COTA Adding More Seats for November F1 Race

Due to high demand, Circuit of The Americas has just announced additional grandstand seats to be released to the public.

The new Grandstand bleacher seating positions include Turn 9, which slopes toward Turn 10 (the second highest elevation) and gives "an incredible view of the cars a they speed downhill towards Turn 11."

The second option is Turn 11 West which is "the perfect location to spot overtaking cars as they rush down the hill from Turn 10 at speeds of 180 MPH to take the hairpin Turn 11 before accelerating full throttle down the longest straighwaty of the track."

If you have already purchased General Admission tickets, you can call Ticketmaster Fan Support at 1.800.653.8000 with the option to trade in your tickets for bleacher grandstand seating of equal or greater value in these two new turns.

// UPDATE - 5:00PM

Some individuals are reporting additional costs to upgrade to Turn 9 ($290) and Turn 11 West ($260) when they call Ticketmaster.

New aerial photograph of Turns 9 & 11 grandstands. Image courtesy of COTA.

Update on 2012-06-20 22:54 by Kevin Olsen

COTA shared this note about upgrading your General Admission seats to the newly-released bleacher seating:

As a purchaser of General Admission tickets, you have the option to apply the value of your General Admission ticket(s) towards the newly available Turn 9 or Turn 11 West tickets. 

The newly created Turn 9 and Turn 11 West Grandstand pricing is consistent with previously available grandstands. We are simply making this opportunity available for all General Admission ticket buyers since these Grandstands were not available during the public onsale. 

PLEASE NOTE: If you apply the value of your initial purchase towards seats of greater value, you will be required to pay the difference.

To exchange your tickets, or to answer any questions you may have, please call Ticketmaster Fan Support at 1.800.653.8000.

Behind the Scenes at COTA with Miró Rivera Architects

The fact that they will reach 190 mph going steeply uphill toward what looks like a 310 degree turn right at the peak seems insane to me. I'd go to a race just for that alone.

Jeffrey McCord, an architecture graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, had that to say after touring COTA on April 6 with his professor, Juan Miró. Juan is also the principal of Miró Rivera Architects, the Austin-based company recruited to build out two major elements of COTA - the Grandstand and the Viewing Platform. Miró took his studio students out for a site visit this past Friday and below are some amazing up-close-and-personal photographs.

Brittany Cooper, who is a LEED certified Green Associate, just like Edgar Ferrera, COTA's Sustainability Director, was also impressed with the project. The group of students fittingly drove the track in a school bus, so David Coulthard likely still holds the fastest lap time.

I didn't realize how large the project/site was out there. It is going to be quite the destination when it is finished. I was thoroughly impressed. We got to drive the track in a school bus. It was pretty hilarious!

Brittany, Jeffrey and other architecture students enjoyed the comprehensive tour and were able to grasp the magnitide of the project from ground zero. Juan also shared his vision with the students firsthand, explaining in more detail the logistics behind the Grandstand and the Viewing Platform. Brittany adds:

The coolest part of the project to me was the tower at the end of the Grand Plaza (under construction).  Juan told us that this will be the only Formula 1 circuit in the world where you can get a full view of the entire track from one spot. Awesome.

Enjoy these photographs below.