American Le Mans Series Joins COTA Lineup

Circuit of The Americas just announced the newest racing series to join their world-class facility lineup: the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS). The first ALMS race will take place in less than a year, with the first scheduled race for spring 2013. ALMS is unique because it showcases numerous automotive manufacturers and car builds (the cars do not necessarily look the same) and it is recognized as the Global Leader in Green Racing while continually focusing on alternative energy solutions.

Circuit President Steve Sexton said:

Our vision is to bring premier sports and entertainment programming to Circuit of The Americas and to partner with motorsports organizations that put a premium on innovation, fan experience and environmental sustainability. The American Le Mans Series—with its highly competitive, customer-focused programming and its well-known commitment to Green Racing—certainly fits that vision. The ALMS at Circuit of The Americas will include an endurance race, which will be another thrilling experience for fans. We know ALMS fans to be extremely loyal and engaged, and we look forward to showing them a great time in Central Texas.

Click to read the full press release

This ties in nicely with the announcement earlier this year that Austin-based entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria is the newest COTA investor and reinforces COTA's commitment to building a multi-purpose facility to showcase the world's greatest sport on wheels.

Here's a quick video overview of the 2011 ALMS series:

Race Review: Monaco Grand Prix

Tag Heuer grid girls atmosphere. Monaco Street Circuit 26/05/12. ©2012 WRI2. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: www.wri2.net

Beautiful location, Check. Royalties, Check. Challenging street circuit, check. The Monaco Grand Prix is like no other Grand Prix. Drivers who have won here show an extra twinkle in their eyes when they recall their win. The prestige of winning here is priceless.

Much of that, surely, is due to the mental and physical demands of racing at top speeds for 78 laps, where smallest of errors through the narrow streets can bring the race to an abrupt end; another part is that legends are made on this track. Ayrton Senna won 6 times at this track. Schumacher 5 times. All the championship top contenders for this season have won once or twice around this track before.

This year is no different. One particular contender, Mark Webber, often overlooked and over-shadowed by double World Champion teammate, came out a-blazing and took home the Gold medal. Vindication through victory has never been sweeter. It was as if stars were aligned for Webber to win at Monaco.

First, Schumacher lost the all-important pole position after qualifying due to a 5-place grid drop penalty, resulted from running into Bruno Senna in the last race. It must have been bittersweet for Schumacher to come so close to leading the race to fighting all the way, and ultimately out of the race due to car troubles. The luck continued for Webber when Vettel qualified 9th. With a pole position at hand on a track where it's nearly impossible to overtake, raindrops that teased but never came until after the race, Webber sealed the win with a spectacular well-deserved drive. He also won the Best Post-race Five o'clock shadow in my books. Rosberg still won Best Post-race hair though, someone please find out what shampoo he uses!

I didn't see too much of the grid girls on the race coverage, but the few shots I saw left me wondering where is the glamour and classy factor in the outfit. An upside-down triangle cutout near the bosoms in a white top over black shorts? I didn’t know what to expect but I certainly expected more from Monaco! Well, hopefully the grid girls outfit will improve in the Canadian Grand Prix on weekend of 6/8!

Two Years, Two Wheels

Today we celebrate the official Formula 1 announcement of F1 returning to the US via Austin Texas. That announcement kicked off our efforts to help connect Austinites with what was once a foreign sport but will now be in our backyard in 177 days. Along the way we have befriended amazing friends and supporters worldwide and because of your enthusiasm for F1 coming to Texas, Austin will soon welcome additional motorsports; V8 Supercars will be here in 2013 and the MotoGP contract is still a viable option.

To celebrate this two year milestone, we are broadening our motorsports horizons to include two wheel coverage. We're at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, Utah for an eventful racing weekend. Four wheel fans will be enjoying the glitterati in Monaco this weekend, celebrating the 96^th Annual Indy 500, and cheering their favorite drivers and riders in one of the many road races taking place this Memorial Day.

This weekend, Miller Motorsports Park (“MMP”) hosts Round 6 of the Superbike World Championship (“SBK”). The series celebrates their 25^th Anniversary this year and Salt Lake City is their only American “round.” The SBK season consists of a series of rounds held at circuits worldwide, similar to F1. Each round has two races and also like F1, the results are combined to determine two annual World Championships, one for riders and one for manufacturers. Like most other racing series, a race weekend is full of activities, including multiple practice and qualifying sessions before the grands prix. For this weekend, SBK practices will be on Saturday and Sunday, with climatic Races 1 and 2 on Monday.

Also on location is the American Motorcycle Association (“AMA”) for a series of races – AMA Pro National Guard Superbike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SuperBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com, and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Championships.

For real-time social sharing, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (search for "AustinGrandPrix") for photos and updates from the various events. We'll be sharing the weekend's festivities well into next week!

Many thanks to our Contributing Editors Mike McKinnon, Andrew Swinghamer, Jamey Price, Benedict Wong, Allison Berguin and Iain Robertson for their valuable contributions and support these past two years.

And last but not least, THANK YOU to our fans and supporters!

Monaco Race Preview

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?