New Formula One Track In The U.S.

Melbourne, Istanbul, Singapore, Monaco, Shanghai, and Abu Dhabi are all world class cities and share one other thing in common: a Formula One race track.

In 2012 you will be able to add Austin, TX to that list.

Indianapolis lost their deal with Formula One after the 2007 race season and after much discussion Austin will be the host for the Formula One’s return to the United States. The deal will get Austin a brand new race track and go from 2012 until 2021.

“We are extremely honored and proud to reach an agreement with the F1 Commercial Rights Holder,” said Tavo Hellmund, of Full Throttle Productions. “We have been diligently working together for several years to bring this great event to Austin, the state of Texas and back to the United States. All parties involved have a great amount of trust and confidence in each other and are committed to establishing the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, TX, as a prestigious global event.”

The Formula One group has said crews will soon build a “world-class facility” for the event.

“This is a case of the right timing in the right place,” Hellmund added. “As many Americans know, Austin has earned a reputation as one of the ‘it’ cities in the United States. Austin features that rare combination of ideal geographic location and beauty.”

It is not immediately known where an F1 track will be built in Austin, but best guess is east of town by the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

My take: I am not much of a “racing” fan, but I think this is amazing. I would definitely be willing to purchase tickets to see something like that. Plus I may bump in to Danika Patrick down on 6th street!