2012 United States Grand Prix

[ninjacoco]

Dude
Dude
Dude
Dude
DUDE

It--it's, like, practically in my backyard. I can't wait.

Also, several of us from FinalGear are going. If you're going, come say hi. Texasmeet thread here: http://forums.finalgear.com/finalgea...stin-f1-52677/

Brand spankin' new track:



I snooped around a bit at the Formula Run event they held there this weekend. It's gorgeous, and they're working 'round the clock to get everything ready. Most of the main parts (pit buildings, grandstands, medical buildings, etc.) look pretty close to completion. Track surface looks smoother than a Puffalump's bottom.



Can't. Wait.

I'm also loving that it's coming down to the end of the season for drivers' championship. Love this crazy season. MOAR!

[lukenwolf]

Is it just me or does the 12-16 section look like the Hockenheim Motodrome

From what I've seen in Mario Andretti's run, this track looks more exciting than the other Tilkedromes.

[ninjacoco]

There were quite a few elements borrowed from other tracks. There were a couple racers involved early on (Hellmund and Schwantz), so I'm pretty sure they had a hand in making it as fun as possible while still meeting all the required safety blahblahblah now. Really, really want to drive it. Really, really, really.

[mpicco]

Yeah. 3, 4, 5, 6 are basically Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel, which the drivers say they love to do. 16 through 18 are Istanbulpark's Turn 8...

The track looks fantastic, I cant wait to see the drivers going at it there.

[Gingertom]

Turn 1 also reminds me of the A1 ring a bit - long uphill straight into quite a tight blind-ish apex. Certainly looks like a good track though. It'll be interesting to see who's car works best around it.

[jsausley]

I'LL BE THERE!!!!!!!!

Also, if there's anyone on here interested in going to the race, I have two extra tickets that I'm looking to offload to a FG user for face value. They are in Turn 12 Grandstands which sold out ages ago, so if you want to go to the race and sit in a Grandstand your only choice is to pay the premium on StubHub, eBay or try your luck on CraigsList. I know this isn't the place to discuss this but I figured I'd throw it out there to help someone, I'm not making any money on the deal obviously (actually losing some), just hoping someone might want to go that hasn't found a seat yet. Feel free to PM me.

[anesvick]

I just hope this sticks around for a while, at least long enough for me to see it live. I've not been to a GP since Indy 2006.

[GaryC]

Looking forward to this, but having to wake up in the wee morning will just kill me..

[47]

Looking forward to this, but having to wake up in the wee morning will just kill me..

Prime time slot for us Uropeans, wee.
Looks interesting, hope we see some action.

[bone]

Prime time slot for us Uropeans, wee.
Looks interesting, hope we see some action.

indeed! can't be better!

[KaJuN]

I've been looking forward to this race for well over a year now. It's great to see they managed to even finish the track in time for the race, let alone putting the finishing touches on the facilities. I really hope this goes well because it's a real shame that F1 has never really settled into the US even though the country is such a huge player in the automotive world.

[Cellos88GT]

I would've been there had the prices for hotels not been already through the roof back in April. Le sigh.

[lukenwolf]

I really hope this goes well because it's a real shame that F1 has never really settled into the US even though the country is such a huge player in the automotive world.

You mean those barges that are bigger than Belgium and run on leaf springs?

There are several reasons, why F1 never caught on in the States:

a) They do right turns
b) Drivers aren't called Roscoe Buckshot Jr. III.
c) There aren't no faux yellows for 'debris' whenever the leader is too far up the road

[Susurrate]

I would've been there had the prices for hotels not been already through the roof back in April. Le sigh.

I had to go 60 minutes outside of Austin to find a reasonable rate, I looked at the place now and they are charging 5 times the rate I booked.

[mpicco]

I think it's completely weird they don't just let you camp somewhere near. It'd create such a nice atmosphere and good opportunities to sell as many pattys for barbecuing motoring enthusiasts as you could possibly wish.

[Pininfarina_]

I think it's completely weird they don't just let you camp somewhere near. It'd create such a nice atmosphere and good opportunities to sell as many pattys for barbecuing motoring enthusiasts as you could possibly wish.

If I recall, Nascar has stuff like that. Rednecks and the smell of barbequed red meat EVERYWHERE; sometimes I wish F1 was a bit more like that and not so elitist.

[lukenwolf]

If I recall, Nascar has stuff like that. Rednecks and the smell of barbequed red meat EVERYWHERE; sometimes I wish F1 was a bit more like that and not so elitist.

Well, they're two entirely different cultures. F1 started as a fight between Europe's car makers, while NASCAR was started by alcohol smugglers. Even with the restrictive rules of today F1 is still the most technically advanced form of motorsport, while the barges in NASCAR are on a technical level that the rest of the world gave up on, when ox-carts went out of style. That pretty much explains F1's 'eliteness'. You can experience that NASCAR-like atmosphere in Europe. Just show up at Wehrseifen during the 24h of the Nurburgring.
The stark difference comes from a fundamentally different philosophy behind European and American motorsports. In Europe, it's all about racing. He, who goes fastest wins. In America it's all about the show. If F1 would be run like NASCAR or CART of the olden days, Vettel would have caused dozens of full-course yellows last year by being too far ahead. While I don't like such meddling, I think the Americans got something right - they know who pays their bills. They are very close to the fans. I was at the American Memorial 500 at the Eurospeedway in 2001. It was the race where Alex Zanardi lost his legs But before that a very good time was had. I went there with my dad. Two premium tickets - best grandstand seats with Paddock access on all days - had cost me 1.500 Deutschmarks. Two el cheapo bronze tickets to the 1996 Belgian GP had come in at 1.200 Deutschmarks for comparison. In the paddock I sat in Paul Tracy's car and spent about half an hour talking to Mo Nunns mechanics, who gave me a complete lecture on their telemetry software and let me take part in a poker game Imagine that - I sat in Mo Nunns garage on one of Alex's used tires playing poker with two of his mechanics - you can't imagine that happening in F1 can you?

[Pininfarina_]

Well, they're two entirely different cultures. F1 started as a fight between Europe's car makers, while NASCAR was started by alcohol smugglers. Even with the restrictive rules of today F1 is still the most technically advanced form of motorsport, while the barges in NASCAR are on a technical level that the rest of the world gave up on, when ox-carts went out of style. That pretty much explains F1's 'eliteness'. You can experience that NASCAR-like atmosphere in Europe. Just show up at Wehrseifen during the 24h of the Nurburgring.
The stark difference comes from a fundamentally different philosophy behind European and American motorsports. In Europe, it's all about racing. He, who goes fastest wins. In America it's all about the show. If F1 would be run like NASCAR or CART of the olden days, Vettel would have caused dozens of full-course yellows last year by being too far ahead. While I don't like such meddling, I think the Americans got something right - they know who pays their bills. They are very close to the fans. I was at the American Memorial 500 at the Eurospeedway in 2001. It was the race where Alex Zanardi lost his legs But before that a very good time was had. I went there with my dad. Two premium tickets - best grandstand seats with Paddock access on all days - had cost me 1.500 Deutschmarks. Two el cheapo bronze tickets to the 1996 Belgian GP had come in at 1.200 Deutschmarks for comparison. In the paddock I sat in Paul Tracy's car and spent about half an hour talking to Mo Nunns mechanics, who gave me a complete lecture on their telemetry software and let me take part in a poker game Imagine that - I sat in Mo Nunns garage on one of Alex's used tires playing poker with two of his mechanics - you can't imagine that happening in F1 can you?

Wow....that sounds amazing. You're lucky My dream is to be able to sit in the pit area like so many celebrities do.

[MadCow809]

Le Mans.



End of story.

[mpicco]

Well F1 is indeed an european concept but come on, it's out there now. There are less and less European races left and Bernie is talking about leaving about 4 or 5 of them in the near future. So F1 adapts to the new cultures it goes to, and honestly, if it wants to live off the jet-set, it's gonna have a hard time. So it's a good idea to cater to the fans.