F1: Austin, Texas To Host US GP

Formula 1

F1: Austin, Texas To Host US GP

Austin, Texas will serve as host to a United States Grand Prix beginning in 2012...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted May 25, 2010 Balen (BEL)

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone announced on his website that a US GP will be held in Austin, Texas beginning in 2012. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Bernie Ecclestone has used his website to announce that a US GP will be held in Austin, Texas from 2012 to 2021. It will be the first F1 event held in the state since the one-off race at Dallas in 1984.

The news comes just days after the Monticello facility in New York State told the media that it was pitching for a race.

The Austin event will be promoted by Full Throttle Productions, a company with an involvement in NASCAR. A new facility will be built for the race in what is the USA’s 15th-largest city.

The company’s managing partner, Tavo Hellmund, said in the statement: “We are extremely honored and proud to reach an agreement with the F1 Commercial Rights holder. 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 F1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas as a prestigious global event.

“This is a case of the right timing in the right place. 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. Its fine dining, world-renowned hospitality and excellent transportation infrastructure make Austin ideally suited to host and manage an event of this magnitude.

“Few cities if any on America could rival the connectivity of all the key elements needed for hosting an F1 event as well as Austin. Now, many people around the world will have the opportunity to experience a world-class event, facility and city.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter

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