Downtown Austin Watch Parties Take Pole Position

Is there any doubt that Austin and Central Texan Formula One race fans rock? We don't think so! In response to our fans and friends wanting to gather in downtown Austin and watch the races, we've been trying out different venues: Doc's Motorworks Bar & Grill on South Congress, Icenhauer's on Rainey Street, Fado Irish Pub near 6th Street and now, Six Lounge, also blocks away from 6th Street. Each venue has offered something different while welcoming our fans and friends a comfortable place to mingle while watching the races.

Doc's had spectacular service and great food in a motorworks theme; it was formerly a filling station, but now it houses one of the best eateries and patios on the famous South Congress Avenue. Doc's served as our first meetup spot on August 20, 2011, after the Red Bull Racing F1 Show Car filming on Congress Avenue. Most of us were still giddy with excitement after being feet away from an F1 car just moments ago, and that energy continued as we met other fans over the course of a hot Saturday afternoon! Thank goodness Doc's kept us cool with cool drinks and even cooler A/C.

Fans chat at Doc's Motorworks after the Red Bull Running F1 Show Car demonstration in Austin

Fancy Another Red Bull?

Remember all the Red Bull Racing excitement that happened in Austin, Texas last month? Well here is the final product released from Red Bull earlier today.

 

In case you need a refresher of the roller coaster journey to get to that final product, let me recap:

SENNA Returns To Austin

With the arrival of the SENNA film at the SXSW Film Festival in March this year, motorsports fans and film buffs have shared a collective passion for the first time in many years.  Striking the chord of emotion, competition and passion, the SENNA film has reached an wider audience in the U.S. than the film's team ever imagined.

Join Us to Help Central Texas Fire Victims

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.

Fancy a Chat with David Coulthard? Yes, Please.

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™!

We're On For Fall 2012!

Thanks to Dave at the Austin American Statesman, we learned earlier this morning that the FIA World Motorsports Council has officially solidified the 2012 Formula One race calendar today.  Austin will host the Formula One United States Grand Prix on November 18, 2012, the second to last race of the season just before the Brazilian Grand Prix (click the link to join our event on FB and share with your friends!).

According to the official FIA press release, the vote for the 2012 calendar was conducted via fax and received unanimous support from all parties.  Obviously, this calendar announcement in August the year before is a little premature.  Both Formula One and Circuit of the Americas claimed the announcement wouldn't be revealed until later this fall, however it is a very pleasant surprise to those of us here in Austin that want to ensure everyone traveling here can enjoy the events to their fullest and not have the summer heat ruining their experience.

While Circuit of the Americas has not yet revealed any information on ticket pricing and availability, the likelihood of this information being revealed soon is increasing day-by-day.  Stay tuned as we further analyze the outcome of the November race, how it will effect travel, lodging, and other local events so that you can plan to make the most of your trip here for the inaugural race!

One other aspect of the calendar is particularly interesting for Formula One fans, the August summer break which usually lasts three weeks has been extended to five weeks.  There will be no races at all next August and several more back-to-back weekly races, something we know the teams were very concerned with.  Quite frankly, it's going to be hard to make it through next August with F1 Withdrawl...

(This is how I feel about that news)