cota

it was not Dry Camping in N this year, nor last year at LeMans......the worst part was when the campers would get stuck (out of level, a big deal in using it!) they just said: "Ho hum...we will pull you out on Monday"

That might have been what actually was my end.
I pestered the office, and went to look for the Grounds Department, for a tractor and chains.

I also suggested they go up there and pass out free hats!
I am ALL about free hats!

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Here's the deal.....

There's WAY too many chiefs, and chief's wives...
It needs ONE guy with some people skills, at the top, and the rest need to fall in under him.

Because of the money investment, everyone acts like it's Bobby Epstein, but unless he wants to quit his day job (not likely) then he needs a Track Czar, and that's it.

There's too many "Departments of this and that" which leads to a BUNCH of unpleasant power tripping, come show time!

It's not pretty to watch....

 

Luckily for all of us from Denver a nice gent from Texas had a RAM 3500 and was pulling people out for free.. I did wait for Monday and got out but most of our group went up to Leander to the KOA..

We all lived through USGP/COTA/Mudpalooza 2015!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206605321664347&set=t.1011232329&type=3&theater

 

Well, I can certainly throw a better party....

Get Eve Monsees on the phone......

 

Uh oh... The State of Texas has rethought the $25mm a year deal with COTA. I sure hope that they work something out. I've gone to COTA every year and will really miss it if it doesn't host F1 next year.

Why the future of Austin?s F1 race is in doubt | www.mystatesman.com

 

What a joke. Texas agrees to give them 25M a year, then decides that is too much and will only give them 19.5M. So now it is up to the organizers to cover that 4.5M?

Furthermore, if the event only brings in 25M in revenue locally, why would they pay 25M out? Not a very good investment on the part of Texas.

It's amazing that the event brings in the exact amount of the sanctioning fee. Amazing is one word to describe it...cooked might be another.

Now just to put in perspective how absurd 250M over 10 years is - the Cowboys 1.2B stadium only costs tax payers 65.3M over 29 years. That is 10 games (w preseason) or more each year, plus special events and other sporting events - all the associated visiting fans and TV exposure - which is very significant.

F1 economics don't work. Not sure how it ever got approved to begin with honestly.

 

Article makes it appear COTA was treated in a special way compared to other events. That being said, reliance on the graces of elected officials is not a sound way to keep an event funded. They come and go and change laws to suit the great good if it suits their objectives.

 

If Bernie doesn't stop asking circuits all this money they'll end up racing only in Abu Dhabi

 

+1 his business model of zero gain for promoters with funding by Gov cannot continue with the classic circuits in mind. We will soon have the dictator F1 series instead of Monza, Austin or Spa. Joke.

 

+1

One has to feel sory for Austin, with the bad weather that spoiled the US GP this year.

Many people must have cancelled the trip, or shorten their stay, and certainly the mood among spectators was probably not to part with lots of money on that weekend.

We had had bad weather conditions some years here in England at Silverstone, and that affected the gate receipt, the shops, the catering, etc...

 

Exactly. If your business can't make money without a handout, then it isn't a real business.

 

With the drastic reduction in oil prices/related revenue which other races now might be in peril???

 

Really? I thought I read (from you? Or Big Tex?) that ticket sales were as strong as ever? No doubt the weather didn't help - Welcome to Silverstone!.... It's very rarely *not* raining there, and they deal with it!

Not feeling sorry for them - they knew (or damn well should have known!) what they were getting involved with going in. OK, weather was a huge curveball, but Spa & Silverstone deal with it almost every year..... Just sayin'.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Hope that some kind of accomodation can be made for Austin to assist the race. Its a superb track and event. It needs to be kept.

 

Bernie is only interested in himself. Threatening the F1 race at COTA because of government cutbacks will only WORSEN the situation.

Way to go Bernie. You have the political skills of a gnat.

 

Not only.I think that's an over simplification. Bernie tries to find venue that give more cash; that's true.

FOM redistributes to the teams 65% of the money, plus there are the organisation costs, and the shareholders to keep happy.

Lowering the fees would mean the teams receiving less money at the end of the season.

Maybe we should ask the teams how they would feel about that.

 

Thanks for the info!

...and LOL @ 33M. Austin is going to die. What a shame for US Motorsports.

 

Concur.

I better go next year before it's gone. Although with all this talk it worries me that something bad could happen - like purchasing tickets for a gp which gets cancelled. Do we know if the fees have been paid for next year?

 

You don't understand Texas politics. Having a European billionaire saying the people of Texas shouldn't pull some tax money to support COTA or he may pull the race from them will go over like a lead balloon.

It just makes it worse.

 

So, what do they expect? That Bernie gives them a discount and pay for the shortfall from his own pocket?