A few years ago, Patricia Schultz wrote
1000 Places to See Before You Die and soon after that the movie
The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman was released. Many of us have developed a list of things to see and do before we're no longer able to do them for one reason or another; for example, my list included my recent trek across England written about on this blog.
Enrique's list included attending a Formula 1 Grand Prix event. A few years ago while on a business trip to Europe that involved staying over a night in Nice, he excitedly called me to say he'd obtained a ticket to go to Monaco to see an historic Formula 1 race. More recently, since he subscribes to a number of car/racing publications, he learned that a group of investors had decided to build a track in Austin, Texas to host a Formula 1 event as well as other types of events such as
MotoGP (grand prix motorcycle racing coming to Austin this Spring 2013), an event both Enrique and my son, Michael, enjoy very much having traveled together to the track in Laguna Seca a few years back.
The Austin
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) was born and built in just two years!
Millions of people around the world began to anticipate -- finally -- another F1 Grand Prix event in our country, including Enrique. So, much earlier this year he went on-line to purchase a three-day event package, airline tickets, and made hotel and car rental reservations for the two of us as well as purchased event tickets for a friend of ours who made separate travel plans. Soon after, the stack of car/racing magazines grew thicker and I also deliberately learned more about the events to be offered (and the cars involved) than I had gleaned from pausing occasionally while walking through the living room over the years while the events were on television or sitting next to Enrique while he watched F1 and other racing events held throughout the year.
Among the facts to absorb was the availability of what's known as the
Drag Reduction System. And, as best as I can gather, this system enabled at least two drivers to zoom past the leader on that long straightaway on Sunday afternoon. There's quite a debate going on right now about this capability. The jury's still out.
While in Canada in August, we met a couple who live in Austin and who were also excitedly planning to attend the inaugural event. David and Gail invited us as well as our friend Ron and his wife Maggie to dinner with them and another couple who would be staying with them to attend the event that weekend.
Enrique's excitement grew exponentially after our ticket packet arrived:
along with daily parking permit tags as well as information about goings-on in Austin over the weekend including what was billed to be an
Austin Fanfest downtown.
We traveled by Southwest Airlines through Las Vegas and on the second leg I would say, based on conversations, that the majority of the people on the plane were traveling to the event. We arrived in the evening and easily picked up our car from Enterprise on site (part of the Southwest package) - a suitable Italian car since, Enrique noted, the Dodge Charger is now actually owned (Chrysler) by Fiat. We soon came to appreciate the Charger's get up and go so we could safely get up to speed on the freeways/tollway in the area where one often needed to go from an entrance speed of perhaps 15 to 25 mph to 80 (80 mph being the speed limit on 130 - the highway we used most frequently going to and from the track). We also learned that contrary to our experience here in Tucson where we can get across town on city streets, one must use the freeways/tollway to get most places in Austin. Our most hair-raising entry was from south of the downtown area after dinner with Ron's son and his partner, when we had to accelerate very quickly upon entering I-35. More on this dinner later as well as the merits of having the Verizon Navigator app on our cellphones.
We stayed about 20 miles north of central Austin at a La Quinta Inn (near the Dell campus) which placed us conveniently close to 130 (and less traffic) and north I-35/45 that we used to travel to our friends' home on Friday evening. The hotel was clean, quiet, easy to access and offered an early but full breakfast each morning to start our day.
My original inclination several months ago was to spend some of Friday in downtown Austin at the Fanfest and to take an available self-guided walking tour but after learning where we were staying, being warned in the literature and links on line about the lines to catch the shuttle to and from the track (as well as experiencing a startling slow down one of the foot bridges at the track when we moved along (or stopped periodically) at a crawl as people flowed into the facility from the shuttle area), and scheduling a conference call for 10 a.m. to review a committee document, I changed my mind. As it was, Enrique stated several times that he was hoping I would attend the entire event with him so I did except for an hour in the car in the parking lot at the track on the call.
Here's the weekend schedule:
Friday morning we left at 7 a.m. for the track. We did not know how much time to allow for our "commute" and we had no idea, looking at the dearth of roads to our designated parking lot (L), how long we'd sit in line waiting to actually enter the lot and park, either.
On the way, we identified an Exxon station at the northwest corner of Route 71 (Ben White Boulevard) and 973 as a convenient spot to pick up our friend, Ron, who decided he would join us starting on Saturday morning. This spot worked very well, as it turned out, not only for the Saturday and Sunday rendezvous but also for refueling before returning our rental car and for purchasing bottled water ($4 for a case versus $4 for one bottle of water at the track). We were permitted to bring personal sealed bottles of water to the event.
Signs and uniformed law officers directed everyone to their designated parking lot [routes seemed to change daily probably as law enforcement figured out the best way to direct traffic] and we arrived and parked about 8 a.m. in time to find our bleacher seats in the fifth row at Turn 9 (see above map). We were pleased to learn that we had a great view of significant turns on the course as well as of the straightaway where we witnessed several strategic passes over the next three days. Interestingly, some of the best seats in the house, so to speak, were for those paying general admission. One of the prime areas was at Turn 11 located on a dirt banked amphitheater with excellent views. This location was absolutely packed on race day and significantly packed on Friday and Saturday, as well. Our impression was that the track was built to provide good viewing for as many people as possible - all fans were served well, we think.
The Formula 1 cars (one might call them ground-based jets given their speed and noise at 120 decibels) were in motion for the track test as well as the first practice session once we were settled. As more spectators appeared, particularly after noon, we connected in animated conversations with several of them including a large group who'd flown up from Mexico City to cheer on their favorite! You'll see a Ferrari banner as well as the Mexican flag in photos Enrique took of our stands.
I stayed until about 9:40 and then returned to the car for the one-hour conference call. Before I left, however, I had realized that the foam earplugs weren't going to be enough and we agreed that we would find ear protector headsets before the events the next day, which we did. Mine were bright pink; Enrique's and Ron's were charcoal grey. As you might imagine, mine were on sale for a significant discount. All were stamped "Winchester" and we found them in a gun area of a local department store.
Being out and away from downtown, a stiff and rather chilly breeze forced us to bundle up fairly well that first day although we discovered if we climbed down out of the stands, the sun warmed us up in sheltered areas. We made use of the plethora of portable toilets (found in many convenient areas around the track and maintained well) as well as of the fine gravel path built for easy walking.
A note here: there were hundreds of uniformed folks constantly picking up all manner of trash. I would say that the facility was impeccable. Kudos to the event organizers.
Once the morning events were over, we took a long walk beyond the tower at Turn 15 to check out all the facilities and you'll find photos of those early on in the link to the full collection. We discovered a million dollar car - a Bugatti Veyron - casually parked in one of the designated but open lots (see photo in collection). We also identified where we would purchase lunch - the first day we enjoyed absolutely delicious gyros and seasoned rice. Another day we tried pita tacos bought at a stand that advertised healthy food and found them scrumptious. Beer (along with bottled water and sodas) was sold everywhere, by individual vendors to the many vendor stands where one could purchase cocktails, as well. One could also purchase all manner of race memorabilia at memorable prices, too.
Additional practice sessions occurred during the afternoon and we finally called it a day shortly after 4 p.m. in order to return to our hotel and to change for the planned dinner at our friends' home, located in a lovely area. After enjoying ourselves in great company, we returned and turned in for the night.
Saturday morning, we rose a bit later now that we had a handle on what was where, had a quick breakfast, and drove to meet our friend Ron. We ran into quite a bit of traffic on the way to the parking lot but finally were directed to a convenient spot. Much to our delight, the wind direction had changed and for the next two days not only were we comfortably warm but we also experienced less dust than we had the first day.
At this point, it's time to include Enrique's photos. He was permitted (his bag was searched thoroughly) to bring a smaller telephoto lens and that yielded him some terrific shots. He's organized them and incorporated several of mine, as well. Together, they'll provide you with a sampling of each day's activities including views of the track, locations of the screens, a flyover, a parachute jump (with the flag of the United States of America fully open), the parade of drivers, and of course the events themselves.
Here's a link to all the photos.
We were treated to some vigorous maneuvering on the part of the drivers who, as they became more accustomed to the track and as they broke in the slippery new surface, passed while driving quite close to each other. Two of the sessions (involving Ferrari's and Porche's) included scenes that reminded me of NASCAR events (bumping and tearing off car body parts), the latter being significant enough that the track director apparently gave all drivers a serious talking-to later that evening. Needless to say, we were well-entertained.
Saturday night we joined Ron and Maggie and Ron's son and his partner for a delicious dinner at a lovely little restaurant that provides vegetables from its own garden. I need to double-check the name and will provide a link here. The layout reminded me of
Cafe a la C'Art here in Tucson with several separate smaller dining rooms yielding more intimacy.
On the morning of the big day, Enrique and I left earlier than usual figuring that traffic would increase as had the crowds at the track (reported to be about 80,000 Friday; 100,000 on Saturday; and more than 117,000 on Sunday - the largest gathering of people in Austin's history and that includes University of Texas football games). We settled in and enjoyed several racing events as well as spectator-planned entertainment. As I mentioned earlier, there was a parade of the drivers.
Suddenly, it was time. The drivers had determined their placement the day before in time trials and the favorites were ready. They circumnavigated the course just prior to the race to warm up their tires and to release some of their pent up energy. As they approached the starting line, we could see (on the large screen placed close to where we sat; a photo of the screen with the red lights blazing is included) the sequence of red lights increase until all were lit and then the lights went green.
The subsequent roar was amazing, even with the headphones. The race itself was far less of a nail-biter than was the Brazil event this past weekend (November 25) because once Hamilton took the lead, he was never headed and except for a change in position among the four leaders, the drivers maintained and could not better their positions. The skill of the drivers as they avoided each other was notable throughout the race particularly since the track was still quite new.
Rather than recount the event, I provided a media link found at the COTA website. Unfortunately, the link has been updated. Originally, you would have found additional photos, race stats, the names of the drivers, and the results.
We unexpectedly remained in the parking lot for two hours following the event, as lots emptied onto the narrow feeder streets. Once we were on our way, we used -- as we had all weekend - our portable cellphone Verizon navigator that gave us excellent directions in all cases. Enrique hates to make left turns so using the device helped me guide him to where he wanted to go with a minimum of stress in spite of a couple of hiccups. We dropped Ron at his son's apartment, made our goodbye's, and returned to our hotel and dinner.
Monday morning we drove to the airport using special directions provided by Enterprise to return the car off-site (as did all the rental agencies). The cars were already flowing in when we arrived early in the morning. We were shuttled to the main airport, picked up our boarding passes, checked our luggage due to a full flight and our positions in Southwest's queue, and soon after boarded our plane for home.
Enrique was thrilled to have been there and I was delighted to have accompanied him.
