US GP in Austin Discussion and Speculation...

Take note Austin we all stayed in San Antonio leaving your rooms vacant. That's what happens when you take advantage of fans. We also flew into, rented cars and spent our food and beverage dollars in SA.

I plan to do the same next year it worked out in my groups favor on many fronts.

 

Thanks for the tip! I hope to attend coming over from Europe.

 

This is good to hear. Too many Austin hotels were "booked" and overpriced, yet had many vacant rooms. The cancellations and rebookings at higher prices were not common, but did happen.

Try www.airbnb.com and www.homeaway.com or hit me up, I might have a friend or even a guest room available.

 

It was the first race and alot of things could have been better yet with time they will improve. I find it rather rediculous that some are basing their opinions of the entire experience on an event that was reportedly never going to happen. I honestly believe/think that there should be some sort of recognition for the race actually taking place and recieving rave reviews.

Is your glass half full or half empty?

 

I totally agree. Honestly the one night we went to Austin during our 5 day trip (to check out Fan Fest) all restaurants in the downtown area had a 2+ hour wait. Saying it was a huge success in the local media is interesting but not as interesting as controversy. News stations want ratings this exposé was garbage and very one sided. Every rental car in Austin was spoken for did they say anything about that? What about the uptick for retail businesses in general! I guarantee if the state/city had to do it again, knowing what they know now they would do it with no reservations. Which is why F1 will be running in Austin next Nov.

It just sucks that they sacrifice a great event to sell ads. I guarantee they were down at fan Fest and the track covering the excitement and the hype. Take the media at face value.

 

Lady Valeria's were $1,250.00......

 

That article proves much of what I have been saying, Guero's (the restuarant cited as "down") is south of Colorado River (my turf, I have been recommending with my posts) and these local "cool" places were not part of the promotions downtown.

I made last minute VIP reservations for 12 at Antone's Saturday night.....no problem.
That's the "old Austin" that is waiting to be discovered.

I'm glad San Antone worked for you!

I'm hoping some Fchatters that went to Gruene will report in.

 

There was a track day scheduled for a DE club called The Drivers Edge that was just cancelled, and rumor is that all track rentals in 2013 have been cancelled...

I take that as a sign that November's F1 race and the projected Aussie V8s and Moto GP events, along with the special events at the amphitheatre, will be profitable enough to sustain the facility...

 

Not true. Ride Smart is already booking motorcycle track days there for next year.

 

Could be that a driving school (4 wheel) signed an exclusive for $$$.

Or it could be that the dates conflict with AMA Superbike event or testing, likely about to be announced: http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2012/12/19/ama-superbikes-to-austin/

 

I was not really planning to go back until the ALMS race in Sept but a bike race would be fantastic! Since I was originally introduced to speed/racing via cycle's in the '70's it would be sort of a homecoming. After the races the barbq could include a viewing of one of the greatest bike movies ever made................
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Hmm, actually a lot of people on their facebook page are reporting all non-formal racing events at COTA have been canceled:
http://www.facebook.com/CircuitofTheAmericas?sk=wall&filter=2

If that's true, I can't imagine why. Even if they were making enough money on the formal events, I can't imagine them turning down $50K a day track rentals.

 

This is a pretty fresh development.

 

At around $460/day-rider, and a 2 day weekend event, it sold out immediately upon being posted as available. They set it up to have 4 groups instead of the usual three and likely larger groups so they could register enough people to keep the price under $500/rider-day. Rumor has it that the track rent is around $45K+/day with emergency services and corner workers.

Kevin Schwantz was originally going to move his track day school there before the collapse of the Full Throttle 'deal' and subsequent fallout. I have PSLs with a bunch of car people so it was easy for me to buy their tickets for MotoGP. Can't wait for April to come around when it is a simple 90 mile trip to the track.

Beats hauling bikes in my Sprinter all the way to Laguna and back for a race weekend!

 

Then again, I just saw this:

Dear Drivers Edge Drivers,



I just recieved a phone call from CoTA's Manager of Track Operations, it wasn't the one I wanted to get.


In short CoTA's executives have decided to cancel all "YES ALL" track rentals. They have decided NOT to rent the track, they plan to go in a different direction.

So it is possible that Ride Smart may be cancelling their events, too. Speculation is the track is concerned about liability of the long back straight and the speeds attained coming into Turn 12.

 

And this from Jalopnic....the same info and speculation.

http://jalopnik.com/5970719/austins-circuit-of-the-americas-cancels-track-days-screws-over-racing-fans-everywhere

 

What a joke, a day after announcing the cancellation and refunding money, this:

Yes, we were reinstated. Here's the email announcement: "Ride Smart and Circuit of The Americas executives today have agreed to go ahead with the June 1 and June 2 RideSmart trackday event. The number one priority for both Ride Smart and Circuit of The Americas is a safe, positive, and a learning experience for the rider, and there is now a clear understanding between Ride Smart and Circuit of the Americas, with the common goal of assuring that participants will receive a safe, fun, and an ultimate experience on this challenging new track.

What a weekend! Thanks for everyone's support.

For those of you that I voided or refunded already, I will send you info on how to get back in. Everyone else, you are good to go!

Randy"