Written by our own Kerrierieo:Location, location, location.That’s the million dollar question.Not just tonight, but since the official FIA announcement on May 25, 2010.We’ve speculated, hemmed & hawed, and debated about publishing this post.But the location announcement news today got the best of us and we thought we might as well make public our research and guesses.
TGIM! (That's right; not TGIF but TGIM!)
Earlier today I read this tweet from The Austin-American Statesman's F1 Twitter Account:
"Promoter to hold a press conference tomorrow, says he'll announce the site of an Austin #F1 circuit. #USGP"
Whoohoo! It's about time! We've been anxiously awaiting this announcement since May 25, 2010. There is so much speculation on the location of the future United States Grand Prix Formula 1 track for 2012-2021. We probably won't be able to sleep tonight!
We stopped by Austin's City Hall just a few minutes ago and got some helpful (although unfortunate) information from the office:
Yes, Tavo and Full Throttle Productions, LP will make the official announcement with the Mayor's office tomorrow, Tuesday, July 27, but the meeting is private and closed to the general public.
We are grateful for the confirmation, but still feel like this:
Stay tuned with us on our Facebook Page and by following us on Twitter for the latest announcements! Any last minute guesses on where the track will be located?
We've got some very interesting news from the Austin American Statesman about Susan Comb's recent visit to Silverstone, the British Grand Prix:
It turns out that Susan and her husband Joe spent their own money to travel to the grand prix and meet with Bernie Ecclestone and Tavo Hellmund. Susan even joked a bit about spending 300,000 frequent flyer miles to get there, but it looks like the trip was worth it. This news wasn't a big surprise to us, but we are feeling very relieved that this fact was made public and even more excited about her enthusiasm and interest in the sport.
Furthermore, Susan's husband Joe is a computer scientist who used to race a while ago. The article points out that he was also just as excited to be there, another good sign.
One of the most interesting aspects of the article is this point Susan made about the track, "It's huge. It's spacious, and it's green...This is not a concrete jungle. It is very respectful of the terrain." Hopefully we'll see the same kind of track here in Austin, one that is respectful of the environment, well designed into the landscape and a pleasure to visit.
Read more about Susan's visit to Silverstone at the Austin American Statesman.
KO
We were expecting this to come out soon and are glad to announce that Tavo Hellmund and Susan Combs, the Texas State Comptroller, met with Bernie Ecclestone at the British Grand Prix this past weekend.
Autoweek released an article about the meeting and Susan's first Grand Prix experience. We really enjoyed this comment by Combs:
"It's very, very exciting...It has lots of technology, which I found particularly interesting, and it's a real crowd-pleaser, a real show. We're now more excited. With the incredible impact that this has on England, we hope to have a similar impact on the United States.”
Susan seems to be quite enthusiastic about the race and said the support from Texas Special Events Fund is a "done deal." Read more at Autoweek in Austin Formula One Race A Done Deal.
A big congratulations to Mark Webber for his victory at Silverstone this weekend. This was an exciting race and filled with a bit of controversy as well.
Even before the race some big news was the new front wing from Red Bull. With just one version of the wing, Christian Horner, race director for Red Bull, said they had to choose one of the drivers to give it to and decided on Sebastian Vettel since he was on pole position. However in just the early few corners of the first lap, he went off the curb and punctured his tire, forcing him to pit and fall back on the grid.
Webber continued on to win the race and had a substaintial lead on second place with Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes and in third place, Nico Rosberg of Mercedes GP. This was Nico's third podium finish of the year and with it, moving up in the points to just eight shy of surpassing Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.
Both of the Ferrari cars placed 14th and 15th at the end of the race, earning no constructor or driver championship points for Ferrari. This has been a rough season for Ferrari overall and begs the question, exactly what is happening at Ferrari?
We are looking forward to the next race in Germany the weekend of the 21st to 23rd of July. This will be broadcasted on FOX at noon eastern time, so tune in!
See the Formula 1 Roundtable Discussion at Speed TV for some clips and discussion with the Speed TV commentators
We're very excited to see the Austin Chronicle post an article regarding Formula 1, including some more about the history of Tavo and the early stages of develoment of the track.
Written by Richard Whittaker, the article highlights Tavo's plans originating several years back and his viewpoint on Austin's future with the track. The points are positive and well composed, turning the lights back on the importance of bringing an important icon into Austin.
Check out the article here at the Austin Chronicle and post your thoughts in the comments section. We would love to hear more about what you think about the article and some more questions you may have!
KO