Formula One in TEXAS 2012 !!

[RED]

Well, the hard and dreams of Texans once again comes through. Bernie just announced this...

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/5/10824.html

New track and all!

[Cher]

Well how 'bout that?  Doesn't get any better than that.  I wonder if the track may be out near the city's international airport - formerly Bergstrom Air Force base.  Tons of empty land out there from the military days, plus race noise wouldn't be quite as big a deal since the airport is near by...

[WonderBoy]

  [beer]Hol ly shit.










God bless Texas. *happy  *

[CajunR]

 

[Cher]

I remember before Texas Motor Speedway opened, Bruton Smith had research showing this part of the country had the largest untapped motorsports market in the US.  That's still probably true since not everyone lives/breathes NASCAR.

What's also potentially very cool is that a new road course/track built to FIA specs will draw other major forms of racing, MotoGP the first coming to mind.

Even the SCCA National Run-Offs could be held there (it's a week long event with people coming from all over the country).  That event has bounced back and forth between Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio and Heartland in Topeka, KS...

Damn, if the new Austin track comes together, they're sitting on a gold mine.  Very, very cool.

[Cher]

Should have stopped reading after the author said he'd never been to Austin... But here it is anyway:

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/cooper-austin-texas-an-interesting-choice-for-us-gp/

[Cher]

And this one has the answer to the biggest question of all; funding:

http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/18154.html

Who can it be?  Inquiring minds want to know    

[Cher]

Ha!  Yep, shoulda guessed... I was thinking it was Roger Penske or the Bill France family   

[♣ McKraut ♣]

now i can't get this saxophone line out of my head....   


WHO CAN IT BE NOW

[hiero]

!!!!! amazing!!!!!

[Mhanis]

I am as excited as anybody about this; but let me go on record as saying I am just a bit skeptical. Nobody had heard ANYTHING about this until yesterday and now they have 2 years to build the entire track and have it ready for 50,000 people?

I sure hope it does happen though............

[Cher]

Just read that the land for this new track has not actually been purchased... And still no details on the funding.  While I suppose a consortium of big-time American motorsports people could make this F1 thing possible, I got a bad feeling about this  

[Cher]

Could be Bernie Ecclestone forcing someone's hand.  Maybe a power play to get the other proposed new F1 track in Monticello, New York, more motivated? 

[Mhanis]

Look at it this way:

No land has been purchased;

An announcement has been made that they are going to need (I'm guessing) a few hundred acres (or more) of land "within 10 miles" of the Austin airport;

They must buy land;

WTF do you think just happened to the price of land within 10 miles of the Austin airport??

Lets just say for the sake of argument that you own land anywhere down there and a dude that looks like Warhol shows up at your door, you are going to cut him a DEAL right?

[muskrat]

maybe the person(s) financing this deal owns the land already.