CoTA delivers in fine style

With many of the additions to the Formula One calendar in recent years flattering to deceive, it was easy to be skeptical of the quality of the new track in Austin before wheels had been turned in anger.

But the Circuit of The Americas bucked the worrying trend that had been set by the likes of Bahrain, Korea and Abu Dhabi and won the hearts of the sport as it immediately established itself as a favourite of fans and drivers alike.

Turn 15

A mixture of big elevation changes, fast sweeping corners and a low grip surface contrived to catch out many drivers over the course of the weekend, and despite fears beforehand about how good a race the track would throw up, the circuit produced one of the best Grands Prix of the year with action all the way through the field.

The trio of Hermann Tilke, Tavo Hellmund, and Kevin Schwantz, as well as everyone else responsible for building the track were taking a gamble by lifting corners from other tracks around the world. Remakes normally fall flat on their faces when compared to the originals, but the various replicas of corners worked well and contributed to a fantastic layout.

The Becketts section looked fantastic and produced a real test for the drivers, whilst the run-up to the first corner which was reminiscent of turn one at the old Osterreichring was visually stunning and produced good racing throughout the Grand Prix. Turn 19 was just as challenging as its mirror image at Istanbul Park's turn 8 and even the copy of Hockenheim's stadium section, which had looked noticeably out of place from the track maps produced some good moments and added to the circuit’s appeal.

There were a few things that could have been different. Turns 8 and 9 could be removed to allow a faster run and a better passing opportunity into the hairpin, which could be more open to allow a driver to get a good run on the car in front coming onto the back straight, making the opportunity to pass into turn 12 less reliant on good traction. Some work could also be done to the run-off areas, namely installing gravel traps at turns one, sixteen and nineteen to punish mistakes made in those areas of the track.

However those are only minor concerns and do nothing to take away from the quality of the circuit. All things considered, the Circuit of The Americas proved to be a fantastic circuit in a country that fully deserves to be a part of the Formula One World Championship and threw up a thrilling race for the fans that travelled to Austin.

It proved to be a worthy addition to the sport, and with a ten-year contract to host the United States Grand Prix, it looks set to provide many a good race over the coming years.

Stephen D’Albiac

Boot Scootin'

Having freely expressed my reservations along the up and down saga of the The Circuit of the Americas and their highly unusual approach to staging The United States Grand Prix, it's only fair that I now share my enthusiasm for the amazing weekend that eventually transpired in Austin.

US F1 fans should thank Tavo Hellmund for his vision, courage and belief in the idea that F1 not only belonged here, but that a worthy home could be created on Texas hill country just outside of Austin.    

Those who marshaled this incredible venue into existence did so in the face of staggering skepticism.     Merely weeks ago, the media remained rife with chatter dissing F1 in America and likening the effort to a train derailing in slow motion.  Manufactured conjecture and cynical commentary also suggested there could be some who did not want F1 back in the US.     

Despite the doubts and the naysayers, the grand spectacle which is F1 finally arrived at the newly constructed circuit under three spectacular crisp fall days.    The inaugural USGP far exceeded the expectations of many, including my own.   CoTA managed to pull it all together, and I gladly give them their due credit.    

Here are my impressions on the weekend from a spectator standpoint.    My observations will probably read as a litany of nitpicking, but work does remain at the circuit.  I hope my report serves to support those striving for long term success in Austin and remind US F1 fans that we have much to be thankful for.     

Friday morning arrival for shuttle transit to the circuit

Prior last week, one of my graver doubts surrounded the lack of transportation infrastructure.    The dilemma thus required fans to be shuttled in and out of the circuit from points around Austin.

Having been fortunate enough to purchase a reasonably priced shuttle ticket for the Airport Cargo location before they sold out, we enjoyed relatively painless transfer to and from the Grand Prix.    That is, until Sunday evening following the Grand Prix, where we encountered a rather long wait (over one hour).    

In hindsight, it is inescapable that CoTA and the City of Austin will have further work to do on this front.   News that next year's race already conflicts with Texas Longhorns football demands that.

Buses were plentiful (until race day) and comfortable

A bit of walking across protected lands was required from the shuttle drop to the circuit.    The distance was described as close to one mile, but to be honest I doubt it was quite that far.    No big deal.    Walking is a common prerequisite among the fabled Grand Prix circuits in Europe.    Spa and Monza especially.    

The park, shuttle, stroll to the circuit was somewhat complicated by an unexpected shift in session times.     I've no idea why morning practice, which normally starts at 10 am was moved ahead to 9 am, but we really missed that single hour.    I would suggest that if these times remain set for the future USGP, that CoTA get the shuttles up and running a little bit earlier.

due piedi

Approaching the circuit for the very first time, 7:30'ish Friday morning

First trek across the Grand Plaza, which lies between turns 15-19 

Unfortunately concessions proved to be one of the initial snags.     There were simply not enough vendors to handle the crowd.    Lines were long and required commitment.    

There were also chronic issues with credit card readers . . . apparently the CoTA site was not yet capable of handling the data traffic.    Ironically, the problem was probably more evident on Saturday, when the attendance was well below Sunday's race day quota. 

Given the obvious profit potential, I'm certain this will be much improved next year.   

. . . before the lines

Friday's stunning weather provided a glorious backdrop.     The tower is a nice touch, but a bit pricey at $ 35.00 (as we were told) for an hour or so on the viewing platform.    Perhaps the price will drop and I'll catch a practice session up there next year.

Beautiful, but overpriced tower
Photo:   Traci Carroll

Towering corner markers make for great
meeting points
Photo:   Traci Carroll

Photo:  Traci Carroll

Kimi Räikkönen was the first on track in FP1, the very first official session on The Circuit of The Americas . . .

He's never been here, but he knows what he is doing

The grounds are hopefully not completed.    Each afternoon brought a new showering of dust as the crowd grew and wind picked up.   This dust did get quite uncomfortable at times.     I don't know what sort of grass will grow on these hills, but here's hoping CoTA will do a bit more landscaping before next year's race.   Trees, shade, a place to escape the sun would be nice, too.   I'm certain that's a safe bet.

Orbs of cacti . . . looks great but location probably
needs a re-think if they are not to be trampled
Photo:   Traci Carroll

Somewhat a departure from standard road racing circuits, the Circuit of The Americas allows for expansive views across across the Elroy, TX landscape.    From our seats at 12, looking toward the rise to Turn 1, one can actually see almost six "layers" or unique segments as the circuit twists away from 12, disappearing around 17, with the high rise to 1 in the deep distance.    Looking left from 12, one can see most of the Silverstone Maggotts, Becketts homage from Turn 5 all the way up the rise to 10.

The real benefit, however, should be the draw this offers to US oval racing fans who have long complained about limited viewing at road racing venues.  The open design should help CoTA give roundy-round promoter Bruton Smith a run for the motor sport dollar.      

Distant views:  
The run up to and down from Turn 1 as seen from Turn 12.    
Note pedestrian traffic jam along the bottom of the frame

Given this design, the circuit could use more pedestrian bridges or tunnels.     The two bridges along the single path connecting Turn 16 to Turn 3 were horribly congested.     Bridges and stairs across road courses are normally boxed in so that those crossing can not see the circuit.    This is critical to keep foot traffic flowing.    

The stairs to these bridges are currently wide open.   Each time a car would pass, people naturally stopped to turn their heads and in the process stopped moving forward.    It was much like rubber necking on the freeway.     If CoTA can box these things in and sell ad space . . . they'd make a few bucks and we can all get where we are going quicker.

Pick out the lookie-loo in this picture
Photo:   Traci Carrol

The Grand Plaza features another interesting design element: a large amphitheater.  CoTA wisely chose to provide post racing entertainment to stem the tide of people leaving the venue at once.     

Collective Soul, performing Saturday afternoon

Race day finally arrived and the atmosphere was electric.     The myth that Americans do not care about F1 took a pretty hard hit, not only because of the number of people who showed up but for the energy and excitement they brought to the Grand Prix.   With a little help from the weather, F1 probably made a new friends on Sunday.    If you are interested in attending the USGP next year, I would suggest not waiting to the last moment to make your arrangements.

Dense, expansive crowd along the hill to Turn 19

Ironically much of the Internet discussion over the "detachable lens" controversy centered around the assertion that these lenses obstruct the grandstand views of others.     I found the argument naive, as those who take motor sport photos rarely do so while seated in a grand stand seat.   There are usually better angles elsewhere, not to mention the fact that it's tough to wield a large lens from a cramped, seated position.

Anyway, I tread down this bumpy return of the USGP one final time to relay a somewhat cynical observation.  How ironic that in reality there was indeed one item, an item not included on the prohibited list, which did obstruct grandstand views.     One can find them all over Texas . . .

Now that's what I call a hat

over sized, often obstructive, hats

     

By the way some women were dressed,
one would think they were at Churchill Downs

Ultimately, the circuit proved a fantastic stage for a gripping race; a duel decided "on" circuit by a driver who arguably delivered the most disciplined, determined drive of his career.    Ironically, he may have in the process gifted his former arch rival a real shot at the World Championship.      

Lewis' inspired drive spared us the "insipid" finger.    Not this one.

 . . . and thanks to everyone in Austin who championed Hellmund's vision, believing that F1 will work in the US.    Thanks for taking the chance.     See you next year!

Land of the free?

Since voicing my candid appraisal on the entire "PSL" ticket debacle, I've spent the better part of 2012 trying to turn a new leaf, trying to approach the USGP in Austin as an optimist.     I freely admit that this is a trait I'm probably not best known for in certain circles . . . LOL.

The closer truth is that at heart I am a realist who does not suffer fools nor arrogant schemers gladly.     However, it is with caution that I want to initiate this thread on this week's release from CoTA regarding "Prohibited Items."

I am currently seeking clarification on a couple of points regarding their somewhat unexpected, highly unusual, and rather vague proclamation.    Key to my interest is learning the criteria entrants will be judged upon and how this process of exclusion will be implemented.     Given that most attendees will be shuttled to the circuit, thus unable to easily return prohibited items to their vehicles, this raises many questions about how CoTA plans to address the challenges this places upon their ticket buying customers.

From the outset, I think it is important to set a proper perspective on this question.  

This is NOT a policy brought upon CoTA from the FIA, FOM, nor any sanctioning or commercial body remotely associated with F1.     (Many will blame Bernie . . . geez, sometimes I really have to feel for him.)

This is NOT consistent with other F1 Grands Prix staged around the world.  

This is NOT consistent with motor sport events . . . road racing and ovals . . . held in the US.

Therefore, this dilemma, the questions it raises, and the discussion which will certainly follow across the internet is of their own making.

Hopefully this coming week will bring some degree of clarity, qualification, and adjustment from CoTA before the real debate begins . . . but I am certain that debate will be fierce.  

For the sake of those who have worked to bring the USGP to Austin I hope that CoTA will pay attention.   No sensible motor sport enthusiast will pay hard earned money only to put up with such nonsense.  

I will not, and I'm certain that I'm not alone.

Show us your PSL's

My sales consultant from the Circuit of The Americas certainly made it seem like people were snatching up the "Personal Seat Licenses" like hotcakes.      For some reason, I don't quite know . . . I'm a touch skeptical.

If you've purchased your PSL for the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, I'd love to hear from you.    Please tell us about your experience, whether you opted for the main straight, Turn 1, or the Grand Plaza multi apex complex.     If you don't mind, it might be nice to get an idea of your total cash investment, for those so willing to discuss.    

 Looking forward to your comments . . .

Breaking point?

A few weeks back I was contacted by a couple of enthusiastic supporters of Tavo Hellmund's Austin F1 endeavor.  

Once I recovered from the shock that someone, somewhere was actually reading my blog . . . I realized that the topic of their outreach (my November comments regarding first news that not all was well with the event) suggested that they might know something the rest of us did not.

I had in fact only recently spent a few hours in Austin to put eyes on the proximity of our reserved accommodations to the circuit.     I wanted to get an idea of  the logistics and what sort of traffic challenges might lie in wait.   Construction was certainly buzzing at the circuit that day and I found that encouraging.  

There was, however, no sign of infrastructure or road improvement underway and I wondered if access to the circuit would be limited to the single two lane blacktop I'd parked alongside.     A nagging question, but I left Austin headed home with some confidence that all was indeed well with the return of F1 to US soil.

Flash forward a couple of weeks from that visit and news comes that Tavo Hellmund was suing his former partners in the Circuit of The Americas venture he created.      

I'd wondered whether my November observations were premature.   I am after all but an outsider, with no real connection to what had and was transpiring in Texas.  

Unfortunately, as I read the court filing it was instead looking like my post was spot on accurate.  

It simply made no sense that the one guy within the organization who understood the business of international motor sport had been relieved of his duties.      As if the details of the lawsuit were not troubling enough, other questions arose.  

I'd also read that CoTA had started contacting those who had placed deposits to be on their select seating wait list.    I must have been among the very first to place such a deposit, but two weeks had passed since the process commenced and I'd heard nothing.  

There was other news . . . unresolved questions surrounding CoTA's alleged contract with Moto GP, and renewed questions as to whether the race qualified for the major events trust fund among the more troubling.

Since then, it has started to feel like every day brings another report which only makes one wonder what the hell is going on with CoTA's management?

I have also finally heard from CoTA regarding my wait list reservation and tickets for the USGP.    As they they might say in Texas . . . the news ain't purty.

I had a nice chat with the ticket agent, but the details of his proposal were laughable.     He explained that for the main straightaway grandstand, Turn 1, and the "Grand Plaza" multi apex Turn 15 through 19 complex, one must purchase a "Personal Seat License."     The astronomical cost of this seat license did not include ticket costs and also held the purchaser to a 15 year minimum "season ticket" purchase.
To make matters worse, they are requiring this commitment from the purchaser when CoTA . . . even at this late juncture .  . . still can not say what plans for seating at Turns 1, 15 through 19 will look like.     Really, they want a fifteen year commitment to a seat that right now only exists in theory?!    Nonsense.

Much like consumer product marketing people making movies instead of filmmakers, CoTA believes, quite foolishly IMHO, that they can and should reinvent the wheel.

CoTA has apparently decided to fashion their ticket sales after the model set attracting season ticket holders to new football stadiums and hockey arenas.    This thinking is riddled with so many false assumptions about the race-going public that it makes my head spin.    Worse, it demonstrates complete, total ignorance on their behalf.

CoTA's approach confirms that the current climate of sports marketing in this country looks to marry apples to oranges and boil us all down into one, neat, tidy package.    CoTA must somehow believe that motor sport fans are as generic as a guy watching four different sports at once on his quad partitioned TV screen.    Such a broad generalization across the whole of motor sport enthusiasts only reeks of arrogance.

Race promoters have been selling tickets to F1 Grands Prix for decades.    It's not rocket science.    

It is mind boggling that this venture, which I believed to be a slam dunk, now appears teetering on the edge of becoming only the latest in a series of disappointing chapters in the history of F1 Grand Prix in the United States.

The ticket agent also explained that they had taken this ticketing route because F1 is not popular in the US.

Make no mistake, I have long believed to the contrary that F1 should flourish in the United States.   There is no shortage of passionate, enthusiastic fans.    The fans are not the issue.   (there's so much mythology surrounding this topic, but that's another discussion)
   
It is instead more probable that CoTA, sans Tavo Hellmund, may be the latest corporate entity to not understand the sport and its (their) customer base.  

I can only hope for those who recognized the potential in Hellmund's vision that this year's US Grand Prix will still prove a great success.   Perhaps I'm being a bit reactionary.

It did not help matters that the attached, rather vague seating map noted "breaking" as opposed to "braking" points:

   You get my drift.