Austin Grand Prix - What tickets to purchase

I didn't have much idea last year either, and opted for general admission. I felt I would have the ability to sit in different areas, and since it was such an unknown, I'd rather spend a bit less for the first year.

The main thing I learned was to buy a seat in one of the grandstands just to have a seat. General admission sucks because you have to lug your chair in, and get there super early to nail down a decent seat. It'd be way better to just mosey in at your leisure and take your reserved seat.

 

General admission isn't too bad. You can get a lot of nice views. I walked around a bit during practice and qualifying so I'm not sure what it would be like during the race. There are nice views available with GA but I'm not sure how crowded it will be.
Lodging will be a large expense as well. Get on that NOW if you haven't already.

 

GA isn't bad as there are plenty of great viewing areas but the grandstands at turn 12 are amazing. Yes, the tickets are expensive.

Worse yet, UT Longhorns are playing Oklahoma State in Austin that weekend. Wouldn't you love to hear the conversations between Bernie and UT football regarding scheduling.

Better get your lodging now.

 

I don't think I actually SAT in any real seat for more than 5 minutes the entire week last year.

On a budget, get GA and enjoy the overall experience! Make the walk around the entire track , you will enjoy yourself!

If you have the means, get a seat as others have stated.

S

 

We bought seats last year but for the race itself, ended up taking chairs and camping out at turn 11. It was such a great spot and great time that we just decided to buy GA for this year's event. Granted, our seats were at turn 2 so weren't the greatest to begin with. Plenty of good spots to watch the race but get there early on race day to claim your real estate...

 

I had a seat at turn 12 -- it was amazing.

I walked the entire track, and watched some of the pre-race races from GA. There is a very nice area looking at turn 12 and down the straight. From there you could see turns 12-15. The area was pretty packed with people, however. You would want to get there early to claim your spot.

I think that GA would be fine if you are going in a small group of 3 or 4. That way you can set up your chairs and always leave one person on guard duty while the others go buy food our souvenirs. (Note that the chairs will only be used while waiting for the race -- you'll have to stand during the actual race to see over the heads.)

 

I had seats in turn 9, but ended up watching from the GA area on the front stretch

 

Buy GA if you're on a budget. Then buy the cheapest folding chair you can find and after the race, leave it there.

There was a great GA spot at turn 15 where you had a great view of a few areas of the track.

 

Be aware that a larger number of GA will be sold the second year, they intentionally reduced the quantity to 'soft start' the facility.

The UP side is sure, you can meander around and sit anywhere, there were a lot of areas where you could be on the ground level, right in front of a megabuck VIP viewing suite!

Turn 2,3,4 complex was great for that as they came over the Tunr 1 hill and showered down full throttle down the back section.

Go for it, have fun....contact me if you cannot find a place to stay.
There's some good 'low key' offerings among our chatters.
Don't worry about the game, what's 110K footie ball fans!??

 

We are in turn 12 as well. It should be great.

 

I'm looking forward to this year with the red roof north gang!

 

There have been rumblings of an FChat meet, but nothing official yet that I know of.

Red Roof North! Red Roof North!

 

I am planing on going this year.

 

hey nick,make sure you get a hair cut.

 

Turns 12 & 15 are supposed to be the best spots. I had GA up on the hill at turn 1 and was quite happy.

 

I enjoyed my GA tix last year... Bring a chair or blanket and get lots of different vantage points around the track.

 

The profiteering price gouging festival in Austin makes the tickets the cheap part. I had Turn 12 and am returning there. It is one of the key overtaking points and you can see 13, 14, 15 and the entry to 16, as well as 1, teh entry into 2, and the exit of the esses to 9 from these stands.

 

I was at turn 11w for the race last year, lots of walking. I might try to turn 12 or GA this year but still don't know about attending all three days. All that walking about wore me out. Maybe just for practice & qualifying but the race back home.

 

I was in Turn 12 during the race last year, but the only time I was in the grandstand was during the first 15 minutes of FP1 and then during the race. I watched action from pretty much every GA area and every grandstand (they were open to anyone on Friday).

Having seen all the areas, the best place to watch the race is from the Turn 12 through Turn 15 complex. Turn 1 would be fun to watch during the start, but you don't see any significant passing. The main grandstand was fun since you see the pit lane and the standing start, but you don't see any on-track action. Turn 11 was really fun to watch, but it was way too far away from the rest of the track (you did have quite a few tasty food trucks nearby though all to yourself). The Turn 2-5 complex was extremely entertaining to see the cars at the limit through the esses, but once you've seen 5 minutes of it you've seen enough.

I managed to grab some Turn 15 seats when the tickets first went on sale. My main reason for changing from Turn 12 is that I can see the same corners as Turn 12 but with a seatback up against my back instead of some random person's knee for 2 hours. Plus the fact that the Turn 12 grandstand rocked back and forth during the race when everyone stood up during the race, I would rather be in one of the permanent grandstands instead.