18 new photos I shot this morning near dawn: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386958934651991.106848.157330087614878&type=1 Here's a sample:
Latest COTA time-lapse, posted today: The Link ETA: For some reason that youtube video "has been removed by the user". Weird. Still works at the COTA FB page though: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=241449145943521&set=vb.219399881419693&type=2&theater
I took a bunch of construction photos yesterday morning & posted them to the FB page: The Link I'm just now getting around to posting some samples here. Enjoy: The Media center on the left, then the west and east ends of the Pit/Paddock building: Connecting the ends of the Pit/Paddock complex: The Media Center: Work on the Medical Center is just beginning: East end of the Pit/Paddock and the Medical Center: Pit/Paddock viewed from out around Turn 11 hairpin: The "Longhorn Straight": Turn 10 (downhill 130R?): Trucks coming down from Turn 10 to the hairpin, delivering their loads, then returning home along the Longhorn back straight: You're doing it wrong. Rookie.
AustinRaceHotels.com (@AustinRaceHotel) posted 18 new photos last night from her COTA tour of Monday afternoon. From the front of the Pit/Paddock looking toward Turn 1: The Link Highlights: Standing at Turn 11 looking down the back straight toward the stadium section: From Turn 1, looking at the Medical Center, Pit/Paddock, and prep for Main Grandstand construction: From the parking lot area looking to Turn 1:
Terrible and I wish all the best to him and his family. Here is to a speedy, no pun intended, recovery.
Hey l00p...According to 10PM local TV news reports, he is still in critical condition. They showed video of the patient being wheeled from a StarFlight MedEvac helicopter into the ER at Brackenridge Hospital. No chest compressions were being perfomed and the Flight Nurse was supporting his respiratory efforts with a BVM. Hopefully these are good signs. Hope for the best. Here's the latest update from the Statesman, 10:25PM Central Time: The Link
BTW, I pushed these to the back burner yesterday due to the accident news, but I took a bunch of construction photos Monday morning. Any of you who follow my twitter feed (@austin_f1) may have already seen them, but for those of you who haven't, here they are: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3...4878&type=1 For those of you not on Facebook, here are some highlights: The west half of the Pit/Paddock Building, the media Center, and the beginnings of the Main Grandstand: Grandstand construction going vertical on the west end near the Media Center: Media Center and west end of Pit/Paddock Building: East half of the Pit/Paddock Building: East end of Pit/Paddock and the Medical Center: Medical Center: "The Wall"...LOL: Scraper making the steep Turn 1 climb: Turn 11 Hairpin ( R), Turn 10 (L), and the Longhorn Straight: Hairpin & Longhorn Straight: The Hairpin is pretty tight: Longhorn Straight. Yesterday's accident likely happened somewhere in the area beyond & right of the straight in this photo: Love the elevation:
Here's the latest accident news from KXAN, including a report of OSHA investigating today at the site: The Link
...and here are 8 nice new COTA construction photos via @StatesmanF1's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.306398636089643.74001.125170184212490&type=1
This ****'s gettin' real now: Hellmund sues Circuit of The Americas investors, may seek to regain control: The Link The Link
I just finished reading the Hellmund v. Accelerator Holdings legal petition. Some of you might be surprised by its contents. The latest COTA update from AutoWeek has a copy of it as well... The Link Here's the direct link to the petition: The Link
BTW, for any of you who are interested in this case but don't have the time and/or the inclination to read all of it, I've made a sort of "Cliff's Notes" version of the Hellmund v. Accelerator petition. I've hit most of the high points and included some relevant quotes and paraphrased in other places. It's by no means comprehensive, but you should get a decent overview... In reply to:
Didn't someone earlier ask about the MotoGP rights? This SportRider article confirms what I thought. COTA has not secured the MotoGP race rights. I hope they do so soon!The Link
Hellmund in P1 to be Allsport boss? The Link This could be great for COTA, assuming they make things right. It could never hurt to have someone on your side in a senior F1 position.
I don't need no ******* PSL.Meanwhile...seems as though a pattern is emerging.The deeper we dig into this story, the worse it looks for the COTA boys:The Link AutoWeek's Steven Cole Smith knocks another one out of the park. Looks like COTA was trying an end-around on an already great contract in an attempt to sidestep Hellmund. Sound familiar? It gets better. It seems Epstein even went so far as to lie directly to Schwantz, claiming that he had offered Hellmund $10M for the MotoGP rights. Schwantz directly refutes that claim. In reply to:
With the arrival yesterday of "the mother of all cranes" as one observer put it, Main Grandstand construction begins in earnest:
COTA brass went to Melbourne & will go to other GPs in an effort to gather the best ideas to handle crowds on race day. Anyone besides me think it's a little late for something like this? Shouldn't this have been going on last season? The Link
After getting the franchise Tavo did nothing; after announcing the investment Epstein and McCombs did nothing; why should anyone be surprised about what COTA is doing now? I pray that the USGP race itself will be good because, except for a privileged few, the fan experience is going to be horrible (and down right miserable if it is raining). It will start with a two hour ride/wait on a school bus just getting into the venue and apparently downhill from there. Until there is real fan access to the track, there will be issues.
