I'm Going to the Formula 1 Race at CotA!

"Tim (Fractal Footwork)" (fractalfootwork) 09/19/2015 at 18:07 • Filed to: CotA, F1, Formula 1, Formula Freak, Austin, Circuit of the Americas, Meet-Up

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Turn 5 will be my final resting place at Circuit of the Americas in October. Anyone out there have any suggestions or recommendations for the weekend? Also, I’m thinking Oppo Meet-Up sometime after qualifying Saturday somewhere in the city if anyone has any ideas.

I’ll be driving down from Chicago with my brother the Thursday before (16 hours!) in my Genesis; we’ll see how that goes.

At least now I can say the leader of an F1 blog has finally been to an F1 race.

I have no idea what I’m getting myself into and nothing else set-in-stone save for the tickets, but you can be sure there will be a giant write-up of it on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ; any questions I can answer while I’m there and report back?

Local Miata Bro > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/19/2015 at 19:22

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Do you have Grandstand seats or General Admission? When I went in 2012 my dad and I sat at turn 18 and it was the best for GA,

as you could see the hill as well as the 17, 18, and 19 set of turns. Excuse the potato pic.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Local Miata Bro 09/19/2015 at 19:24

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Turn 5 bleacher seats

Local Miata Bro > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/19/2015 at 19:29

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Ah, either way it will be an awesome time. I was on crutches with a broken leg and I still had the time of my life.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Local Miata Bro 09/19/2015 at 19:40

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Yeah, I'm hoping I can roam around during the Friday practice and experience a few different vantage points from the GA areas.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/19/2015 at 20:05

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Ive seated there. IMO its the best spot for that money. My suggestions are, buy a parking lot space close to turn 5. And bring suncreen, i got my sunglasses printed on my face. The good thing is that you dont have the sun in frobt of you. The biggest bleachers of turn 12 get the sun in front of their eyes all day. I dont know how they survive that.

Ah if you want tshirts or souvenirs. Get them on friday or saturday. Its impossible on sunday. And ask for leftovers of the past years. They are cheaper.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > OkCars- 22k Crossroads 09/19/2015 at 20:16

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Is there a cheaper parking option? When I bought the tickets they wanted $200 for anything onsite, but $30 offsite with a shuttle. I haven’t done anything regarding parking and will need to get that sorted eventually.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/19/2015 at 20:31

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wow 200? on 2013 it was like 75 or $100 i dont remember...

Well, the other options i heard of but haven’t tried are, shuttles from the Airport parking. And also, there’s “farms?” well, properties surrounding the track and they offer cheaper parking .

humbletexanf1 > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/21/2015 at 12:40

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That’s a great spot to start at. About 20 laps in you might want to do some exploring. The turn 12-15 complex has some great views and you feel close to the cars. I’d also recommend a stop by T19 for a few laps as you can capture some great pics of the cars as they come by. Don’t forget to crowd the gate on the main straight up to T1 early (5-10 laps before finish) if you want to be on the track for the podium.

The wife and I are doing GA again this year and we’ll start the race up at T1 because there is really nothing else like it.

As far as parking, we used the fields across the road from the track. It’s a bit of a walk but it comes out cheaper than actual track parking.

Native Texan > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/21/2015 at 13:11

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CoTA has recently set something up with UBER, but given their higher demand rates $200 may actually be a bargain if you use it each day. The privately owned “fields” where parking is available is also a good hike to the circuit with no paved walkways, no shade. Paying $66/day for parking is really a convenience thing. Otherwise, sitting in the sun, hiking a good mile or so to & from the track (in the sun) will seriously take it out of you! Do yourself the favor and buy the parking pass, you’ll thank yourself for it.

Stef Schrader > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/22/2015 at 02:45

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YAY!

I was in that 3/4/5 complex (I think at 5?) for the first race. Tons of fun. Especially the Porsche support race — you’ll see some butts a-shakin’.

Stef Schrader > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 09/22/2015 at 02:47

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I think the Taylor Rotorsports lawn across the street from T1 is only about $40 for the weekend or something insanely cheap like that. Good people. Local racers. Lucked out that a Grade 1 race track magically appeared across the road, heh.