Circuit of the Americas

Circuit of the Americas

Location	Travis County, near Austin, Texas
Time zone	UTC-6 (standard) /-5 (DST)
Coordinates	30°7′58″N 97°38′28″W / 30.13278°N 97.64111°W / 30.13278; -97.64111Coordinates: 30°7′58″N 97°38′28″W / 30.13278°N 97.64111°W / 30.13278; -97.64111
Broke ground	January 2, 2011
Architect	Hermann Tilke
Major events	FIA Formula One United States Grand Prix (from 2012) FIM MotoGP Texas Grand Prix (from 2013) V8 Supercars (from 2013)
Length	3.4 mi (5.5 km)
Turns	20

The Circuit of the Americas is a 3.4-mile (5.5 km) motor racing circuit in Travis County, Texas, near Austin, currently under construction and due for completion in 2012. It is due to hold the Formula One United States Grand Prix on November 18, 2012, the penultimate round of the 2012 season.^[1] Plans have been unveiled for a race of the MotoGP World Championship from 2013, called Texas motorcycle Grand Prix.^[2] V8 Supercars has also announced that they will hold a race on the track in 2013.^[3]

The track and race were first proposed in the middle of 2010, the circuit will be the first in the United States to be purpose-built for Formula One. It is designed by German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke, who has also designed the Sepang, Shanghai, Yas Marina, Istanbul, Bahrain, Yeongam, and Buddh circuits, as well as the reprofiling of the Hockenheimring and Fuji Speedway.

Track

In a news conference on 27 July 2010, Tavo Hellmund announced their plan to build the track on about 890 acres (3.6 km²) of undeveloped land in southeastern Travis County. The majority of the site was previously planned for a residential subdivision called Wandering Creek.^[4] In the same news conference, Hellmund also revealed that Texas billionaire Red McCombs is the project's largest investor. McCombs would like to call the site "Speed City",^[5] but the owners anticipate selling the naming rights to various parts of the facility for $7 million.^[6] The track name "Circuit of the Americas" was later announced at a press conference on April 12, 2011.^[2]

In an episode of Speed TV's Wind Tunnel program broadcast on August 22, 2010, Hellmund revealed that the circuit would be 3.4 miles (5.5 km) long and would be made up of more than twenty turns with an elevation change of 133 feet (41 m). The final plan of the circuit was released on September 1, 2010, showing a circuit that was built after the European tradition of sculpting the circuit to the contours of the land. Several circuits provided inspiration for the design, with homages to Silverstone, Hockenheim and Istanbul Park clearly visible in the corners.

The final design was released on September 1, 2010, and draws from several European Formula One circuits, including a recreation of Silverstone's Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence, Hockenheim's arena bends and a replica of Istanbul's Turn Eight.^[7] The spectator capacity of the course is estimated to be one hundred thousand, with the use of permanent and temporary seating facilities.^[8] One of the unique features of the circuit is a deliberate widening of the circuit in the corners, to encourage drivers to follow multiple racing lines.^[9]

The track homologation design was submitted to the FIA in Geneva for approval on December 17, 2010. HKS, Inc. and Tilke Engineers & Architects designed the track and Austin Commercial, a subsidiary of Austin Industries, was the general contractor. Construction began on 31 December 2010,^[10] and is due to be complete by June 2012.^[11] The first tasks were building the silt fences, taking core samples and shredding existing vegetation.^[12]

Turn one takes shape at Circuit of the Americas.

On January 21, 2011, a $900,000 check was posted with Travis County that permitted grading to begin. The money was to be used to restore the land if FEMA declined to allow the project to move forward because part of the site lies in a floodplain.^[13] FEMA issued a letter on June 28, 2011 stating the project meets its floodplain management criteria.

City endorsement and lawsuit

In order for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix to take place, the Austin city council was asked to be the sponsoring municipality for the event. Through being a sponsor, the city could apply for money from a state fund, the Major Events Trust Fund (METF), designed to attract major sporting events to Texas that would be used to pay the Formula 1 race sanctioning fee.^[14] This matter was complicated by opponents of the project who filed a lawsuit against state comptroller Susan Combs, claiming that she had promised the funding to the circuit without having been legally authorized to do so,^[15] though authorities have responded stating that all necessary guidelines had been followed. On July 1, 2011, a State District Court Judge ordered that there will not be a temporary restraining order against Combs which would have stopped payments from the METF. The attorney for the opponents of the project has stated that he is unsure if they will continue pursuing the lawsuit.^[16]

In June 2011, the Austin city council endorsed the United States Grand Prix, with a vote of 5-2.^[17] As a part of the endorsement, the sport will pay $15,000 in carbon offsets and $5 million to establish an on-site research project into environmentally-friendly technologies.

Dispute between promoters and circuit owners

In November 2011, Bernie Ecclestone expressed what he called "minor" doubt over the future of the United States Grand Prix in Austin after "disagreements inside the [management] company".^[18] These issues were later confirmed when construction of the circuit came to a halt because of a dispute between the circuit owners, promoter Full Throttle Productions, and Formula One Management.^[19] The situation further escalated when state comptoller Susan Combs described the planned Grand Prix of America as a threat to the race in Texas, and said that the first $25 million payment from the state sports fund would only be made available after the first Grand Prix at the circuit.^[20]

References

1. ^ Doolittle, Dave (31 August 2011). "Inaugural Austin F1 race date confirmed as Nov. 18, 2012". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/racing/entries/2011/08/31/fia_confirms_inaugural_austin.html. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Texas lands MotoGP from 2013". motogp.com (Dorna Sports). 12 April 2011. http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Texas+GP+announced+for+2013. Retrieved 12 April 2011. 
3. ^ "Official: V8 Supercars Coming to Austin in 2013". autoblog.com (AOL Autos). 30 June 2011. http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/30/v8-supercar-series-coming-to-austin-in-2013. Retrieved 30 June 2011. 
4. ^ Novak, Shonda (July 27, 2010). "Future F1 site revealed". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5w72dpOEj. Retrieved 27 July 2010. 
5. ^ Maher, John (July 27, 2010). "Red McCombs named investor in Austin Formula One project". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5w72nEmmT. Retrieved 27 July 2010. 
6. ^ Dexheimer, Eric (August 23, 2010). "How much would Austin F1 track be worth in naming rights?". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5w72rQxSs. Retrieved 30 January 2011. 
7. ^ "Austin circuit layout revealed". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 2010-09-01. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/9/11198.html. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 
8. ^ Halbuer, Andreas (2010-07-27). "F1 course designer Tilke ready to start work on Austin track". Austin American Statesman. http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/f1-course-designer-tilke-ready-to-start-work-846462.html. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 
9. ^ Sutton, Mark (20 June 2011). "F1 Texan style". ESPN F1 (ESPN Emea Ltd.). http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/52061.html. Retrieved 22 June 2011. 
10. ^ Noble, Jonathan (2010-12-31). "Construction begins at new US GP venue". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88785. Retrieved 2011-01-01. 
11. ^ Hinkle, Josh (2010-07-19). "Formula 1 groundbreaking date released". KXAN. http://www.kxan.com/dpp/sports/formula-1-groundbreaking-date-released. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 
12. ^ "Work starts on Austin track". SuperSport.com. December 31, 2010. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5w7PUzSw2. Retrieved 30 January 2011. 
13. ^ Dexheimer, Eric (January 24, 2011). "F1 to start moving dirt soon". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5w7PZjee1. Retrieved 30 January 2011. 
14. ^ Toohey, Marty (2011-06-23). "Austin council delays vote on whether to endorse F1". Statesman.com (American Statesman). http://www.statesman.com/news/local/austin-council-delays-vote-on-whether-to-endorse-1559215.html. Retrieved 2011-06-25. 
15. ^ Saward, Joe (2011-06-23). "A lawsuit in America… how predictable". Joe Saward blogs about the world of F1 (Joe Saward). http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/a-lawsuit-in-america-how-predictable/. Retrieved 2011-06-23. 
16. ^ Dexheimer, Eric (July 1, 2011). "Judge Rules against Formula One subsidy opponents". Austin-American Statesman. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/racing/entries/2011/07/01/judge_rules_against_formula_on.html. Retrieved July 4, 2011. 
17. ^ http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/racing/entries/2011/06/29/city_council_endorses_f1_agree.html
18. ^ Noble, Jonathan (1 November 2011). "Formula 1 chiefs to discuss 2012 calendar amid concerns over some races". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95834. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
19. ^ http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/11/15/circuit-americas-halts-construction-contract-dispute/
20. ^ http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/11/texas-finance-chief-confirms-new-jersey-race-threatens-austin-event/

External links

• Circuit of The Americas - Official website
• United States Grand Prix at Austin - Official website
• Conceptual Master Plan