Austin GP in trouble...

[The Black Knight]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/121751

It looks like the best of the new circuits COTA is in finacial difficulty. Following the financially devastating weekend they had this year back to back with Mexico, coupled with the torrential rain they had for the entire weekend, the circuit is in financial difficulty.

To add futrther to their woes, the $25 million funding the circuit received has now been cut to $19.5 million, thus the potential to host a GP in Austin in the near future is looking bleak.

I think this is a shame but I do also feel that the circuit needs help. The FIA chose to have back to back races with Mexico which resulted in a loss of ticket sales. While no one could have done anything about the weather I think Bernie needs to cut the best addition to the F1 calendar in many years some slack. It would be tragic to lose this great circuit :(

[yodasarmpit]

I have to agree, of the new tracks this was one i really took a liking to.

[zako85]

Formula 1 is going to lose its credibility, if it still has any left in the USA, if it abandons COTA and moves onto some other race track. If this happens, it will appear that COTA was just another race track among the endlessly changing American GPs: Indianapolis, Phoenix, Detroit, Dallas, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, etc. And the true reason for this instability is that each time Bernie wanted too much money.

One thing I don't get is why don't the TV channels and the car manufacturers presure BE to stop this circus. Isn't USA important enough market for them? Would Mercedes rather race in Azerbaijan, Thailand, or Argentina instead of USA where it sells a lot more of its road cars? Will the TV channels attract big enough audiences for those events?

[steveaki13]

They need to stay at Austin. F1 has found a great circuit and the US Gp looked set for years to come.

Would be a big mistake to lose it now.

[Duncan]

Yeah, this would be a great loss, and would severely cripple F1's credibility in the US while it's still in a fanbase building mode.

Sadly, I don't think Bernie really cares about any of this, just as long as he maximizes the money inflow in the short term.

[Jag_Warrior]

Sadly, I don't think Bernie really cares about any of this, just as long as he maximizes the money inflow in the short term.

Bingo, bango, bongo!!!

It would be a genuine shame to see this race go by the wayside. About every bad thing that could happen, did happen, this year. I hope that a lifeline can be found somewhere. But it does look bad right now.