When the news of a Grand Prix at Austin, Texas, broke, I was pleased that America would have a race, but was sceptical about the location. Texas is not natural Formula One country despite it having given us Carroll Shelby and Jim Hall.

As more information has emerged, so I have become considerably more optimistic about Austin. I am indebted to Chris Sylt, who has no equal as an analyist of the business side of the sport, who has generously shared information with me.

When Tavo Hellmund, the main man behind the project, was a youngster, he was a gofer for Brabham, when Bernie owned the team. Tavo also raced in British Formula Ford 1600 and his father promoted the 1986 Mexican GP as well as other large-scale events. The Hellmund/Ecclestone connection goes back a long way and Tavo himself has a broad perspective and excellent connections.

There is no way for me to know what relations were like between Bernie and Tony George, CEO of the Indianapolis Speedway. I suspect that things had fallen apart before the first GP in 2000. Bernie made a point of declaring that he would not stay in Indianapolis because it had no hotels which met his requirements so he stayed in Chicago and flew in each day. This was a snub.

Tony George resigned from the Speedway earlier this year. Some have said that he is the man responsible for destroying top-level open wheel racing in America. I am not close enough to have an opinion, but I do know some of the major players.

One thing I had not taken into account was Geography. Just to the South is Mexico and Mexico understands Formula One. It also has an economy on the rise.

My pal, Johnny Reb in North Carolina, may have a long haul to Austin, but there are plenty of enthusiasts in Central America who can make the trip. Indeed, Tavo Hellmund wants it to be a race for the Americas and not just for the United States GP.

The exact location of the circuit has yet to be announced, but the land has been bought. I am told by a friend in Texas that there is a land-grab frenzy so people can build motels, burger bars, whatever. My information is that Austin is gearing up to welcome Formula One, even though most of the citizenry has no idea what Formula One is. With a permanent track, they will find out.

A couple of miles from where I live are the two Goodwood events and since I have been involved with both, I have some idea about the organisation involved. The Goodwood Revival uses a circuit with a history, but virtually everything else, the grandstands and hospitality units, are temporary structures. The same goes for the Festival of Speed which, when all is said and done, takes place in Lord March's front garden.

Every year, I see the venues for two huge events take shape over a matter of a couple of months. Compared to permanent venues, it is like seeing one of those freeze frame films of a flower shooting from the earth, opening, pollinating and then fading. A few weeks ago, Goodwood House had tens of thousands of people milling in its grounds, now it is back to being a farm and a stately home you can hire for wedding receptions.

The difference between Austin and almost every other new GP circuit for the last 25 years, is that it is a private enterprise initiative. It has some Texas State funding, to run a race, but that is capped. Texas encourages major events on the grounds that they make money for the State through local taxes on things like hotel rooms. This seems to me to be a remarkably enlightened approach, Silverstone cannot get any public funding even though it generates profit for the locality.

Most new GP circuits have been built by governments pursuing a political agenda. Shanghai wanted to upstage Beijing, prior to the Olympics, Turkey wants to join the EU, and so it goes on. Money was no object, politicians simply built fewer schools and hospitals, but Austin has to make a profit.