COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

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What do you think of the prospect of a USGP 2012 at Austin Texas

Good thinking. Place has good infra structure and nice climate in winter.
125
47%
Not good as it has no motor sport tradition in the US.
23
9%
I will wait to see how it will shape up.
97
36%
I don't care.
23
9%
 
Total votes : 268

Post Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:14 pm

Now we can get down to some more plausible names... Consultation Corner, Libel bend, Billable Hours backstrait, The BAR... No US story is complete without a good old fashioned law suit!
Nickel
 
Joined: 2 Jun 2011
Location: London Mountain, BC

Post Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:12 pm

hairy_scotsman wrote:
xpensive wrote:Oh but I know what GA means but what is grass seating, just hanging around or what?

Yeah...typical GA I suppose...but there is no word if chairs, etc will be allowed. It's hard for me to see 80,000 people all on shuttle buses with chairs, etc.

GA would be a great way to go at this track, but if these details are accurate, it would seem they want to make GA as inconvenient and unpleasant as possible.

Do they realize that without great GA sales, they're screwed no matter how many high-dollar PSLs, etc that they sell?


I expect they'll ban folding chairs brought into the track and rent folding chairs at the track (at a very high price I'd guess). This method is used at a local Houston outdoor concert facility. I hope TV is not blacked out here in Houston. Any word on TV coverage/blackout???
Enzo Ferrari was a great man. But he was not a good man. -- Phil Hill
donskar
 
Joined: 3 Feb 2007
Location: Texas, USA

Post Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:44 pm

WhiteBlue wrote:...
Improper and unlawful take over by withholding promised funding. That is a very serious claim. It pretty much describes what I have thought has happened there last year. It will be interesting what the law will say about the claims and what additional information will emerge through the law suit.


So WB, do you figure this will have an impact on the completion of the track by August and the race in November?
"Bernoulli is a nine-letter name"
xpensive
 
Joined: 22 Nov 2008

Post Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:25 pm

xpensive wrote:So WB, do you figure this will have an impact on the completion of the track by August and the race in November?


I don't think so. The contract battle with Ecclestone was also conducted without loosing the race. So one assumes that all parties of the law suit have a vested interest to see the race going forward and take place. The law suit is about money and correcting the supposedly unlawful actions of Mr. Epstein.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best .............................. organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
WhiteBlue
 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Location: WhiteBlue Country

Post Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:06 pm

http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula ... 15199.html

Very interesting article, will this effect the construction work?
If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari.

Gilles Villeneuve
Hail22
 
Joined: 8 Feb 2012

Post Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:50 pm

WhiteBlue wrote:
xpensive wrote:So WB, do you figure this will have an impact on the completion of the track by August and the race in November?


I don't think so. The contract battle with Ecclestone was also conducted without loosing the race. So one assumes that all parties of the law suit have a vested interest to see the race going forward and take place. The law suit is about money and correcting the supposedly unlawful actions of Mr. Epstein.


I beg to differ, I think this will effectively put an end to the entire thing. But that's me and you know me.
"Bernoulli is a nine-letter name"
xpensive
 
Joined: 22 Nov 2008

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:10 am

None of the parties has an interest to stop the work now. They would all loose a lot more than the subject of the law suit. So the logical conclusion is that the work will not stop. They all have the same business interest in seeing the track finished and the races run. It is just another round of power play over the payed positions and some shares in the company. But anybody is invited to follow their own logic and opinion.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best .............................. organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
WhiteBlue
 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Location: WhiteBlue Country

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:35 am

None of the parties had an interest in any of this happening in the first place. Yet, it's happened nonetheless.

At this point, I think it's foolish to predict a logical conclusion, because the only aspect of this entire clusterf__k that's proven reliable thus far is that logic is nowhere to be found.
bhallg2k
 
Joined: 28 Feb 2006

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:54 am

I still believe that Epstein and McCombs are dependent on more investments to complete the track, I just don't think they have the estimated 300 MUSD to do so. I'm afraid these recent events will make it very difficult to raise more.
"Bernoulli is a nine-letter name"
xpensive
 
Joined: 22 Nov 2008

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:18 am

xpensive wrote:I still believe that Epstein and McCombs are dependent on more investments to complete the track, I just don't think they have the estimated 300 MUSD to do so. I'm afraid these recent events will make it very difficult to raise more.


If thats the case, which circuit would replace Austin if it doesn't make the cut?

or will it just be similar to Bahrain 2011 that it is a non-raced event (points go begging).
If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari.

Gilles Villeneuve
Hail22
 
Joined: 8 Feb 2012

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:29 am

Future of the GP now?

After seeing some of the access issues, seating policies, and ticket prices....WHO CARES!

I think I will spend my cash watching Rube's swan song at an Indy event.



Have all these recent F1 start-ups been such fiascos? :wtf:
Scorpaguy
 
Joined: 4 Mar 2010

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:31 am

Hail22 wrote:If thats the case, which circuit would replace Austin if it doesn't make the cut?

or will it just be similar to Bahrain 2011 that it is a non-raced event (points go begging).

I don't think anyone in F1 would have a problem with the added "free" time during the season that would result from a cancelled USGP. The teams, or more specifically, those teams that represent a manufacturer with business interests in the American market, might lament the lost opportunity. But, I think, not for long; Jersey's NAGP is just around the corner.
bhallg2k
 
Joined: 28 Feb 2006

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:56 am

xpensive wrote:I still believe that Epstein and McCombs are dependent on more investments to complete the track, I just don't think they have the estimated 300 MUSD to do so. I'm afraid these recent events will make it very difficult to raise more.


It is anybodies guess! The way money is spend now it looks like there is no shortage of cash at all. Which leads me back to the old suspicion that the trifle of a $ 500,000 finance bill was simply used as a pretence to sabotage Tavo's initial plans to be COTA's chairman and public icon. Nobody ever disputed his claim to the whole idea of having an F1 race and dedicated circuit near Austin. But some people seems to have got greedy and almost managed to fock it all up.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best .............................. organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
WhiteBlue
 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Location: WhiteBlue Country

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:58 am

Public icon?
bhallg2k
 
Joined: 28 Feb 2006

Post Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:47 am

WhiteBlue wrote:
xpensive wrote:I still believe that Epstein and McCombs are dependent on more investments to complete the track, I just don't think they have the estimated 300 MUSD to do so. I'm afraid these recent events will make it very difficult to raise more.


It is anybodies guess! The way money is spend now it looks like there is no shortage of cash at all. Which leads me back to the old suspicion that the trifle of a $ 500,000 finance bill was simply used as a pretence to sabotage Tavo's initial plans to be COTA's chairman and public icon. Nobody ever disputed his claim to the whole idea of having an F1 race and dedicated circuit near Austin. But some people seems to have got greedy and almost managed to fock it all up.


It is not just about $500,000 it is about 25% stake in the COTA.

He would have had his claim of his 25% if he had brought in the $25 million from the state, but something blew up and had no way (or could not find) of paying BE. Bobby and others now had to deal with BE diretely, maybe they had the option of buying the Tevo's 25% for $18 million, but took the other route.

All maybe's
WilliamsF1
 
Joined: 6 Jan 2010

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