Where will Bernie Ecclestone Blvd be??? BTW: very good Tex Mex in Austin as well as Mexican food. Austin is a great town. Did I tell you the one about the school secretaries convention.... See post #110
I did notice that recollection.....LOL! That hotel was very popular with Call Girls as you could enter at the second level from the garage without going thru the Main Lobby..... Ahem.....I've heard.....you know....strictly rumor......
I keep getting more and more excited about this each day. Hopefully we will find the exact location of the track soon so I can open up a burger joint across the street!
Have just been listening to "Midweek Motorsport" on Radio Le Mans and they have just given Austin a thumbs up. They tend to be a fairly critical bunch but they all thought Austin to be a great location for the USGP. I suppose their opinion does not mean a lot but it is a European view. Mike, Austin Texas. 1978 Merak SS
I love Austin. I am concerned about how hot it will be if it is a summer race, though. I assume it would be in June.
To make the cross Atlantic trip economical pairing it with Canada would make sense so June seems logical.
I was saying that Watkins is better suited than Monticello Motorports Park (see the thread I was responding to...), and I have raced at Watkins too, and my point was there is no way there will ever be a USGP there again, at least as long as the current regime owns the Glen (See ISC).
"Track has been designed and all permits which can be a lengthy process have been acquired. However the design has not yet been released to the public." Although it can be possible to put together a large parcel without tipping one's hand, I find it hard to believe that governmental approvals could be obtained, for such a large proposed facility, without public filings.
This makes me feel much better as my limited knowledge of Texas' topography had me envisioning a dead flat. The Indy "road course" was rediculous. Hopefully the folks behind this venture will build an interesting track to rival our great road courses that can't seem to appease the dwarf.
If any state can pull it off it will be Texas. I really hope it works, if only to see Bernie in a Stetson
Here some fuel to the fire. The announcement was made the day of the completion of purchase closing on the property. Tavo has known Bernie since he was a little kid and from what I've heard is very fond of Tavo and helped him with his racing in Europe early on. Permits have been pulled and the state and local government are behind it not only with the $25M/year to FOM but the track will be home to Green vehicle technologies R&D year round. That's one way to get our many environmentalists onboard. The land that has been purchased is in an area with quite a bit of elevation change. In fact it's an area not too far from my shop that I test drive cars as well as use the hills to load the engine for clearing drive cycles for OBD2. I guess those backroads will be gone soon. I was quite the skeptic at first and my wife thought very negative as well about this be oming a reality as if it does come to pass it will impact my business greatly. It seems each day more of the details trickle out and things are looking more likely than not.
Although there are fewer specifics than I'd like, this does seem to have a lot more substance than any of the other USGP rumors. I will not be surprised if they do pull it off. Let's hope.
I just learned some interesting news that the Austin GP will be sort of a homecoming for the least expected of drivers, Karun Chandhok. His mother is from San Antonio and his grandparents still live there so he is a Texan by bloodline :thumbup: .
Very cool! I just read about the Bernie/Tavo connection in an interview and was very pleasantly surprised. I sincerely hope for the sake of your business and for the sake of all F1 fans in North America that this comes to fruition!
Tavo's Dad was the F1 promoter for Mexico City and that is where the initial connection came from. I hope it happens for the sake of us all in the US. Texas has a lot of road racers in the state who for years have had to go out of state to race. Not to mention the adjacent states also missing a good road course. The Roval of TMS does not count and TWS unfortunately is litterally falling apart. There are a lot of "club" tracks that have sprung up but most of them missed the boat on layout and especially on proper foundation/substrate causing very bumpy tracks worse than Sebring at speed and a few not very safe IMHO. A few years back one of my clients tried to get a track going with Tilke designing west of Austin but could not put the deal together. He was going at in the country club aspect first and growing it to hit up for big sanctioning bodies/series later. Many people were very excited but no one would seriously put any capitol into it. Securing the F1 USGP rights along with the State of Texas on board with $25M/year seems to have opened people's wallets as I've had several business contacts with serious coin approach me wanting to get an intro to Tavo so they could help finance the project. That being said, I'm still a little shocked but becoming more optimistic each day. Maybe its time for everyone else to be a bit more Positive than Pessimistic.
Fair enough. This does sound like the best bet for a USGP that we've had. I hope it is the world-class facility that we've come to expect with all of the new circuits. Maybe I've missed it...where specifically is the track supposed to be going? I would love to do a little Google Earth fantasizing Your business contacts...are they local or national? I'm wondering what the sponsorship interest is there locally. Is there a large appetite for this type of facility?
