McLaren celebrates their win at the USGP in Austin
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The climb up to Turn 1 at Circuit of The Americas (© The Austin Grand Prix)
It is a time to celebrate. To roll out the barrels. To fly the banners. To wave the flags. To welcome the world to the inaugural Austin Grand Prix. However, with Austin’s reputation as ‘The Live Music Capital of the World’, you can guarantee that Travis County will be a rockin’ and a rollin’ and struttin’ its stuff like there is no tomorrow and Iain Robertson declares that nobody could be more delighted.
The Texas State Capitol building on Congress Ave in Downtown Austin, Texas
The following is a special feature from Austin native and long time F1 fan, Dale Daugherty. Dale was the winner of last week's Fan Feature and has offered to share his suggestions to visitors of Austin for the 2012 Formula 1 USGP.
// Formula Fun
Welcome, Formula One fan, to the greatest city in the United States!
Think of me as your friendly, local tour guide. If you find me to be a bit enthusiastic, it’s because I REALLY love my home town… and I am certainly very excited for the 2012 United States Grand Prix! I was born here in 1984, and I have witnessed our evolution from a small Texas city, to a bustling metropolis that constantly finds itself on the nations “Top Ten” lists.
The Combined Transportation, Emergency & Communications Center
// Situation
In a secure room in East Austin, a meeting was held to further explain the lesssons learned from the City's recent trip to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. With representatives in several departments ranging from Transportation and Fire, to EMS and Police, the brefing was a chance to explain the steps being taken to ensure the success of the inagural Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin.
We learned very quickly that the City of Austin and Travis County are working closely with Circuit of The Americas and other governmental agencies to coordinate all aspects of emergency preparations for the race track and Austin. Whether your a die hard racing fan or not, you've no doubt been very interested in how exactly the city will manage such an enormous crowd that expected to dwarf SXSW and ACL Music Fesitival. In the briefing, we learned first hand that the city and county are taking the preparations very seriously and have been working for over a year on how to make things move smoothly come November.
In order to help desciminate this information to you as concise and clear as possible, we've edited the briefing down to 14 videos with targeting questions to the most important questions. If there are some unanswered questions, please feel free to ask below in the comments and we'll do our best to assist or explain further.
// Introduction
// Ticket Information
Circuit of The Americas announced today that individual tickets for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will go on sale Sunday June 10th, at 9am CST.
Prices range from $159 to $499 depending on seating location. All tickets include shuttle transportation from downtown Austin to the circuit, an unprecedented advantage over other circuits.
// Update
Here's a better image from Circuit of The America's site showing the seating locations:
(c) Circuit of The Americas 2012// Full Release
Circuit of The Americas announces on-sale date and pricing for 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™ reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets
Three-day tickets to prestigious international event start at $159 and include round-trip shuttle service
Austin, Texas (June 5, 2012)– Circuit of The Americas today announced the date when members of the public can purchase three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets to the FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™, set for Nov. 16-18, 2012. The soon-to-be-completed center for premium sports and entertainment in Austin, Texas, will host the return of the world-famous Formula 1™ racing series to the United States for the first time in five years. Three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets to the highly anticipated event go on sale Sunday, June 10, at 10 a.m. EDT, at www.CircuitofTheAmericas.com/tickets.
Three-day general admission tickets are priced at an affordable $159 per person and allow fans to choose their views of the action from several grassy berms and spacious public areas surrounding the 375-acre state-of-the-art facility designed by Tilke GmbH, the famed German architectural company known for its work on signature F1™ circuits. Three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats range in price from $269 to $499 per person and offer guests spectacular views from vantage points around the 3.4-mile racetrack, including Turns 2, 3, 4, 5, 11 and 12.
Prices for reserved grandstand bleacher seats depend on location and are detailed in the table that follows (see supplemental table with comparable 2012 Grand Prix grandstand reserved seating pricing on page 3). All three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets include round-trip shuttle bus transportation from three designated park-and-ride locations in the greater Austin area. Shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off locations include the corner of 15th Street and Trinity Street in downtown Austin, the Travis County Fair and Expo Center at 7311 Decker Lane, and at a location in southeast Travis County that will be announced this summer.
Seating Area
Three-Day Ticket Price Per Person
General Admission
$159
Grandstand - Turn 11
$269
Grandstand - Turns 2, 3, 4 and 5
$299
Grandstand - Turn 12 (lower rows)
$399
Grandstand - Turn 12 (upper rows)
$499
“Formula 1™ fans and motorsports enthusiasts around the world have eagerly anticipated this news, and we’re excited to launch public ticket sales for our inaugural event in the next few days,” Circuit Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer Geoff Moore said. “We have options to fit every pocketbook.
“Information provided by the public was crucial as we finalized prices for the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™. We received fan input from extensive customer surveys and through market research from other Grands Prix and comparable premier, international, multi-day sporting events. In the final analysis, we wanted to make this event affordable to F1 fans around the country. Whether they want a reserved seat or the freedom to explore our expansive facility with a general admission ticket, they will enjoy great views and amenities.”
FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™ tickets go on sale Sunday, June 10, 2012, at 10 a.m. EDT. To select and purchase tickets, fans should visit www.CircuitofTheAmericas.com/tickets, www.ticketmaster.com (use the search terms “Circuit of The Americas” or “Formula 1 United States Grand Prix”), or dial the Ticketmaster hotline,800.745.3000, to review available options.
Customers interested in premium seating options, such as personal seat licenses with season tickets and on-site parking, can submit information through the “Tickets” section of Circuit’s official website and will be contacted by a sales representative for more information. Circuit of The Americas sales representatives are available Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CDT at 512.301.6600.
Additional information about Grand Prix transportation and travel packages, facility hours of operation, special events and entertainment, and items permitted inside Circuit of The Americas during the FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™ will be announced in the coming weeks.
About Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas will be a world-class destination for performance, education and business. It will be the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the United States designed for any and all classes of racing, from motor power to human power, and be the U.S. home to the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™ Nov. 16-18 and V8 SUPERCARS.
The Circuit of The Americas’ master plan features a variety of permanent structures designed for business, education, entertainment and race use. Its signature element will be a 3.4-mile circuit track. Other support buildings will include an expansive outdoor live music space, a conference center, a banquet hall as well as a state-of-the-art medical facility. Future proposed amenities include a driving/riding experience, a motorsports driving club, kart track, grand plaza event center and tower, and a trackside recreational vehicle park. For more information and downloadable video, audio and photos, visit: www.CircuitofTheAmericas.com.
2012 Formula 1™ Grand Prix Three-Day Grandstand Reserved Seat Pricing Comparison*
Monaco
$520
Brazil
$394
Britain
$351
Australia
$324
United States
$269
Canada
$264
Europe
$247
Spain
$234
Belgium
$208
Singapore
$195
Germany
$194
Malaysia
$179
Italy
$169
*Prices listed are the lowest-priced grandstand seating options for the Grands Prix specified in the table.
It's not often that I get to talk about hairpin in an F1 post. When the opportunity comes up, I can't let it pass. You see, I own quite a few hairpins, in different colors, shapes and some even with fabric flowers attached to it. Really, what's not to love about hairpin?
Alright, alright. Back to the real topic at hand - Monaco Grand Prix this weekend. The Hairpin I want to talk about is actually the Hairpin at the Monaco street circuit aka Turn 6. Turn 6 demands the race drivers to slow down to snail speed and negotiate a sharp 180 degree turn and then accelerate onto the next turn. Lucky guests (with the luckiest ones hanging out on the rooftop swimming pool) at Fairmont Monte Carlo get the best view of this challenging turn. I swear, one day I will be there, live-blogging the race from the rooftop swimming pool.
Even more challenging than Turn 6 is The Tunnel. One moment you're high-speeding through a winding tunnel, next moment you're hurtling through open road again with blinding sun in your eyes. How the race drivers manage to follow their racing lines without a moment of hesitation is beyond my comprehension. I'm amazed every lap of the way.
"The track is always asking you to give more." said Red Bull's Mark Webber. "If you bite and try to give it more then you crash so it’s a very, very challenging circuit mentally."
While the Monaco Grand Prix is set in the most glamorous of locations, the Monaco street circuit is no doubt unforgiving. I can't wait to see the drivers coming through the Hairpin and the Tunnel on the Monaco Grand Prix. I hope Hamilton will finally get to the top of the podium, it's time for a win for him, don't you think? Alas, it's really anyone's race to win though, if the last five races are any indications. Who are you rooting for this race weekend?