State of the States

12/03/2012
FEATURE BY GUEST AUTHORS

First, let me apologize to you dear Pitpass readers for not irritating you in the last few months. I have had several versions of a column about the impending Grands Prix in America all but completed, only for the story to change dramatically enough to have to do a major re-write several times over, with life getting in the way of finishing again. Good Lord, maybe I should start Twittering.

The long and sordid story of The Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) has taken more turns than the track layout itself, and just when you thought it was safe to buy tickets, yet another negative storyline has emerged, with original promoter Tavo Hellmund now suing money men Bobby Epstein and Red McCombs.

The big picture is that this whole project is probably in as big a trouble now as it was last fall when the race sanctioning fee hadn't been paid. The Circuit Of The Americas should have been a dead-on lock for success. It's in a great location with a prime schedule slot. However, infighting led to the man on the inside who actually knew something about Formula One, Hellmund, being unceremoniously kicked to the curb, which all but killed the whole project before it was anything more than a graded mud hole.

Hellmund was the idea man, the one just crazy enough to think that Austin, Texas would be the perfect place for a Grand Prix race. He worked long, hard hours and did an incredible amount of homework and pulled every favour he could to develop and sell his plan to the right people. But all that is for later.

The issue for the here and now is that the antics surrounding the race continue to generate negative buzz. Most die hard race fans and Formula 1 fans I know, the core audience who have been deprived of any real on track excitement since the death of the USGP at Indy, are probably not going to attend the inaugural USGP at Austin this year.

Why not? In 2000 when Indianapolis was announced, the excitement was palpable. Fans I knew back then purchased their tickets and booked their flights and hotels as early as possible. But as of now, days before the season opener and 7 months from the race, there is zero information on tickets for Austin. The only solid information is that for the sum of $100 (£63) you could have bought the privilege to pay between $1000 (£638) and $5000 (£3190) for a 'personal seat license.' According to press from the track; "A personal seat license entitles its holder to purchase tickets for all racing events at Circuit of the Americas for the next 15 years."

So for $1000 you could have been first in line to buy a ticket for the next 15 years. Of course you still have to pay for the ticket. That would equate to paying $10 outside a nightclub to wait in line to pay a $50 cover charge to be let into a club where you would have to pay an additional $100 to see the band and buy drinks.

There is no information on general admission, temporary grandstands or whether camping or RVs will be allowed. That's not reassuring to mere mortal race fans, the people who have to take a couple days off from work, get a flight, and pay a ransom to a hotel. There have also been no infrastructure improvements yet in the area between the highway and the track. Dire predictions of 10 hour traffic jams that were put forth by naysayers and antagonists of the project now look as though they may be closer to the mark than anyone is willing to admit to.

What really irks me is the lack of public support and the disinformation campaign waged by a few protestors in the Austin area. For Texas, Austin is the liberal bastion. That means they wear their handguns inside their suit jackets. From the beginning, the eco-Nazi's who believe any internal combustion engine is the work of the devil himself have done everything in their power to derail this project by any means necessary, true, legal or not.

They fail to realize that Bobby Epstein's original plans for the site would have brought in 1800 houses on 650 acres. Do the math. If your next door neighbour owned 6.5 acres would you want 18 houses built there? Multiply that by 100 and tell me you would prefer that to a world class racing facility.

The populace of Austin has not gotten behind this project, either. You can bet your Texas branded ass if the plan had been for a professional football stadium that seated 90,000, the locals would have fallen all over themselves to roll out the red carpet.

I don't subscribe to the tired adage of the Blame Game, that someone has to be at fault. But why is it that the Grand Prix Weekend, (because it involves more than just the on track activity), has failed to achieve any type of anticipation? I have consistently checked the local Austin newspaper's website for breaking news or analysis about permitting, construction, and other tertiary subjects regarding the whole project. The paper itself isn't against the race, but as with an awful lot of news outlets these days, a very small vocal minority seem to get a lot more press than is warranted.

While that is currently the way of the free press in America (and by free I mean for profit) it is also the way of the world that supporters generally don't speak out and certainly don't attend City Council or Planning Board meetings to voice moderate support for something. They're generally too busy tending to real life issues such as work and family. It falls to the extremists, malcontents and 'disaffected' loud mouths who like to have their name in the press.

In the end, Tavo Hellmund's ouster has allowed the vocal minority's issues to gain traction. There is an interesting bit in the lawsuit where Hellmund asserts that Epstein lied about the size of a natural gas pipeline under the property. Those are the types of details Hellmund was looking after and that Epstein and McCombs would probably prefer to sweep under the rug. Keep putting out good news, track updates and time lapse video of vertical construction, but ignore issues like a lack of traffic improvements, no parking lots, no plan for camping or general admission.

Formula 1 can be a very complicated sport to follow and an even more complicated business to understand. Anyone who thinks it isn't can briefly outline for me the essence of the Gribkowsky trial, and what Delta Topco is. Understanding its complexities are essential when dealing with Bernie Ecclestone.

It's painfully obvious that the current 'brain-trust' at COTA don't get it. Epstein tried to muscle Hellmund out of the picture after all the preliminary work was done to get the project off the ground. He figured he could discard Hellmund and assume the rights to the contract that Hellmund had negotiated and signed with FOM.

Clearly Epstein knows nothing tangible about Formula 1. His assumption that he could have dictated the terms of a Formula One contract to Ecclestone are outright laughable. That is why he needed Tavo Hellmund. Money, arrogance and ignorance are not traits best used in dealing with Bernie. Loyalty isn't a trait usually attributed to him, but Bernie played a bit of hardball with Epstein and let him know that when it comes to high finance, Epstein is small time. Bernie's wallet is lined with the cash of those who thought they'd get the best of him.

I am disgusted how the whole tale has played out over the last few months, and my gut feeling is that all the hard work by Tavo Hellmund to plan, organize and bring to fruition a dream to bring his city and his sport together will fall well short of the ultimate goal of a permanent home in America for Formula One.

This could also be bad news for New Jersey. Whether they thought it was a competition or not, the two races would have complemented each other in a long term strategy. Two races would have put Grand Prix racing back into the consciousness of America on a more regular basis. I firmly believe that the Austin race would have been much more viable over the long term than the Grand Prix of Hoboken, but the issues facing New Jersey are for another time. I am told however, that the pit complex at Port Imperial is proceeding along at a steady pace.

This isn't going to make things any easier for Formula 1 to break through in America. Bernie's documented prejudices against America have only been strengthened by the endless string of sorry episodes and in plenty of American press he is portrayed as greedy and malevolent.

There should be a sense of urgency from all involved to allay the fears of race fans and prove to them that COTA is on 'the right track,' that Austin is excited at having potentially 100,000 fans from around the country and around the World in their city and region, and that this isn't just a 2 year money grab. I'm just glad my schedule is flexible enough to keep the weekend open and I'm not paying to travel there.

As always, hate mail can be sent to thomsonphilips@hotmail.com and let me know if I should tweet.

Thomson Philips
thomson.philips@pitpass.com

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Published: 12/03/2012
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