COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

[thearmofbarlow]

I'm sure he is. But his hands are tied since he's assigned the rights to Hellmund. All he can do is what he's doing - try to get CotA and Hellmund to make up and hold the race.

That does seem to be the problem - both sides are still too bitter to sit down together.

I do wonder if Schwantz would face a liability if the race doesn't go ahead, or if Dorna would just drop the matter.

The article did confirm that the rights are for Texas only. So are there any other tracks in Texas that realistically could hold a MotoGP race?

Realistically? No. Texas Motors Speedway has an infield course. That would be the best option. There are a handful of smaller tracks, but nothing that could handle a MotoGP race in terms of logistics.

[hairy_scotsman]

The April issue of F1 Racing has a brief interview with Tilke's managing partner Peter Wahl, where he says that the construction is ahead of schedule, and the track will likely be complete in September.

This quote is fitting, given the debate we had about the construction of CotA vs India...

My opinion is that we will be ready earlier than proposed - maybe by late September. The Americans have put a lot of big machinery into it. What we did in India with many people, we've done here with machines.

Also, on the track surface and homologation dates...

The track surface will be the last thing we do because we'll still have heavy traffic on the site, which could destroy it. ... We can start to lay the last layer in July-August. We should get the FIA homologation in September.

So, looking good.

Remember, he's talking there about the track, not everything else. I think it will be done for the race. It certainly should be. But the FIA homologation he talks about is a month late according to previous reports of August 20. It's supposed to be 90 days before the race, right? That date can be moved by the FIA, as they did in India, but I've seen no announcement to that effect.

[Pup]

Realistically? No. Texas Motors Speedway has an infield course. That would be the best option. There are a handful of smaller tracks, but nothing that could handle a MotoGP race in terms of logistics.

That would explain a lot. Certainly there is a clause in Dorna's agreement that the rights are forfeited if a race isn't held. So if there's no other track in Texas to have the race, then CotA is in the catbird's seat. Worst case, they can just forgo the race for a year and allow Schwantz's rights to expire. Then they can make a deal directly with Dorna, or they could still work through Schwantz if they wanted.

[hairy_scotsman]

I'm sure he is. But his hands are tied since he's assigned the rights to Hellmund. All he can do is what he's doing - try to get CotA and Hellmund to make up and hold the race.

That does seem to be the problem - both sides are still too bitter to sit down together.

I do wonder if Schwantz would face a liability if the race doesn't go ahead, or if Dorna would just drop the matter.

The article did confirm that the rights are for Texas only. So are there any other tracks in Texas that realistically could hold a MotoGP race?

Realistically? No. Texas Motors Speedway has an infield course. That would be the best option. There are a handful of smaller tracks, but nothing that could handle a MotoGP race in terms of logistics.

They race at Indy. What makes TMS unrealistic?

Certainly I don't think anyone, including Schwantz and Hellmund, would claim it's the preferred venue, but it can handle everything logistically. It would also no doubt draw well in the Metroplex.

Also, notice in that Motorcycle-USA article how the Dorna spokesperson is careful to say "Texas" rather than Austin. That distinction seems to be lost on the author.

[FW17]

I'm sure he is. But his hands are tied since he's assigned the rights to Hellmund. All he can do is what he's doing - try to get CotA and Hellmund to make up and hold the race.

That does seem to be the problem - both sides are still too bitter to sit down together.

I do wonder if Schwantz would face a liability if the race doesn't go ahead, or if Dorna would just drop the matter.

The article did confirm that the rights are for Texas only. So are there any other tracks in Texas that realistically could hold a MotoGP race?

Realistically? No. Texas Motors Speedway has an infield course. That would be the best option. There are a handful of smaller tracks, but nothing that could handle a MotoGP race in terms of logistics.

They race at Indy. What makes TMS unrealistic?

Certainly I don't think anyone, including Schwantz and Hellmund, would claim it's the preferred venue, but it can handle everything logistically. It would also no doubt draw well in the Metroplex.

Also, notice in that Motorcycle-USA article how the Dorna spokesperson is careful to say "Texas" rather than Austin. That distinction seems to be lost on the author.

TMS infield is too short and has to be combined with part of the oval. Motogp does not run any part of the oval at Indy, TMS also does not have a pit building. Motogp will not sanction TMS for these reasons.

I was surprised by the statement that the race was considered as Texas GP rather than 3rd US GP.

Schwantz has assigned the contract to Hellmund's company, but if Hellmund's company has no track to hold the race at, why doesn't Schwantz cancel the contract?

[hairy_scotsman]

Commissioners Court: McAngus Road drainage improvements to begin next week.

http://www.kvue.com/news/Commissioners- ... 27575.html

[Pup]

But the FIA homologation he talks about is a month late according to previous reports of August 20. It's supposed to be 90 days before the race, right? That date can be moved by the FIA, as they did in India, but I've seen no announcement to that effect.

I don't know if any recent track has met the 90 day rule. Probably Yas did. Korea was a last minute affair as we know. India's homologation was 30 days prior to the race, I think. China, too, I believe, and then they had to have it re-homologated last year since the track was moving around so much. Bahrain wasn't even finished when they held the first GP there - they were still installing curbs the night before practice. I remember the teams saying that they had to be careful what they touched since there was so much wet paint.

Suffice to say that the 90 day rule isn't strictly adhered to by the FIA. And if Tilke says that the track's homologation will happen sooner than planned, I'm inclined to believe that.

[FW17]

But the FIA homologation he talks about is a month late according to previous reports of August 20. It's supposed to be 90 days before the race, right? That date can be moved by the FIA, as they did in India, but I've seen no announcement to that effect.

I don't know if any recent track has met the 90 day rule. Probably Yas did. Korea was a last minute affair as we know. India's homologation was 30 days prior to the race, I think. China, too, I believe, and then they had to have it re-homologated last year since the track was moving around so much. Bahrain wasn't even finished when they held the first GP there - they were still installing curbs the night before practice. I remember the teams saying that they had to be careful what they touched since there was so much wet paint.

Suffice to say that the 90 day rule isn't strictly adhered to by the FIA. And if Tilke says that the track's homologation will happen sooner than planned, I'm inclined to believe that over unsubstantiated "previous reports".

Hope thy announce the event before f1 race soon. wonder what it is? even a open day will be awesome.

[hairy_scotsman]

But the FIA homologation he talks about is a month late according to previous reports of August 20. It's supposed to be 90 days before the race, right? That date can be moved by the FIA, as they did in India, but I've seen no announcement to that effect.

I don't know if any recent track has met the 90 day rule. Probably Yas did. Korea was a last minute affair as we know. India's homologation was 30 days prior to the race, I think. China, too, I believe, and then they had to have it re-homologated last year since the track was moving around so much. Bahrain wasn't even finished when they held the first GP there - they were still installing curbs the night before practice. I remember the teams saying that they had to be careful what they touched since there was so much wet paint.

Suffice to say that the 90 day rule isn't strictly adhered to by the FIA. And if Tilke says that the track's homologation will happen sooner than planned, I'm inclined to believe that.

I'm not saying it won't happen. It likely will. if it does, it will be because it's needed, just as it was in India and Korea.

I'm merely saying the date is supposed to be 90 days prior, and for it to be different, it needs to be adjusted by the FIA, as it was adjusted in India to from the first week of August to September 1 (60 days prior).

[hairy_scotsman]

TMS infield is too short and has to be combined with part of the oval. Motogp does not run any part of the oval at Indy, TMS also does not have a pit building. Motogp will not sanction TMS for these reasons.

I was surprised by the statement that the race was considered as Texas GP rather than 3rd US GP.

Schwantz has assigned the contract to Hellmund's company, but if Hellmund's company has no track to hold the race at, why doesn't Schwantz cancel the contract?

From the noise I've heard, they won't have any problem holding the race somewhere.

Back when the MotoGP folks were in the states for the Austin MotoGP announcement, I heard that they had taken the opportunity to check out several venues, and that they could race TMS and TWS with minor upgrades, like, for example, a basic pit building at TMS or some GS upgrades at TWS. Maybe you're assuming with more than a year til the race that none of these venues would be willing to undergo relatively minor upgrades to land MotoGP.

I've also heard recent rumblings of a new road course in the Houston area, intended for basically everything but F1. NOLA is supposed to be very interested in MotoGP. So are some folks in Mexico from what I'm hearing.

Re: the banking, MotoGP has used banked track at IMS before the new road course, and arguably the biggest moto race in the U.S. is at Daytona, using the banking.

I'll be shocked if this race doesn't happen, even if it's assigned somewhere else.

[xpensive]

I'm not saying it won't happen. It likely will. if it does, it will be because it's needed, just as it was in India and Korea.

I'm merely saying the date is supposed to be 90 days prior, and for it to be different, it needs to be adjusted by the FIA, as it was adjusted in India to from the first week of August to September 1 (60 days prior).

Beholding those images above, I find it mindboggling to consider this track to be completed in just four months?

[hairy_scotsman]

The Travis County Commissioners Court just voted to widen Elroy Road to Kellam and fix the bridge after the first GP.

More as I get it.

[WhiteBlue]

The Travis County Commissioners Court just voted to widen Elroy Road to Kellam and fix the bridge after the first GP.

Are there any implications on the cost sharing negotiations?

[hairy_scotsman]

The Travis County Commissioners Court just voted to widen Elroy Road to Kellam and fix the bridge after the first GP.

Are there any implications on the cost sharing negotiations?

Unsure. I'm not at the meeting.

[Pup]

If they're delaying it, then I'd think the county will pay their share. Wasn't it only a question of CotA paying for all of it if they had to get it done this year?

Besides, I believe from their last meeting that CotA was asking to extend Kellam as an easier alternative to widening Elroy, so Elroy isn't a priority anymore.

So I'd think that if they get what they want, they'll split the cost of Kellam, and then the county will pay for Elroy at a later date, which is what they were going to do anyway before the race. Or at least the county will pay a larger share than they would have had CotA insisted that the work be done this year.