Ok Who was at the Austin F1 Race and

I didnt go. I dont approve of how they handled the Kevin Schwantz mess.

But the track did look good on TV. It will make for some really good MotoGP racing I would think.

My good buddy Richard (mag250) went and sounds like he had a total blast!

..and was nice enough to score me some pretty cool b-day presents from what i hear

My son and I went. We were there for all the activities on Saturday and Sunday. I am a huge F1 fan and this the first time I could afford to go, so I would not have misssed it for anything. Not even my first cousin's wedding (sorry about that).

We were able to see the race and activities from several viewing areas.Saturday we watched from the luxury suites on turn 1, and for the race and activities on Sunday, we started in the grandstand (4 rows from the track) and later moved to turn 6.

Overall it was an amazing event and in my 50 years I have not seen anything quite like it.

I was there.

It is a great venue, better than any I have been to either as a participant (not this time!) or spectator. I have been to U.S.G.P.'s at Watkins Glen, Detroit and Indianapolis, and COTA is without a doubt miles ahead of any of them.

I have been to Hockenheim and Silverstone (not since the latest re-model though), and COTA is nicer.

As a participant on a race team, the Montreal F1 facilities are third world compared to COTA.

Before COTA was built, I would have to say that Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, UT was the best place I have been as a participant.

We had suite passes for the turn 19 suites on the outside of the circuit. The view was great, and you could even see turn 1 from there (that pit straight hill is so steep!)

My only criticism for the suites in turns 19 and 20 is that there was no jumbo screen across from them, and unlike a lot of places I have been to, there were no TV's in the suite viewing areas outside, only on the inside.

I spoke to my buddy who is Bruno Senna's engineer after the race. He said that they were all very impressed with the facilities, except the garages weren't built big enough to contain all the shit that an F1 team travels with. They had to keep the tires outside, and the tire guys even had to work outside. He said that as nice as everything else is, they were really surprised that the circuit management missed so badly on that one aspect.

Indy, will it be easy for them to remedy the shop /space issue?

I'm not sure how easy it would be to add on to the back side of the garages to make them deeper.

I didn't get the Bernie pass this time to have a look myself!