+1 I really want this to happen, but the arguments are starting to line up against it. The Autosport interview left me with no confidence. That could have been PeeWee speaking. I also never quite understand why they spend weeks or months on planning a track layout. To me that really isn't rocket science (I have developed track layouts for virtual racing) and if you look at the poor outcome of almost every Tilke design it is hard to imagine they spent more than 5 minutes and a cocktail napkin on it.
Most F1 tracks have on average about 600 acres for the actual track layout. It's 2000 acres for the airport facility & 800 acres for the track.
Why do you say that? Is there an announcement or something expected? I remember Donington, it wasn't necessarily obvious that it was failing until the moment when the construction permits should have been given and started to delay. Do we know of any upcoming deadlines in this project?
A lot of us saw Donnington as the cynical ploy that it was from the start. Bernie wouldn't offer up another straw dog to get an established track (in this case Indy) off the dime. Would he?
Quite frankly I don't really care what Bernie thinks or plans as this has nothing to do with him. Nor did Donington: Had they come through with what they planned, Silverstone would be no longer hosting a race. If these guys do what they promised, there will be an Austin GP. Simple as that. If they fail to deliver then not and it will be their own fault. I'm getting a little tired of the Bernie bashing and the claims he is Anti USA. Maybe he even is, but it is meaningless: He has offered a contract, which these parties accepted. If they do their deal, there will be a race. Had the USF1 clowns produced a car, they'd be racing this season. Has nothing to do with Bernie's attitude.
IMO Donnington was never viable and Bernie was banking on it. It may well be that he wants a USGP and thinks Indy is the best (only?) spot. I'm not bashing Bernie. He is what he is. A very astute and successful businessman. What he is not is a custodian of the sport and there is no reason he should be.
I don't know enough about getting construction permits in the UK to say whether it was realistic to do the project in the given timeframe, but that aside it was absolutely feasible if they had had the money. I always thought they went completely overboard with the new track layout, which complicated matters, but if you have the dough, feel free to spend it.
I can't agree it has nothing to do with him or that Donington didn't either. He put together a "deal" that he knew was virtually unachievable. He has no shortage of people willing to take the deal, because if they pull it off, they become quite rich and a big fish in the F1 world. If they fail to pull it off, they don't have much to lose. So it's a win/win for them - of course everyone would take that deal. Bernie knows this and uses it as a negotiation tool. An F1 race is a business venture just like any other business venture, and to an extent, Bernie doesn't "owe" the fans anything - it's not like this is life or death. On the other hand, sport is a unique business because it's entire value is derived solely from the interest of the fans. Bernie is flippant with the fans. We saw this at Indy in 2005. We see it with each announcement from Bernie that such-and-such (much loved) race is on the chopping block. We see it with his negotiation tactics where he wields the hopes and desires of the fans as a sword to get other people to give him more money, then tosses those same hopes and desires aside without a second thought. So I do blame Bernie for this latest horse and pony show. Yeah, if Tavo puts together a whole track from absolute scratch in < 2 years, he will get the race. And if Indy pays $100mm a year with a 10% annual increase, and full pre-payment, they could secure an F1 race for the next 50 years.... but neither of those is going to happen.
Just checked out the aerial photos of the site on Google. I don't think the neighbors have any idea what they're in for.
What's a little more noise only a few days of the year from some high performance engines. They are already on the departure end of 17L, so they get noise on a daily basis.
I'd love to be wrong. I think Austin is a fantastic choice for a track. A bit early to be planning a dinner party though...
U.S. Grand Prix promoter Tavo Hellmund says he will reveal the layout of his new Formula One track soon, and that the circuit will be quite impressive and challenging. Speaking to the Speed TV program "Wind Tunnel" on Sunday night, Hellmund said the track--planned for construction on about 900 acres located about 20 miles from downtown Austin--will feature more than 20 corners, with a total length exceeding 3.2 miles. Hellmund said that F1 architect Hermann Tilke's design firm has completed its plans, and that those plans will be made public "soon." According to reports out of Austin, city and county planners expect to receive the plans shortly, possibly even this week. I think [fans will] be pleased that for a true natural-terrain road course, kind of like in the '60s, you'll be able to see a lot of the track, Hellmund said.
Is it hilly? Man, I'd love 'em to do a "bowl" like Brands or Hungary where you can see more than one corner.....
