Circuit of the America's - Austin, TX 

November 17-19, 2012 - US Grand Prix - Inaugural Event

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The Trip to the Track - Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012

	we had our tickets in hand and were ready to leave for the races
	The weekend schedules
	As we left my sister-in-laws and turned the 2nd corner, we were greeted by an 8-point buck in the middle of the road
The track map			3.41 Miles long 11 Left Turns 9 Right Turns 42-52 FT Wide 130 FT ELEV CHG
	Track Facts: The first purpose-built Grade 1 circuit in US History 1 of 5 F1 tracks running counter-clockwise 133 feet of elevation change - the most of any circuit 20-acre Grand Plaza with 251-foot viewing tower 3.4 mile circuit with 20 turns 17,000-seat Amphitheater Situation on over 1,100 acres of land
	Traffic wasn't bad at all today ...slowed down about 4 miles from the track.  There were businesses and homes all along the road offering parking for $20-$50 - some with shuttle - some you had to walk
		The Grandstand, Pits, Garages and Start / Finish were in between the two buildings
each turn was numbered - easy to tell where we were on the map as we drove in			the hike from the parking lot to the entrance gate
	The military provided traffic control as we neared the parking
		Track Entrances
	There were plenty of merchandise booths both from the Facility and each of the race teams
	The outside of the grandstand building
		Across from the grandstands, you will find suites above the garages / pits
	There are large screens around the track that provide in-car camera views, etc.
		Hospitality seating in turn #19 gave a great view of turns 18, 19 & 20 ...and #1 up on the hill
	These were some of the seats in the Hospitality facility (outside)
	The general admission seats are on grassy areas around the track
		around the general admission seats you will find large reserved seating areas such as this one on turn one
	The 251' Observation Tower is located on turn 18 869 square foot observation deck Glass floor viewing area incredible panoramic view of the tack, the Austin skyline & hill country $35 per person
	Looking from Turn #18 back towards the hospitality #19 building (far left)	Inside Hospitality #19 before it got busy busy
	fresh flowers on the tables, open bars and all the food you could eat
	Like any race facility, they were here as well.
one of the various pace cars used at COTA			...into concerts?  ...the amphitheater holds 17k of people (wasn't completely finished this weekend) - but they did hold several concerts as part of the weekend festivities
62 additional images in the slideshow
	CAUTION: each section on the following pages contains flash video (not playable on iPads/iPhones) and a couple of large videos for your race action enjoyment - if you have slow internet, the page will seem hung.
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All Photos shown here are the property of Douglas McMahan and may not be used without prior written consent.

This page was last modified on: 11/25/12