Forum Replies Created
- Posts
One thing you’ll enjoy that is missing at COTA. Shade! plenty of grass and shaded areas around the grandstands where you can relax and get a break from the sun in-between stuff happening on track. Killing some time in the casino is nice also. My son and I are going up on Wednesday out of Austin thru Chicago. staying right on Crescent. There is a decent Mexican restaurant on St. Catherines very close to the fan Fest activities on Crescent. Hurley Pub on Crescent has a decent burger and lots of different brews. Hopefully Buxton’s Bash will be there again this year. You’re going to have a blast going to Montreal. try to get your souvenir shoping at the track done early, because they good t shirts will run out by Saturday. Take a left when you exit the metro and walk towards the huge globe and turn right after crossing the bridge and you’ll hit the majority of the vendors.take a stroll the park people watching and absorb the atmosphere!
I live in the Austin area, so I have been to all 3 Usgp’s held at COTA. You will have attim in Montreal. Last June was my first time there and there reallywasn’t any difficulty with the culture or any real difficulties with language. With the metro, it is actually easier getting around there than in Austin. If you do go to Montreal, look into getting one of the trio ticket pkgs. It will give you a different perspective each day. The econo trio is downright bargain and will give you a grandstand at each of the two chicanes on Saturday or sunday. Pics from the first two usgp’s and this past year in Montreal. Haven’t put the page up from last years usgp yet.will be going back to Montreal again this June…I had that GOOD OF TIME!
http://www.mmtravelpics.comEnjoy
Finally able to go thru a few of the pics from last weekend. Had a really great weekend…..camped above T11 on Mr. Haywood’s property. CoTA stepped it up this year. I had gone to Montreal in June and had such a great experience, I was prepared to be disappointed in Austin this year. These are a from the T15 area. With the increase in acceleration this year, there were a lot more passes & attempted passes in the T12-16 area this year.
http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/budaman65/slideshow/2014%20usgp
Pretty much. Just walk down the hill towards the Main Grandstand. There will be a large gate just past the tunnel….across from the Position Tower & starting line. I don’t know if they open anything up at the top of the hill where you can just walk straight down the track. I haven’t really spent much time by T1. The gate I referred to earlier is the one they open up when they do the pit walks.
No, there will be access points throughout the track. Those two would be the only one’s you’d have a realistic chance of getting to the Podium in time to catch the Trophy presentation. There’s only a 10 to 20 minute window before the start if the Ceremony & it would take too long to get there from anyplace else. They open up the track after the race, so you could actually walk the entire length if you wanted to.
The podium is above the pit building at the end where the back of the grid would form at the T20 end. If you’re in the Main Grandstand, no problem. If you aren’t, best bet would be close to the T19 Hospitality Tent when the race ends. They open up the track at a gate close to there after the race. Last year though, they were late opening the track up because they were taking Sutil’s car back to the Paddock & by the time they opened it, the ceremony was already going on. I think they were being overly cautious because of the Marshall being killed in Montreal last year. You could also probably make it if you were close to T1.
No track tours during events. You could tour the Tower if you haven’t done that. It’s like $25. I usually use the time between F1 sessions to check out different areas of the track. There are several trams. One from T11 to the Grand Plaza & back, one from the Grand Plaza to Main & one from Main to T1…returns on these also. They should have a few areas that will have TV’s if you want to catch up on some of the football games. They’ll have areas for lawn games & such around the Laza….maybe even a mechanical bull! Or, you could just find a bar & get snockered!
There is a lot of good info there. With that being said, I’ve lived in Austin since ’63 & have been to every event at CoTA. So, if you have any specific questions or need an opinion on something, I’ll do my best to answer them for you.
Also, if you’re coming & haven’t bought a ticket yet, I have one of my PSL tickets in the corner T15 grandstand available. This is the smaller if the two at T15. Gives you acces to the Hospitality Tent at 15 & all it’s ammenities. $325 Not much more than a GA ticket & much more comfortable than the bleacher seats.
I believe both drivers have shown up for the sessions in the past, but there is no guarantee. I would think this year with Vettel’s & Alonso’s status, if anyone was going to no show, it would be them.
All the larger teams will have full lines so you’d need to get there early, which means you
miss the support races. The lines have always been too long for me to want to deal with it.The booth to get the wristbands for autographs should be located in front of the reflecting pond as you enter the Grand Plaza.
Realistically, you need to get there very early to get one. They will set up queues for each team at least an hour before the time. I don’t know if they issue just one wristband, or individual ones for each team. If the times for teams are within an hour of each other, pick the one you want most as it’s highly unlikely you’d get to the other queue in time.
What section were you thinking about buying? Very familiar with the circuit if you need any pointers.
Would be nice to meet up at some point with others going.
Got my tickets yesterday also. The downtown shuttle is $10 r/t. They also posted the park & ride shuttle info located on 973. $20 for 3 days, $15 for 2 or $10 daily. Same walk as the downtown shuttle drop on McAngus Rd. Lot Q is a good deal. Big,a/c equipped buses that drop you off about 100 yards from the T11 entrance. There will also be a tram pickup by T11 that will take you to the Grand Plaza area & one from Grand Plaza to the Main GS & T1. It’s all walking on the side from T2 – T11. If you go out to catch a tram, make sure you get your ticket scanned & you’ll have to clear security & rescan back in. Kind of a pain, but moves fairly.
I live in Austin, so have been to both USGP’s, went to Monza last year & Montreal earlier this year. My take on all 3…
Monza has history & is in a beautiful spot. Facilities need improvement. Easy to get to Monza, but not pleasant from Monza station to track. Recommend Milan & train to the Lesmo station. Montreal was fantastic…had a really great time. Transportation around Montreal & to the track was easy & cheap. Downtown activities were fun. Austin is very similar in feel to Montreal and downtown activities. More music involved though. Three things Austin has against it right now…affordable lodging downtown, the need for a car if not staying downtown & shade at the track. British Airways does have direct flight fro London to Austin now.As far as watching the race, my ranking would be Austin, Montreak then Monza. Austin is the only one of the three where you can see large areas of the track from any location & has the best GA viewing areas if you want to roam & not be sitting in one spot. Montreal & Monza you’re pretty much seeing just what is in front of you & difficult to get a good spot if you’re doing GA.
Just an FYI….if you’re doing Greyhound, the bus station is about two blocks west if IH35 on Koenig Lane. You will have to cab to your Hostel as it is really isn’t walking distance. Don’t know what your budget is on tickets, but you might look on Craigslist to see if you can pick up a PSL ticket someone is selling. These would be for the Main, T1 & T15 Grandstands. Mine are in T15. The advantage of a PSL ticket is it gets you into the Hospitality areas for those GS’s which will provide you with a break from the sun along with restrooms & concessions just for those ticket holders. If you were to buy seats in those sections from the Circuit, they are around $550 & up, but don’t include the PSL Hospitality access. So, if you can afford it & can find one for less than $500, it would provide for the best weekend experience. I may be selling one of mine if my brother ends up not being able to make it. If you’re budget is tight, GA at CoTA is very good. The GA areas are mostly on berms that provide excellent visibility. Just bring something to sit on in case it is dewey in the mornings….nothing like a wet butt to start your day, lol! They do allow the collapsible type camp chairs.
The Circuit has not released any shuttle info yet, but I an pretty certain they will have the shuttle from downtown this year. Should originate from the Convention Center again this year. Cost last year was $5. FYI, if you are flying into Austin, Cap Metro does have direct bus that goes from the airport to the Convention Center area. Info can be found on the Cap Metro website. Much cheaper than a cab. Imagine info on shuttles won’t be released until end if Sept. or early Oct. They were still working on a plan for the shuttles to drop much closer than in previous years. Race tickets should start shipping Sept. 15.
