Austin GP - any way to do this and not go bankrupt
 

My son is leaving Ft. Benning after earning his Ranger tab (I can't resist inserting that in when it seems remotely relevant) and heading to Ft. Hood. He'll be there by the end of the week. I wasn't able to plan ahead for this but given the timing I may be able to swing a road trip and be there at the same time of the GP race. I looked at the site today and the cheapest tickets are gone. The lowest priced ones available are $659 each. Ouch. Anyone going? Are there other sources of legit tickets I should look at?

Im sure there are plenty of GA tickets still available

Yeah, and if you can't actually catch the GP, practices and qualifying are fun too. Maybe do those, walk the pit lane (if they open it beforehand) and catch the actual GP in a nice, air conditioned bar?

There are tickets in turn 4 for $299. General admission tickets aren't too bad either.

Hotel's another thing all together but if you're staying near Ft Hood, maybe it's not so bad.

GA tickets are gone on the official F1 ticket site but I'll look at other ticketing agents and maybe just for the practice and qualifying.

I'm surprised tickets are selling out since last year's attendance seemed to be down vs the previous two years. Ear plug sales were way down too :)

Hey Jerry...congrats on raising a Ranger and please extend my best regards to him!!

Thanks for the info and thanks for the congrats. He's quite a kid. It looks like a buddy may join me and head down for the Vintage National Championships instead. It's better timing and the noises the cars make are cooler. If we want to stay in Austin it will be easier although it's likely we'll just stay with my son. He'll be settled into an apartment by then. They'll be a car auction as well. Maybe I can find that perfect 914-4 race car I've been looking for.

2015 U.S. Vintage National Championship | SVRA

COTA is one of the best tracks for cheap General Admission F1 tickets. You can sit on the grass right at the entrance to the esses. Fantastic spot. Great track to walk around too.

The big expense is lodging for four days during the event. The key to keeping the expense down is distance. Just like Spa and Monza, everything within 20 miles is jacked up 5x for GP weekend. If you don't mind spending 80 minutes in a car, you can stay cheaply in a good hotel at regular rates. Consider San Antonio. 1 hour 20 min away is no big deal.

Last time I went to Spa we stayed in Aachen, Germany. In Liege or Spa hotels were $500 per night plus. An hour away in Aachen we stayed for $120 per night.

if you stay in SA..
take the toll road to Austin..
maybe 40 minute run..
speed limit is 80..
no-one uses it..
during the race wk-end..
folks bring their toys to run & park..
then a simple exit as it run right by the track..

Rika