Aerial Update on COTA

With just 5 months to go until the inaugural Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, construction at Circuit of The Americas is rapidly progressing as the 900+ acre site transforms daily into a world class facility. 

Formula 1's most recognized photographers Mark and Keith Sutton of Sutton images visited Austin for Formula Expo this past weekend and took to the skies for a look at COTA.  In addition to their photos from their trip which you can see in this weeks issue of GP Week, the Sutton's brought back some aerial footage of the track as well:

The trip includes captions which indicate the turn locations as they circle around the whole location. If you're on the fence about which tickets to get for the race, this video should give you some idea of the orientation of the track relative to your seating.

If you're curious just how far along the circuit has come in a short amount of time, take a look at our aerial footage from March 2011.  This should help you gain some perspective on the amazing progress made by COTA's construction team in just 15 months since we produced the first aerial video of the circuit:

Exclusive: First Aerial Video of Austin Track Construction from The Austin Grand Prix on Vimeo.

VIDEO: February Construction Update

The Statesman has been on top of construction updates at Circuit of The Americas for February, so we thought we'd revisit the location of our first video shot in Elroy so you can see the progress made in the past year.

Many, many thanks to everyone who supported us for a Social Media Award from Austin's largest newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman. For those of you wondering what F1 in Austin has to do with social media, hopefully this background helps:

The Austin Grand Prix utilizes social media to connect with motorsport fans around the world. Our goal is simple: to help people connect with F1™.

Via independent analysis and on-location accessibility, we're able to deliver insight that translates into conversations with local and international fans, consumers, business owners, industry players and motorsports media. We take the conversation past blogging and into real-time dialogue via daily updates on Twitter. We engage with curious fans via high-quality picture and content sharing on Facebook and deliver unique video content via our Vimeo channel. We launched our COME AND RACE IT e-commerce site to build our brand responsibly and we aim to consistently embrace the latest social media tools, such as Pinterest and Tumblr.

Ultimately, technology is about connecting. Social media is The Austin Grand Prix’s tool to enhance the connection between a sport and its fans. We understand that Formula 1 is the most technologically advanced sport and it’s coming to one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world: Austin, Texas. As Kerri explains, “It’s about a culture that breeds innovation and technology and we're really lucky to have this in such a forward thinking city. I think it's a perfect partnership.”

Because we share a deep passion for our hometown, The Austin Grand Prix also serves as a platform for education and interaction within the city of Austin. We support responsible and sustainable growth for Austin while helping fans around the world learn more about this amazing city. While excitement continues to build for an Austin F1 race in November, The Austin Grand Prix will continue to help novice and intermediate racing fans alike to connect with a technology-fueled sport.

We'll share the results of the nomination process as soon as we receive further details.

A giant Texas-sized THANK YOU for your continual support!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines...in 380 Days!

In just 380 days the construction site behind me will host the 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

2012 Calendar Announcement from The Austin Grand Prix on Vimeo.

This news comes from the FIA World Motorsport Council, who met today in Barcelona, Spain and confirmed the 2012 Formula 1 Calendar. The F1USGP is officially set for June 17th, 2012; just 380 days from today.  Though there are many construction and logistical hurdles to be cleared, and the viability of the track depends on a pre-race inspection, it looks like work at the track will continue to progress full-speed ahead in order to meet the FIA's deadline.

In addition to setting the 2012 calendar, the WMSC voted unanimously to hold the Bahrain GP on Oct 30th this year, following an on site visit with government officials and the FIA Vice President. If you recall, this year's Bahrain GP was set for March 13, but canceled on February 21 due to political unrest in the country. According to the FIA statement, the intention of reinstating this year's race in Bahrain is to use the GP to unite the people of Bahrain, but there are still large challenges to overcome due to the political and humanitarian state there. With this announcement, there has been loud outcry from teams, drivers and F1 fans worldwide who do not agree with this decision.

The Statesman also shared that next Tuesday the Austin City Council will meet with the COTA team to discuss enrolling the City as the "local sponsoring entity" in order to support the Major Events Trust Fund.  Despite rumors and speculation by naysayers, the METF is designed to be a self-sustaining fund that is fueled by increased tax revenues from food, drink, travel and hotel sources in conjunction with major events. Thus, the Austin City Council would play a passive role in this sponsor scenario, and according to Richard Suttle, COTA's lawyer, the city will not be out of pocket for the "rolling loan" needed to kick-start the METF. You can read more at The Statesman.

Well it's no surprise that we're extremely excited about this announcement. We set up a Facebook Event: Formula One Grand Prix of the United States, so be sure to join the event and socialize with us and other fans. We'll be posting information on tickets (the #1 question today!) as soon as it is available, because we want you to join us in Austin in 2012!

You can also sign up for our newsletter for ticket information and to stay up to date on the latest news from Austin!

More detailed investigations into the effect of the Bahrain schedule addition and the City Council/METF meeting next Tuesday will follow.

View from Turn 1 - Circuit of the Americas - Picture taken April 14, 2011 - All Rights Reserved by Austin Grand Prix

Putting F1 in Perspective - Just How Fast?

When watching racing on TV it can be easy to get the magnitude of the car's performance confused by comparing the cars to each other and not stepping back to realize just how fast they really are.  I always used to show my friends a few videos to get them to understand just how big of a gap existed between F1 cars and other racing series or even the cars we can drive ourselves.

I made my friends watch many videos, one of which put an F1 car, a Rally Car and a street car together on a track to show just how big of a difference there is between the three.  I found this video from Top Gear to be a great way to show all of my friends just how fast an F1 car really is, not just speed, but pure acceleration, in the straight or a hairpin.  Despite being produced in the late 1990s, the message of the comparision is still incredibly relevant today (if not exacerbated even more by newer technologies developed in the last 10+ years).

To add to the discussion, this new video put together by a fellow F1 fan shows famous Eau Rouge turn at the Spa circuit in Belgium with different race cars and F1 cars put together.   The camera position is not exactly the same, but the speed difference is very apparent.   Keep in mind, the F1 cars are approaching that turn at 180+ MPH...

Source: Autoblog via VWVortex

There are a few more videos out there, including one from Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes and of course Fifth Gear, but I think it's time for a new one to be made.  Why don't we put an Sebastian Vettel's RB6 vs Ken Block's WRC Ford Focus and a standard street legal Ford Mustang on the new Austin track?   That would be a sight to see, in HD or course!

Valencia Circuit - Ride With Mark Webber

Here's a cool video summary from a F1 Simulator of the Valencia Ciruit of the European Grand Prix by Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing!  This is a good way to see just how the drivers think and what sitting in a Formula 1 car is really like.  Thanks to Red Bull Racing for the video.