_scotsman]

OK, so what we're seeing up to now begs a very important question, imho:

It's been 18 months since this project was announced. COTA investors now say they have the money and are willing to pay up right away (with altered conditions). Indeed they claim they've had enough money to pay the fee for some time...............yet they have not done so, passing on multiple opportunities to do so at the same lowered fee they seem to be fighting for right now.

If they can pay now and are seeking the same pricing they had for over a year prior to Hellmund's rights revocation, then why did they not pay before when given multiple written warnings and extensions over a period of several months?

They HAD the "family" price already through Tavo, the same price they're fighting to enjoy right now. They just didn't pay it.



WHY?



The answer to this question, imho, tells you everything you need to know about what's happening at COTA and makes complete sense of the remarks we're hearing from Bernie, Tavo, Combs, and others.

[Pierce89]

wow Bernie doesn't seem "on it" at all. Almost dazed and confused. Very un-"Bernie"

[hairy_scotsman]

This GREAT just-released Steven Cole Smith/Autoweek article seems to fit pretty well with everything I've been seeing/hearing.


This guy has been on top of this for a while...fantastic article:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20111126/FREE/111129948



Here' Cole Smith's first article on this, which revealed much of what's been going on. He's the one who broke this story open:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20111117/F1/111119856

[strad]

What I think gets lost in all the hoopla is that no American business group, read that lawyers, would agree the the type of deal/contract Bernie demands. The cost is substantial and grows yearly with very little chance to realize any tangible moneys.
Sure there is that increase in hotel sales and all that goes with a bunch of people coming to town...But actual cash profit for the organisers and promoters and track owners is next to or nil.
Plus as I've said, I think Bernie used Austin. He's not hidden his desire to have a race in New York and when this Jersey thing came up, which I think was a total knee jerk reaction to the Texas race, Bernie was more than happy to get rid of what he sees as yokels in Texas.

[bhall]

The terms of Ecclestone's contracts are formulated with the notion that a government, not a private entity, is going to be paying the bill. CotA/Texas/Hellmund/whoever got a sweetheart deal they're insane not to jump all over if, in fact, hosting an F1 grand prix is really what they want to do.