A series of ravaging wildfires have broken out across Central Texas. Some of the worst have been in neighboring Bastrop, Texas, which is about 20 miles east of the future Circuit of the Americas site. According to the latest report from YNN News Austin, "the blaze now spans 34,356 acres and is 30 percent contained. So far, 576 homes have been destroyed, but that doesn’t include houses in areas that have been too hot for them to asses." Here is a video of just how rapidly these wildfires are spreading.
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The Good News: We had a great chat with David Coulthard on the streets of Austin just minutes after he jumped out of the Red Bull Racing F1 Show Car on August 20! He had fantastic things to say about his visit to Austin and also shared insight into how the F1 world, including drivers and teams, are revolutionizing communication via social media.
The Not-So-Good News: We lost our microphone and audio equipment in Montreal and the sound is horrible at some points in the conversation :(
The Redeeming News: The sound improves halfway through the interview, and we caught DC off guard at the end of the interview when having him tell y'all to COME AND RACE IT™!
Hopefully by now you've heard about the Red Bull Racing Show Car's appearances in Austin this past weekend. If not, let us show you:
Or, take a look at our gallery, HERE.
Due to the on again/off again reports, we decided to take a walk down to the "filming set" early Saturday morning. Actually, we heard the car when we woke up in the AM. We would have loved for the event to be a full-on show car exhibition, but understand this filming was for a promo shoot, similar to this:
About 200 people showed up for the closed set filming and I think it's safe to say that NO ONE was disappointed.
We were lucky enough to score a post-run interview with THE David Coulthard himself. We'll post it next week; right now we're working to make the return of the SENNA Movie to Austin a smashing success!
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.
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!
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.