COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

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What do you think of the prospect of a USGP 2012 at Austin Texas

Good thinking. Place has good infra structure and nice climate in winter.
126
47%
Not good as it has no motor sport tradition in the US.
23
9%
I will wait to see how it will shape up.
97
36%
I don't care.
23
9%
 
Total votes: 269

User avatar
strad
117
Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 01:57

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Yeah,,,But would ya like the truck as much as if you had to sweat for it...or better yet, do it all yourself?
In the tracks case, I hope they throw money at it. Image
To achieve anything, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.”
Sir Stirling Moss

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Here are a few of the new photos posted on our FB page at Friends of Formula 1 Austin Texas. There are more here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-o ... 0087614878

Looking down from Turn 1 to the front straight and the pit building/main grandstand complex:
Image

Looking east from the main straight at the pit building:
Image

Looking from the pit building area (left) up the front straight toward Turn 1:
Image

Turn 10, from just above Turn 11, with cranes in the distance work on the pit building:
Image

A closer shot of Turn 10. This may be my favorite Turn on the circuit. Should be very interesting:
Image

You can somewhat make out some of the stadium complex of turns and T15-17 here where the white flags are. This is also shot from over near Turn 11. Notice the elevation change from there down to the main straight (where the cranes are):
Image

Track in the foreground, downtown Austin in the back:
Image

Concrete work being done on the main grandstand:
Image
Last edited by hairy_scotsman on 06 Jan 2012, 12:29, edited 1 time in total.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

I really hope now that the funding is there that this track will be done in time.
strad wrote:Yeah,,,But would ya like the truck as much as if you had to sweat for it...or better yet, do it all yourself?
In the tracks case, I hope they throw money at it. Image
I hope they actually have the money they need to finish this thing, AND that they have the will to spend what it takes to do it right. Right now probably 90+% of the work being done is happening at the pit building & main grandstand. As you can see in some of the shots above, very little is being done right now on the track surface or other buildings. There is a lot of work going on, so I'm holding out hope, but they still have clearly not yet gone "all in" on this thing, imho...and there's also so much more to be done off the track in a very short amount of time.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

xpensive
xpensive
214
Joined: 22 Nov 2008, 18:06
Location: Somewhere in Scandinavia

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

As the americiano I am, I wish I could see F1 races at Watktins Glen, Long Beach, Detroit and even Vegas.

But I can't see this, I'm sorry.
"I spent most of my money on wine and women...I wasted the rest"

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Yes, we should hold the race in a parking lot, for sure. History, and all that.

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

You can watch live streaming video of Circuit of The Americas construction here @ speedcitycam.com
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

User avatar
WhiteBlue
92
Joined: 14 Apr 2008, 20:58
Location: WhiteBlue Country

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

xpensive wrote:But I can't see this, I'm sorry.
Epstein and his people are committed. They have probably already sunk §100m into the venture which would be a total loss if they fail to hold the race.

With Tilke they have an experienced project management team that has worked against incredibly tight dead lines before. They also seem to have the resources to execute the plan.

I give it 90% probability that the race will go ahead this year and 100% for 2013 if they hit a show stopper this year.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best .............................. organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)

User avatar
Pepsibottle1
0
Joined: 06 Jan 2012, 18:36
Location: Norfolk, VA

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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I sure hope it turns out to be a decent race and not a snorefest. I'm not a fan of Tilkedromes and I hope that this will reverse the trend of boring tracks. We'll just have to wait and see.
Murray Walker: "What's that? There's a BODY on the track!!!"
James Hunt: "Um, I think that that is a piece of BODY-WORK, from someone's car."

munudeges
munudeges
-14
Joined: 10 Jun 2011, 17:08

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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It's not like people haven't lost a ton of money on Formula 1 circuits in the past.

This is a white elephant.

User avatar
strad
117
Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 01:57

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Really..which ones?
To achieve anything, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.”
Sir Stirling Moss

xpensive
xpensive
214
Joined: 22 Nov 2008, 18:06
Location: Somewhere in Scandinavia

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

FOM and MrE's whole idea is drive circuits near bancruptcy, unless they can suck money from the government, which is why I don't believe in this t all.
"I spent most of my money on wine and women...I wasted the rest"

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

COTA posted 5 new photos today on their FB page:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

User avatar
Scorpaguy
6
Joined: 04 Mar 2010, 05:05

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

HS

Are you all still in a drought weather pattern...having little to no rain delays?

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Scorpaguy wrote:HS

Are you all still in a drought weather pattern...having little to no rain delays?
It's been dry this week, but December was very wet. The winter will be much more unpredictable than the summer was. I believe rain is predicted for Monday and maybe Tuesday.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

Richard
Richard
Moderator
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 14:41
Location: UK

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

munudeges wrote:It's not like people haven't lost a ton of money on Formula 1 circuits in the past.

This is a white elephant.
xpensive wrote:FOM and MrE's whole idea is drive circuits near bancruptcy, unless they can suck money from the government, which is why I don't believe in this t all.

OK, other than your beliefs, on what grounds do you think this will fail?

I'm not offering an opinion either way, I'd just like to see the basis of your argument.