US GP "Finacially devastating" for Organiser

[Rob]

Lewis Hamilton left Austin with his childhood dream achieved, but for the race organisers it was an horror US grand prix.

"It was a tough weekend," Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein admitted.

Electrical storms and torrential rain, brought by the periphery of the huge Hurricane Patricia, meant that at one stage, fans were locked outside the track while cars practiced to empty grandstands.

It was also the lowest race-day crowd in the four-year history of the US grand prix in Texas, as Epstein admitted it was a "financially devastating weekend for the company".

"We lost millions on concessions" that those fans would normally have purchased in normal weather, he said in an interview with the Austin American Statesman.

"And we suffered from some fans having such a bad experience they won't be back, though I hope we can change their mind."

Another issue for the US grand prix was that, for the first time, it was paired with the return to the calendar of Mexico, while although also in North America already has an established and passionate local following.

"The Mexico race hurt us," Epstein agrees.

http://www.onestopstrategy.com/artic...rganiser+.html

[fadyferrari]

Cant they put one of the two in the same month as canadian gp?
Less chances of fans crossover with it ,right?

[wisepie]

Only to be expected given the atrocious weather and now that the WDC is decided, the last 3 races will be an anti-climax and the other venues will probably suffer in the same way. To have 3 races in North and South America then to have to go all the way to Abu Dhabi for the finale doesn't make commercial sense at all, surely Bernie knows that. Cutting costs....pull the other one.

[GrndLkNatv]

Well the other problem is that COTA is not fan friendly at all when compared to the other venues.. The pit walks are limited to around 30 yards from the garages unlike Monza and other places where you can walk right up to near the front of the garage as well they were late on all of their deliveries for tickets, events, etc.. It seems to be getting worse and worse every year.. If you are camping they didn't even have TDS on line to provide restrooms and showers until the last moment and this year they didn't even offer power for their premium packages.. The people running it just don't seem to have a clue on how to make people feel welcome compared to other venues in F1.. I know Texas hospitality, my dad's family has lived there for generations, and I was disappointed and felt horrible for the members of my club that I brought with me as it was very chaotic. There seems to be a complete lack of coordination and then when you put the weather in there too, well it was a really tough week for those of us who showed up. Nothing like having them tell you practice was cancelled only to have it start 15 minutes later, and vice versa more than a few times. Put that with the mudpalooza in the camping area with trailers, trucks, motor homes and even the tow trucks stuck in the mud.. Well you get the drift... A little more gravel in the area instead of the wet slippery nasty wet texas clay, would do miracles.. The people running the show here would do well for rock concerts, but not F1 which is a hands on sport, where the fans demand to be closer to their teams.. It definitely doesn't have the feel of the European races at all.. I know the vendors were required to give 40% of their sales to COTA this year, but given the weather, well that didn't generate anything.. Then put the Mexican GP the next weekend with 50% of the fans coming from Mexico and it's a disaster.. I don't know Bobby Epstein but he might want to ask some serious fans what they think could be improved, otherwise, my prediction is this venue will be gone... My group was supposed to walk the pits from 3 to 5pm on Thursday, but when we received the tickets they were for 4 to 6 which messed up our meeting with Massimo and the team since they were in scrutineering after 4pm that day. Overall we still had fun, but they sure put up a lot of obstacles to overcome before the fun starts..

Lewis Hamilton left Austin with his childhood dream achieved, but for the race organisers it was an horror US grand prix.

"It was a tough weekend," Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein admitted.

Electrical storms and torrential rain, brought by the periphery of the huge Hurricane Patricia, meant that at one stage, fans were locked outside the track while cars practiced to empty grandstands.

It was also the lowest race-day crowd in the four-year history of the US grand prix in Texas, as Epstein admitted it was a "financially devastating weekend for the company".

"We lost millions on concessions" that those fans would normally have purchased in normal weather, he said in an interview with the Austin American Statesman.

"And we suffered from some fans having such a bad experience they won't be back, though I hope we can change their mind."

Another issue for the US grand prix was that, for the first time, it was paired with the return to the calendar of Mexico, while although also in North America already has an established and passionate local following.

"The Mexico race hurt us," Epstein agrees.

http://www.onestopstrategy.com/artic...rganiser+.html

[abbottcostello]

Well the other problem is that COTA is not fan friendly at all when compared to the other venues.. The pit walks are limited to around 30 yards from the garages unlike Monza and other places where you can walk right up to near the front of the garage as well they were late on all of their deliveries for tickets, events, etc.. It seems to be getting worse and worse every year.. If you are camping they didn't even have TDS on line to provide restrooms and showers until the last moment and this year they didn't even offer power for their premium packages.. The people running it just don't seem to have a clue on how to make people feel welcome compared to other venues in F1.. I know Texas hospitality, my dad's family has lived there for generations, and I was disappointed and felt horrible for the members of my club that I brought with me as it was very chaotic. There seems to be a complete lack of coordination and then when you put the weather in there too, well it was a really tough week for those of us who showed up. Nothing like having them tell you practice was cancelled only to have it start 15 minutes later, and vice versa more than a few times. Put that with the mudpalooza in the camping area with trailers, trucks, motor homes and even the tow trucks stuck in the mud.. Well you get the drift... A little more gravel in the area instead of the wet slippery nasty wet texas clay, would do miracles.. The people running the show here would do well for rock concerts, but not F1 which is a hands on sport, where the fans demand to be closer to their teams.. It definitely doesn't have the feel of the European races at all.. I know the vendors were required to give 40% of their sales to COTA this year, but given the weather, well that didn't generate anything.. Then put the Mexican GP the next weekend with 50% of the fans coming from Mexico and it's a disaster.. I don't know Bobby Epstein but he might want to ask some serious fans what they think could be improved, otherwise, my prediction is this venue will be gone... My group was supposed to walk the pits from 3 to 5pm on Thursday, but when we received the tickets they were for 4 to 6 which messed up our meeting with Massimo and the team since they were in scrutineering after 4pm that day. Overall we still had fun, but they sure put up a lot of obstacles to overcome before the fun starts..

Sorry to hear it wasn't as good as it should be, I thought they might find their way after a few years! But it has been a few years now & it still seems like a soulless venue to me.
I never realised it was near that percentage of Mexican fans & was still shocked at the scheduling & it is the same for 2016!! Think Bobby better call an emergency meeting w/Bernie about that.

[WS6TransAm01]

I was there in 2012, I know it was the first year, but it was a mess!

Not even talking about the track not being completed with dirt everywhere and the spectator facilities not being finished.

They provided buses from downtown Austin, that was nice. Only problem is, they drop you off something like 2 miles from the track. It would take us 45 min to walk from the bus to the entrance of the track. In hind sight, I should have paid the $200 for parking. There was only one entrance so you can imagine that line. Then it would take 20min to walk to our seats. It was a huge pain in the rear end. Can't buy a ticket on the pit strait because they are all corporate boxes. is that all about?

I went to the US GP in Indy in '05, '06 and '07. We would park for $20 a day, and walk all of 3 minutes to the track. There were multiple gates and we would be in our seats within 25 minuted (car to butt in seat)

The organisation of the US GP in COTA was a damn mess! Seems like 3 years later, not much has changed.

[ferrari4life]

I didnt even realize we had a US GB and texas is not that far from where I live.

[Rob]

Well the other problem is that COTA is not fan friendly at all when compared to the other venues.. The pit walks are limited to around 30 yards from the garages unlike Monza and other places where you can walk right up to near the front of the garage as well they were late on all of their deliveries for tickets, events, etc.. It seems to be getting worse and worse every year.. If you are camping they didn't even have TDS on line to provide restrooms and showers until the last moment and this year they didn't even offer power for their premium packages.. The people running it just don't seem to have a clue on how to make people feel welcome compared to other venues in F1.. I know Texas hospitality, my dad's family has lived there for generations, and I was disappointed and felt horrible for the members of my club that I brought with me as it was very chaotic. There seems to be a complete lack of coordination and then when you put the weather in there too, well it was a really tough week for those of us who showed up. Nothing like having them tell you practice was cancelled only to have it start 15 minutes later, and vice versa more than a few times. Put that with the mudpalooza in the camping area with trailers, trucks, motor homes and even the tow trucks stuck in the mud.. Well you get the drift... A little more gravel in the area instead of the wet slippery nasty wet texas clay, would do miracles.. The people running the show here would do well for rock concerts, but not F1 which is a hands on sport, where the fans demand to be closer to their teams.. It definitely doesn't have the feel of the European races at all.. I know the vendors were required to give 40% of their sales to COTA this year, but given the weather, well that didn't generate anything.. Then put the Mexican GP the next weekend with 50% of the fans coming from Mexico and it's a disaster.. I don't know Bobby Epstein but he might want to ask some serious fans what they think could be improved, otherwise, my prediction is this venue will be gone... My group was supposed to walk the pits from 3 to 5pm on Thursday, but when we received the tickets they were for 4 to 6 which messed up our meeting with Massimo and the team since they were in scrutineering after 4pm that day. Overall we still had fun, but they sure put up a lot of obstacles to overcome before the fun starts..

Im sorry for you all to have such a misery of a time. Imwas expecting this sort of mayhem (but without the weather) As when WEC had the race this year, there was alot, alot of talk around about the organisers, how it was run well, the media where treated like, dirt. Theres few other things that went on which my contacts within teams and media will not tell me. But, CoTA got do better. Just hope they can learn from all these little things and get it running how it should be.

And, lets hope FOM/FIA can/will move the race in calender so will not have this double header with the race across the border, and loose alot, of the ticket sales.

[GrndLkNatv]

Well luckily most of our members have no idea what was going on behind the scenes, they only had to deal with the weather and then showing up an hour early and having to stand there waiting to get in.. They were disappointed at not being able to get closer to the team.. Anyway, things needs to change, it needs to be more open, the management need to quit being paranoid about what might happen and allow people to enjoy themselves and participate like they do at the other venues in F1. As the organizer of the get together, it was a bit frustrating to be told that it was my problem that the tickets were issued for a different time than we had been told.. Anyway, you live and you learn..

Im sorry for you all to have such a misery of a time. Imwas expecting this sort of mayhem (but without the weather) As when WEC had the race this year, there was alot, alot of talk around about the organisers, how it was run well, the media where treated like, dirt. Theres few other things that went on which my contacts within teams and media will not tell me. But, CoTA got do better. Just hope they can learn from all these little things and get it running how it should be.

And, lets hope FOM/FIA can/will move the race in calender so will not have this double header with the race across the border, and loose alot, of the ticket sales.

[TigerKing]

They should do Canada with USGP back to back or Mexico GP with Road America

[ferrari4life]

I thought that Ham won the WDC last week. Is it just me or does it seem like the celebrations and praise by the media is relatively muted?

[GrndLkNatv]

I thought that Ham won the WDC last week. Is it just me or does it seem like the celebrations and praise by the media is relatively muted?

If they make a big deal out of it, who is going to show up to the last few races? Profits will be down...

[Homan13PSU]

They should do Canada with USGP back to back or Mexico GP with Road America

An F1 race at Road America would be pretty epic.

[Stormy]

If they make a big deal out of it, who is going to show up to the last few races? Profits will be down...

Yeah, but not all media can be mute about it. In some huge media's FIA doesn't have any influence.
By the way to bad the organisation lacks efficiency at COTA, its one of the best tracks on the calendar...

[ALO]

they moved the race earlier into hurricane season and this is what they got for not thinking about it much, june or july is better but hotter than hell down here in the summer, best time is late spring in texas

[Nand0Nand0]

I can't understood an F1 race in the US being anywhere but Indianapolis. It is unique in layout and a great test of car, driver and team. It has great history with F1 and can pull tremendous crowds.

I'd have no problem with having 2 races in the US, but if there is to be only 1, then for me it should be Indy.

[TigerKing]

I'm completely with you Nand0Nand0, I don't understand why people keep saying Indy was a failure. It always pulled a huge crowd, the track was unique (barring the dreadful chicanes in the midfield section) and 2005 wasn't the organizers fault (they gave discounted tickets to 2006's race!)

[abbottcostello]

I'm completely with you Nand0Nand0, I don't understand why people keep saying Indy was a failure. It always pulled a huge crowd, the track was unique (barring the dreadful chicanes in the midfield section) and 2005 wasn't the organizers fault (they gave discounted tickets to 2006's race!)

As far as I'm concerned Indy was a farce of a GP, you guys must be too young to remember the best track.

Watkins Glen in New York started hosting Formula Libre races in 1959, then after "less than successful" F1 races at Sebring in '59 & Riverside in '60, they gave "The Glen" a try, it went on to host the USGP from 1961 until 1980, winning the GP Drivers Association award for the best organised & best staged GP in 3 of those years!
I had the good fortune to attend some of the 1970-80 races, great times!

[WS6TransAm01]

I'm completely with you Nand0Nand0, I don't understand why people keep saying Indy was a failure. It always pulled a huge crowd, the track was unique (barring the dreadful chicanes in the midfield section) and 2005 wasn't the organizers fault (they gave discounted tickets to 2006's race!)

Because of 2005, our 2006 tickets were free.

[Brembo]

For me Indy was the best! 1hr 15min. by plane from NY LaGuardia airport. I went to all the races there. 1st race had over 200,000 fans! I even got to see Rubens win one! The tix by mail came with a parking permit to put in your windshield and the cops sailed you passed the crowds into a huge lot across the street from the gate. Indy was a nightmare for Ralph but a pleasure for Michael .

[TigerKing]

As far as I'm concerned Indy was a farce of a GP, you guys must be too young to remember the best track.

Watkins Glen in New York started hosting Formula Libre races in 1959, then after "less than successful" F1 races at Sebring in '59 & Riverside in '60, they gave "The Glen" a try, it went on to host the USGP from 1961 until 1980, winning the GP Drivers Association award for the best organised & best staged GP in 3 of those years!
I had the good fortune to attend some of the 1970-80 races, great times!

I've obviously only heard stories of the famous Glen. Tracks are nothing like they once were

[Stormy]

I think Austin pulls big crowds also. Look at the previous years. The stands were stuffed. And i'm sure it would've been stuffed this year also if it wasn't for the hurricane. And Austin is one of the best modern Tilke tracks, so i don't know why some people are complaining.

[Rob]

I think Austin pulls big crowds also. Look at the previous years. The stands were stuffed. And i'm sure it would've been stuffed this year also if it wasn't for the hurricane. And Austin is one of the best modern Tilke tracks, so i don't know why some people are complaining.

Im sure it can, but sales for tickets were down this year, due to the Mexican GP this weekend, so all the fans that would of made the trip up across border didnt go. Plus you have the fact that the promoters, ow can i say it, need a kick up the backside about running motorsport events.

[Stormy]

Im sure it can, but sales for tickets were down this year, due to the Mexican GP this weekend, so all the fans that would of made the trip up across border didnt go. Plus you have the fact that the promoters, ow can i say it, need a kick up the backside about running motorsport events.

I don't think the loss of South Americans attending is that crucial. Do you have any information what percentage were foreigners from South America in previous years? Of course the American GP will loose a bit because of the Mexican GP, but not by much.

[Rob]

I don't think the loss of South Americans attending is that crucial. Do you have any information what percentage were foreigners from South America in previous years? Of course the American GP will loose a bit because of the Mexican GP, but not by much.

i dont know. But even if Bobby Epstein coming out and saying the Mexican GP this close has hurt them, must be bad.

[Stormy]

i dont know. But even if Bobby Epstein coming out and saying the Mexican GP this close has hurt them, must be bad.

Who knows. I hope we will see the real picture next year, most probably the weather would be fine. A Hurricane like this doesn't happen that often xD

[Nand0Nand0]

As far as I'm concerned Indy was a farce of a GP, you guys must be too young to remember the best track.

Watkins Glen in New York started hosting Formula Libre races in 1959, then after "less than successful" F1 races at Sebring in '59 & Riverside in '60, they gave "The Glen" a try, it went on to host the USGP from 1961 until 1980, winning the GP Drivers Association award for the best organised & best staged GP in 3 of those years!
I had the good fortune to attend some of the 1970-80 races, great times!

Sadly I do remember many of those year

I agree the Glen is a terrific circuit. But for me, Indy has great history and offers a unique circuit to F1.

[Brembo]

Sadly I do remember many of those year

I agree the Glen is a terrific circuit. But for me, Indy has great history and offers a unique circuit to F1.

Your right about Indy. If it wasn't for Bernie trying to rob the owners without a gun and a mask, F1 would still be there. The whole Indy track and grounds are privately owned by the Gerorge family. Bernie met his match and then some with Tony George telling him where to go. At the time it had to do with the diff. between Euro and the dollar . The fans were the big losers. I can only imagine how bad Bernie feels for us fans.

[GrndLkNatv]

I don't think the loss of South Americans attending is that crucial. Do you have any information what percentage were foreigners from South America in previous years? Of course the American GP will loose a bit because of the Mexican GP, but not by much.

Upwards of 50% of the fans were from Mexico in 2012. Ticket sales have declined each year since from what I have been told.. Last year it wasn't full and due to weather, well this year it definitely wasn't full.

[GrndLkNatv]

Sadly I do remember many of those year

I agree the Glen is a terrific circuit. But for me, Indy has great history and offers a unique circuit to F1.

Indy is better suited to the very large crowds and like the Glen, used to be part of F1 originally, most people don't remember the championships including the Indy 500, but that's how Maserati has won twice there but Ferrari has never won the 500. In fact it were not for the Ferrari entry in the Indy 500 for championship points, well Luigi Chinetti would have never stayed here in the USA, never opening up the first dealership, etc...