COTA Finds its Niche

[cosworth151]

Circuit of the Americas (COTA) has finally found its true place in the sporting world.

Starting in 2019, it will be the home of a minor league soccer team.

http://www.mystatesman.com/sports/soccer/austin-pro-soccer-franchise-will-roll-2019-000-seat-cota-venue/yYB4EAQ56lWkGc4L9i9izI/

[Scott]

 

[Ian]

Jeez, anything but football, the most overrated ball game going. 

[Dare]

Jeez, anything but football, the most overrated ball game going. 

Look on the bright side....this may give them the income to keep F1
there for years to come.

[Ian]

That's a good point Dare, hope so, I quite like the race. 

[Scott]

Minor League soccer?  Probably not many more than parents and girlfriends in the stands 

[cosworth151]

I really don't understand. COTA is the embodiment of everything we all say we hate about modern F1 venues. Ridiculously high prices, limited access, a gimmicky Tilke track with absolutely no heritage, a dearth of fan amenities. Indy had everything we say we want from a race. A four day, full access pass with great seats & parking for the last Indy F1 cost less than a race day only, standing only ticket for the first COTA parade race a couple of years later. The farthest away I ever had to park was across the street from the gate. The race tickets also got me into the Indianapolis Museum of Art and other local attractions. On every day except race day, I could go in and out of the track as often as I wanted. There was a huge fan festival all over the surrounding streets.

If you say 'Indianapolis" to almost anybody here in the States, they will respond with "Racing!" If you say "Austin," they will respond with "Mike Myers."

[Scott]

We all know it is purely political bickering between Tony George and Ecclestone, but Liberty is locked into contracts that existed before they came along, so when those expire, perhaps there will be hope to bring it back to the Brickyard.  There is no F1 venue in the US I would make the journey for except Indy.  If they bring it back there, I may ask to camp in your backyard Cos 

[cosworth151]

You'll have to share with the ground hog & the deer that wonder around out there. 

Highway distance from my driveway to the main gate of The Speedway is 213.1 miles. To compare, the straight line distance from London to Paris is 214 miles.

With all of Liberty's talk of NYC, Vegas & Miami, I don't have much hope for a real U.S.G.P. anytime in the near future.

[Scott]

Geez, I thought you were around the corner.   

It just doesn't make sense to not include the most iconic track in America and largest capacity racetrack in the world.

[lkjohnson1950]

I love Indy. It was my first exposure to racing waaay back in the '50s. Being at the track is a totally different experience from seeing it on TV. I get this weird feeling that if I turned around fast enough I could see Wilbur Shaw or Mauri Rose there. The history is in the very air for me. Having said that, the track layout is no better than COTA maybe not as good. I believe most of the drivers prefer COTA. The new layout doesn't even include any of the banking, Indy's signature feature. If there was a race at Indy I would be there if at all possible, because there is more going on than just the race. I have family in the area as well. But I won't run down COTA. It's an excellent facility, worthy of F1, and there's a lot going on in Austin as well. If I could have it my way, I'd put F1 at Road America..., or Mid Ohio..., or Laguna Seca but that won't happen. F1 won't return to Indy until and unless Liberty makes a deal that lets Indy make a profit. In all likelihood that won't happen either. F1 being at COTA and not at Indy has little to do with the circuits or the facilities, and everything to do with the money, and that won't change.

[Jericoke]

Geez, I thought you were around the corner.   

It just doesn't make sense to not include the most iconic track in America and largest capacity racetrack in the world.

With the amount of buzz for Alonso racing Indy, I would love to see the 500 opened back up to being an official F1 race.  On one hand, that would be a blow to the IndyCar series, but on the other hand, Indy would become the most famous race in the world again. 

Liberty sounds like they want several US races, there's room for Austin, NYC and Indy.  (And if IndyCar does give up, Long Beach and Detroit would be nice)

[Dare]

How could Indy ever be a F1 race?Different cars and different
series. I thought what made the Indy F1 race special was tying in
te new track with the old. As Lonny said now that's gone. Watkins Glen
has a pretty good F1 history too,I'd like to see a race there as well

[Jericoke]

How could Indy ever be a F1 race?Different cars and different
series. I thought what made the Indy F1 race special was tying in
te new track with the old. As Lonny said now that's gone. Watkins Glen
has a pretty good F1 history too,I'd like to see a race there as well

The 500 wasn't always a different formula than F1.  There was a decade when the 500 was an F1 race where drivers earned WDC points.  So 'ever' is trivial.

True, IndyCar and Formula 1 are vastly different formulae, but they don't have to be.  IndyCar exists to justify running the 500, the rest of the season is a chance to run the cars already invested.  If the 500 was populated by F1 cars exclusively, then it would be the same formula.

Of course, there are still other problems to solve, such as only 20 F1 cars and 33 starting spots for Indy, the tradition of Indy running it's own qualifying.  I'd hate to give that up.  However, if Liberty can grow the US audience for openwheel racing, maybe they can get more teams and get 33 cars for the 500.  Another suggestion would be for IndyCar to use the F1 formula, and the 500 is a showdown between F1 and IndyCar drivers... 40 regulars from both series would provide plenty of excitement for May instead of scraping the barrel to get 33 entries. 

[cosworth151]

Geez, I thought you were around the corner.

Here in the States, 200 miles is just around the corner.   

The high banks on the final turn would still be in the F1 configuration. The run around through the old parking lot was put there because the MotoGP bike couldn't handle the banking. IndyCar uses it for the road course to make the race as different as possible from the 500. Also, they have a different aero package for speedways than they do for street/road/short tracks.

I'm no fan of Herr Tilke's gimmick tracks. COTA's Hot Wheels launch ramp is second only to Shanghai's Chinese letter as his all time worst gimmick.

Even in the 50's, Indy cars were built to a different set of rules to F1. Indy's rules were loose enough to let modified F1 cars run in The 500. Even Cooper had to build a unique-to-Indy T54 to bring the mid-engine revolution to the Brickyard. (Note: The car in The Hall of Fame & Museum @ the Speedway is actually a F1 T53 painted to look like the Indy racer.) Indy cars would never had been allowed at any other F1 race.

If F1 is ever to succeed in the States, it needs a venue that casual fans have at least heard of. COTA definitely doesn't fill that need.