MOTOGP In Austin

[holtjv]

nuf said.. 10 year deal

[Zeke]

Sure hope the recession ends and gas prices go down. Circuit of the Americas is banking on it.

I'm old enough to remember one of the failures as a shrine to motorsports, Ontario Motor Speedway. And the failure of THE shrine to road racing, Riverside.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by milt

Sure hope the recession ends and gas prices go down. Circuit of the Americas is banking on it.

I'm old enough to remember one of the failures as a shrine to motorsports, Ontario Motor Speedway. And the failure of THE shrine to road racing, Riverside.

I thought those race tracks fell victim to urban sprawl?

[deanp]

I had heard it was in the works. That's great news! Wonder if the US will keep 3 races or if Indy or Laguna will be eliminated once the current agreements expire.

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I thought those race tracks fell victim to urban sprawl?

How so, exactly? Naively speaking, the last thing I want to happen is this track to fall victim to anything.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by deanp

I had heard it was in the works. That's great news! Wonder if the US will keep 3 races or if Indy or Laguna will be eliminated once the current agreements expire.

No great loss if Laguna goes. It was the most poorly managed venue I've ever been to. Indy was better but poorly attended. However the downtown really turned out for the party.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I thought those race tracks fell victim to urban sprawl?

Actually, Riverside did become worth more at the one end (T-6, 8) for commercial property. The rest of the land eventually was developed, but surely must be the epicenter of foreclosure city nowadays.

Ontario could not make the bond payments, so it was foreclosed on in a sense. Selling the land for more commercial development was about the only option. While some think that the Ontario Mills Mall is built on the former speedway property, that is mistaken.

Riverside made it all the way into the very early 90's IIRC, but was in disrepair and on crutches. Officially, it closed in '89, but I think there was still some limited activity out there. Ontario was clearly killed by the gas crisis of '78 and survived only until '80. They started demo pretty soon after that. There is a "Porsche Way" somewhere near the old T-3.

This Austin thing seems like a stretch to me.

[deanp]

We were there for the traffic issues in '05 and elected to pay for the parking instead of joining the shuttle bus lines in '06.

'07 and '08 were better, but can't stomach paying 2-3X the normal rate for a hotel room on race weekends.

It sounded like Indy was more fan friendly, but we haven't made it there.