Always Have a Plan B

Sadly, this is the update that we didn't want to be writing about.

Late last night, the Austin American-Statesman posted this update on the Red Bull F1 Showcar:

Red Bull announced early today that they are not doing a public show car event in Austin this week.

“Due to feasibility, a formal Formula One show car demonstration that is open to the public will not be executed this week,” Red Bull said in a statement. “However, in an effort to bring fans up-close and personal to Formula One, the Red Bull Racing show car will be on display in front of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum this Saturday from noon to 2 p.m.”

We don't have any further answers to the Who? What? When? Where? and Why? of it, but don't stay in bed and sob Satuday morning...

We planned an informal meetup from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Saturday at Doc's Motorworks on South Congress. Doc's is AWESOME! They have FANTASTIC food, great drink specials, and are located smack dab in the middle of Austin on the famed South Congress Avenue.

Come join us and connect with other motorsport fans while enjoying the legendary views of downtown Austin.

We'll also have video set up for you to share your thoughts about Austin and send a message to other motorsport fans around the world.

Oh wait, did we mention:

FREE SCHWAG!

So, here's your plan:

Stop by the Austin Infiniti dealer today from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM to check out their "Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 Car." They're located at 8140 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas.

Go down to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum around noon on Saturday to see the Red Bull Racing F1 Showcar which will be on display for the public. Who knows who else could be there alongside the car...

After the museum viewing on Saturday, take the short 5 minute drive down Congress Avenue to Doc's Motorworks, located at 1123 South Congress Avenue. Get free schwag! Be on TV! Well, on the internet at least.

We've been very pleased with the response for our Facebook Event with 85 people RSVP'ing within 24 hours. It's clear y'all are very excited about Formula 1 returning to the U.S. We hope that you'll join us Saturday at Doc's Motorworks so that we can compile interview clips to express the enthusiasm and support for Formula 1 in Austin, with hopes that Red Bull hears the message and returns soon to give Austin a proper show.

Your Daily Red Bull Update

Detail of Proposed Red Bull Racing Showcar AreaMore details for you on the loudly rumored Red Bull Racing F1 Showcar and David Coulthard appearance proposed for this Saturday, August 20, in downtown Austin, Texas. (If you want to see a Red Bull car exhibition, click HERE to read our previous post.)

Here are two maps for you to plan your attendance. The street closures requested in the City of Austin Permit lists blocks 1500-1700 north on Congress Avenue and 0-211 east on 15th Street. The permit lists the 100 east block of 15th Street twice, but we believe this is a mistake, and it should be the 0-125 west block of 15th Street and 0-211 east blocks of 15th Street (technicality).

As the Statesman reported yesterday, the requested permit time is from 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM. A knowledgable F1 source believes the exhibition will not occur until around 10:00 AM. It could take anywhere from 2-3 hours to set up the showcar, pit, filming and safety equipment, and secure the safety and related inspections. They will probably do a few laps and pit stops during filming, as well as media opportunities (still photos, interviews). That brings us to about 11:00 AM, when everything will have to be deconstructed and the permit area cleaned up by noon.

As of 1:16 PM today, the Permit filed with the City of Austin is still listed as "Pending."

We will continue to deliver the latest breaking updates for you as they become available.

Here are some planning tips for you:

• In the maps, the red streets are the proposed showcar streets to be blocked off for the event. The grey streets are Austin's major streets to get you to the event.
• Parking meters are not effective on weekends (this means they are FREE!). Therefore, watch for metered street parking, or there are paid parking garages - but we make no guarantees that they will be open on Saturday morning.
• BRING EARPLUGS! I don't care how macho you are; you will be begging for them!
• This should be no surprise to you: Saturday's forecast is projected to be sunny with a high of 103' F and low of 76' F. But you're in luck: at 10:00 AM it's usually about 85' F. Dress accordingly.
• Bring water! But hopefully there will be Red Bull for you to drink as well.
• Bring cash. Austin has over 4,000 food trucks. Someone get the word out and start inviting food trucks to the area (breakfast tacos anyone??).
• Do you want to book a hotel close to the Capitol and proposed Showcar space? CLICK HERE!

Overview of Proposed Red Bull Racing Showcar Route & Surrounding Area in Austin, Texas

And finally, we went out to the Capitol and proposed Showcar area last night and shot this video for you. Keep in mind, the Showcar DOES NOT have permission from the State of Texas to take the Red Bull Racing F1 Showcar on Capitol grounds, but we love our Capitol and wanted to share it with you.

Trivia question: What makes the Texas Capitol more like the United States Capitol when compared to all other US states? Take a stab at it and we'll give you some free COME AND RACE IT™ gear!

Our lawyers made us write this: *We make no guarantees or assurances to the vailidity of planned events and are not responsible for cancellation or changes to revised event dates. Details provided for informational purposes only and no warranties are made or implied.

Update on 2011-08-16 20:41 by Kevin Olsen

RSVP via our Facebook event HERE!

This Week's Million Dollar Question - When Will Red Bull F1 Come to Austin?

Sunset Over Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas - by Visualist Images, John Rogers

This is the view from the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. It hovers over Lady Bird Lake, is home to the world's largest urban bat population, and in the background, you can see the Texas State Capitol.

"Congress Bridge," for short, is where we hope Red Bull Racing will film DC's inaugural F1 drive this Saturday.

I've been keeping an eye on the City of Austin's permit filings since DC revealed his intentions to take the Red Bull Racing Showcar for a spin in Austin and LA during his summer holiday this month. We were beginning to wonder how Red Bull would shut down the main artery of downtown Austin, Congress Avenue, for such a worldly event, as it has never happened in the US before. I was convinced a vague, yet rejected, permit filed for Fox Sports Promo was going to be edited the day before the event and thereby approved, until a new revelation last night - a permit not-so-stealthly titled "F1 Comes to Austin" was filed on Friday.

David Coulthard at RBR Showcar event in Singapore - April 2011 - Image from Red Bull Racing

We believe, via numerous sources, that the Red Bull Racing Showcar expedition will be in Austin this Saturday, August 20 (and in LA on the 19th). And, that's about it. No word on time. No word on location. Their permit language is confusing in that it says: "Film crew will be shooting a Formula One Car Driving driving down Congress Avenue towards the Capitol Building and exiting towards 15th street." This could put us north of the Capitol and headed south, or on our preferred path from the Congress Bridge and heading north towards the Capitol.

Wherever we end up, this is going to be a great event for F1 in the US. We were looking forward to a weekend of F1 fun, with the SENNA movie premiere slated for the 19th. However, the release date for Austin has been pushed back a week, August 26, so you'll just have to make two trips to our fine city.

Plus, this is not Red Bull's first rodeo. They're used to creating wildly successful public events at the drop of a hat. Austin's 2007 Red Bull Flugtag competition drew the largest US attendance of over 85,000 people to the Auditorium Shores of Lady Bird Lake. Were you there?

Heads up: we also enabled hotel booking on our site last week. Why should you book with us? Because we support local businesses and invest back in the Austin community whenever possible. $2 of each hotel room rental per night will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters; having been a "Big Sister" in Central Texas since 2004, this charity is important to AGP. We can also help large groups with easy booking - contact us for assistance.

So, our question remains - Will DC and Red Bull COME AND RACE ITTM?

*We make no guarantees or assurances to the vailidity of planned events and are not responsible for cancellation or changes to revised event dates. Details provided for informational purposes only and no warranties are made or implied.

David Coulthard To Drive F1 Car in Austin

Before Saturday's qualifying session, the BBC's F1 crew was catching viewers up on the progress at the Circuit Of The Americas and did a plug for an event DC is doing in America.

Here's the transcript:

Jake Humphrey - "But you're off to Texas soon to drive an F1 car, right?"

David Coulthard - "Indeed, I'm heading out there during the summer break whilst everyone's taking two and a half weeks away from Formula 1. I'll be doing a little demonstration with a Formula 1 car in L.A. and then heading down to Texas to do downtown Austin, to try and get a flavor of Formula 1 and show the people..."

JH - "Nice, so make a bit of noise?"

DC - "and make some noise"

JH - "...and make some smoke, brilliant, we'll show you that on the BBC as well..."

Well David, we are ecstatic and can't wait for you to COME AND RACE IT™!

We're expecting the official news for this event to be released very shortly and hope that you all can join us on the streets of downtown Austin at this exciting event. Given Red Bull's experience in the Austin community at holding large events (i.e. Red Bull Flutag) and several others, we also anticipate this will be a RB event, which should make it an instant success.

Here's a little taste of the Red Bull Showcar with DC driving:

Slow Down There 'Pardner, Keep Your Shirts On

Is this really what we want to see in front of us at an F1 race in June? Lets hope this guy gets a COME AND RACE IT™ shirt!Many in the motorsports industry were quite surprised when the FIA World Motor Sport Council established the preliminary 2012 calendar a few months ago and set the Inaugural Austin F1 race date for June 17th, 2012. If you were to ask any Austinite about holding a major event outdoors in the summer, they would have just about died laughing. Clearly, the WMSC and other primarily European F1 decision makers didn't quite understand the gravity of the heat in Texas, and what it would mean to the many international travelers whom would be leaving 21º C (70º F) average highs in Europe, would be very surprised with Austin's average of 33º C (91º F) for the month of June.

We expressed our same concern when we first heard about the June race date, but didn't bring it up, expecting it to be changed later in November, when the official 2012 calendar is set.  Well as Autosport is reporting today, Bernie Eccelstone has sent out a message to the teams about modifying the calendar for the 2012 season and is expected to push for Austin to be moved to November, just before the Brazilian GP.

This is very welcome news from our point of view and also makes a lot more sense logistically. Granted, the Canadian GP in Montreal is in early June and holding the USGP just back-to-back is logical. However, this would force the teams to either drive from Montreal or pack up and fly to Austin. 

F1 car being loaded on DHL plane for transportTransporting the teams is a costly and logistically complex operation, employing many people dedicated just to move the teams around the world. Thankfully, the F1 fleet of DHL planes on their way to Brazil in November, stop over at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) for a layover.  It's no coincidence that COTA picked a parcel of land so close to the airport here in Austin, whereby having the F1 fleet fly through Austin would be cost effective and efficient.  Things just keep falling into place, huh?

So what does this potential calendar change to late fall really mean?

1) It will be significantly cooler and more enjoyable for you to walk around the track, explore the various events at Circuit of The Americas and in downtown Austin, and allow you to focus on having fun in our fine city; not spend it hopping from shade spots to shade spots, searching for water, misters and A/C.

2) This will allow COTA to meet more of the deadlines with ease and ensure that the facility is at its peak operational capability when the teams arrive early the week before the F1 race.

3) As our friend John Maher at the Austin American-Statesman reported in April, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) stated it would consider moving a 2012 Longhorns football (American) game if it conflicts with the F1 race in Austin. A reminder that each UT Longhorns football game draws a crowd average of 100,000. Also, the F1 calendar is set prior to NCAA football schedules, which would prevent logistical change of schedule nightmares. More great news, unless of course, you were hoping to double book your trip here to see F1 and some great Texas football.

4) Ozone levels are lower in the fall than in the summer and will have less environmental impact. As discussed in the City of Austin's agreement with CELOC (the organizing entity for Circuit of the Americas to receive state funds), the Central Texas ozone season is April 1 - October 31. Therefore, a November race would complement environmental initiatives established by Council Members Chris Riley and Mike Martinez.

And to keep the ball rolling, Austin businesses in cooperation with the Austin Chamber of Commerce are working to get Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) to accomodatedirect international flights instead of going through Dallas and Houston.  This of course means less layovers for travelers and a more internationally friendly atmosphere, so lets hope this happens as well!

Update

on 2011-07-28 21:37 by Kevin Olsen

OFFICIAL UPDATE

After calling attention to the Autosport article, we spoke with COTA and they have expressed the following:

"Until such time as we receive an official announcement regarding changes to the schedule, we are proceeding as planned toward the June 17, 2012 date."

As noted in the original article, we support and predict numerous advantages of an Austin F1 race date that falls later in the 2012 season. We will, of course, continue to support COTA's moves to stay on track for a June 2012 inaugural race!

Update

on 2011-08-02 06:47 by Kevin Olsen

UPDATE #2

Autosport is reporting that the teams have not agreed to the revised calendar for the 2012 season citing "logistical nightmares" for the end of the season.  We sure hope that this can be solved and still keep the USGP in the fall timeframe, but ultimately the teams have some very real concerns about moving their staff and equipment from Austin to Brazil in just one week.

ALL IN FAVOR, SAY "AYE"

Austin City Council chambers packed with supporters at last Thursday's meeting

The "ayes" have it and the motion is carried.
Austin Approves F1 Project!

The Austin City Council just voted seconds ago to approve the resolutions related to the Agreement between the City of Austin, The Texas Comptroller and the COTA Local Organizing Committee.

Mayor Leffingwell was joined by Council Members Martinez, Riley, Cole and Spelman in approving the measures. Council Members Tovo and Morrison voted in opposition.

As a recap, the measures:

1. Authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute an Interlocal Agreement with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to: 1) Establish a METF for the F1 US Grand Prix and 2) Set forth the rights and obligations of the parties as required under the METF statute.
2. Authorized the COTA Local Organizing Committee ("CELOC") to act on the city's behalf 1) Establish the parties' authority, rights, and responsibilities with respect to an application to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for creation of a METF in support of the F1 US Grand Prix and 2) establish the parties' authority, rights, and responsibilities with respect to payments to and from the Fund.
3. (Hotel fee waiver ordinance)
4. Discussion and possible action on a term sheet describing environmental standards and expectations regarding the Circuit of the Americas and related parties.

We also enjoyed reading Council Member Bill Spelman's email that he sent in response to all those that emailed him about the F1 vote. He highlights three concerns:

1. There must be no financial risk for the City of Austin or its taxpayers.
2. The City of Austin must be able to terminate all contracts due to non-performance.
3. Circuit of the Americas must meet the sustainability expectations.

You can take a closer look at Mr. Spelman's email by clicking here.

Regarding the sustainibility expectations, The Austin American-Statesman exclusively shared a press release from Council Member Chris Riley's office late yesterday afternoon. Mr. Riley, Council Member Mike Martinez and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell all sponsor and support an unprecedented initiative to make Circuit of the Americas a landmark "Green" Formula One facility. This tentative agreement addresses numerous environmental and sustainibility issues. Here are a few points that COTA has tentatively agreed to implement at the one-of-a-kind Circuit of the Americas:

• Provide satellite parking and dedicated lanes for mass transit options
• Build structures to Austin Energy Green Building standards
• Invest in on-site renewable energy
• Embrace aggressive recycling and composting practices
• Invest in local carbon offsets, such as tree plantings and land conservation
• Buy into Austin Energy’s Green Choice program
• Dedicate land for a community garden
• Partner with other organizations, such as Austin Technology Incubator, to support on-site green technology and research and development projects
• Coordinate with local educational institutions such as UT, Texas State , Huston-Tillotson, and Texas A&M to do green racing and transportation research
• Host alternative energy and energy efficient car races, in addition to cycling and foot races

Thanks EVERYONE for your help, tweets, comments, posts; YOU truly helped MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Austin, MAKE IT HAPPEN! from The Austin Grand Prix on Vimeo.

More THANK YOUs to everyone who has ever watched and participated in the past five (yes 5) Austin City Council meetings regarding F1 since November of last year.

Your first beer at the inaugural F1 race at Circuit of the Americas
in 2012 is ON US!

Cheers :)