My company did a drawing for this event and I won. They will be sending 10 of us there for a 3 day VIP event in Austin. I have never been interested in this kind of stuff, but just the fact that I get this opportunity to see it live excites the hell out of me. Plus everything will be paid for. Anyone ever been?
Nope, but I believe we're going to that too and I'm stoked to see all of the events in person. Isn't it September?
The weekend should be more entertaining than the actual race. You'll be sitting in the stands while the cars pass you by at 300 mph. I can't imagine that being very exciting.
I've been to the F1 race in Montreal. It's loud as heck. Bring ear plugs otherwise you're going to have a bad time.
300kph is doable in an F1 car on the straights, with ease. They'll do 200mph+ with the DRS (drag reduction system) open. The cars are capable of much higher speeds, but they have to have enough downforce to keep the cars planted in the curves that the top speed is a bit limited due to drag. Overall it should be awesome. My wife and I will probably go next year. Bring ear plugs and enjoy the spectacle. Make sure you go to qualification as well since it's almost as much fun as the race. I'm really curious how the track turns out. It looks like it will be one of Tilke's better efforts with lots of elevation changes and a good layout. Hopefully Kimi will make a comeback and win the championship on the last race.
I saw someone do a simulator of the Austin course on youtube the other day. Let me see.. here it is. Obviously just a simulator, but gives you a good sense for the track and turns, and potential speeds. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IWa2ZSZcUq8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Been to one before, and I believe they provide you with earplugs. I was fortunate enough to get a vip section from my dad's work, so that was nice. Shade and free food. Aside from that, it does get pretty boring. If there is a bridge over the track or if you can get as close as you can to the track it's neat when they blow by. Other than that, meh. I was like in middle school or something, so I didn't really care much about these. But this was way back then when Michale Schumacher was still kicking ass and taking names with Ferrari.
To give you an idea of the ridiculous speed of an F1 car, here is a superimposed shot of F1 cars vs. FIA GT cars (race prepped Porsches, etc.). This is pretty much flat out through the curves. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ex5dhhpSHCw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
this. you won't be able to follow anything since it's a road course and you are only going to see a small segment of the track, and you'd probably get bored anyway if you aren't a fan and have no vested interest in the sport. the weekend should be cool though. it's a huge deal internationally, and supposedly people from over 100 countries will be descending on austin for it.
This is America damnit. 'Merica. the hell with your metric system. Pretty long straight away, not sure how long that is.
Too many right turns. Honestly, I wouldn't mind them racing on a Nascar track. It would be the one race in a season when we'd see the cars being constantly near max speed.
Wiki said there are too many left turns. For some reason, I prefer watching races on a temporary street course.
I was planning on going, but getting there is so sketchy this year -- the track will be finished, but the roads around El Roy, TX are about as backwoods as they come. We're talking a single lane in each direction that were barely even leveled before they started laying down asphalt.
