HC/F1 In Austin 11/18/2012

[luvdunhill]

I've been informed by a wise HF member that this seems like a dead meet. Ok, I didn't quite catch that, but thanks for making it clear If anyone wants to meet up, please let me know via PM!

Steve, if you decide to come down, bring your K1000 as I may have a new amp done very soon that I'd love to try them out with.

[Torpedo]

Who said F1 is boring? What a race!

Fernando should have changed his tires about 5 turns earlier

[Absorbine_Sr]

Agreed. Don't miss this one. Texas should be awesome.

[ironbut]

Yup!

What a fuckin' amazing display by Vettel and Red Bull!

Even though I've been praying for luck to look down on Alonzo on these last few races, it's a testament to the sport to see a driver/team take bad luck head on and meet the challenge!

This season just seems to get better and better!

[mikeymad]

best Abu Dhabi race to date... cheers to Kimi

[mikeymad]

side note - I am sad that I will not be at the TX race - and to gather with others as well. Never really worked out for me.

[Fitz]

I'm still in for this, since I'm going to be in San Antonio regardless to visit Noah. If there's still anything going on, we can come up for Fri/Sat to hang out?

[ironbut]

Still no word from the guys who made it to Austin?

How bout some thoughts, pictures?

[mikeymad]

^^ this .... make me jealous...

[ironbut]

I looks like the weather is perfect and the city of Austin has tons of concerts and special events scheduled for the weekend.

At least on tv, the track a facilities look first rate.

On a side note;

If other fans hadn't heard, the Speed Channel (Fox News) lost the contract for 2013 to 2017.

NBC won the bidding and will show the entire season on the NBC Sports Network (used to be Versus where the Tour de France is shown). Should be live and rebroadcast just like on Speed (also live streaming from their site). 4 of the races will be shown on NBC so I'm guessing delayed Sunday mornings like Fox did.

I was able to make a sigh of relief when I read that David Hobbs and Steve Machett will be continuing their excellent play by plays on NBC.

So, since 16 of the broadcasts will be live, we shouldn't have to worry about missing laps that could be edited and NBC says that they'll continue with pre-race coverage. And if you wish, we should be able to watch those 4 races live via live streaming.

http://bleacherrepor...-like-old-times

Edited November 18, 2012 by ironbut

[Absorbine_Sr]

So far the time at the circuit has been positive. The track itself and the on-track action has been great. Off-track human handling started out rough but has gotten better. The track is very hilly and for fat old people like myself a bitch to walk. But the track had advertised trams to take you around the track, so no problem. Except the trams were your basic Disneyland type and kept breaking and couldn't climb hills. A lot of people complained after Friday on the COTA Facebook page. So, on Saturday, COTA stepped up and scrapped the trams and brought in full-fledged buses. I was impressed. Staff at the circuit have been amazingly polite and helpful, and though initial amenities are a bit rudimentary, this track has a ton of potential.

Turn one is a monster - an amazingly steep climb up to a blind apex that will be very interesting on Sunday. Expect some carbon fiber shards in that one. We have seats in turn 11, the hairpin. We may not see passing here but can see all the way down the following DRS zone to turn 12. I have posted some iPhone video to Facebook. I will try and get some linked up here when time permits.

Edited November 18, 2012 by Absorbine_Sr

[mikeymad]

Enjoy Mike - thanks for checking in... Speed is covering every session - been looking for you...

Cheers

[Absorbine_Sr]

Couldn't do Hi-Def as the hotel wi-fi sucks donkey balls, but here's some regular def badly hand-held iPhone video. Excuse shaky hands and thumbs.

COTA Turn 1:

Ferrari Challenge qualifying

[Absorbine_Sr]

Historic Grand Prix cars. I think I have the Tyrrel 6 wheeler in there...

And finally, F1 Practice 1.

[mikeymad]

The sound is insane.!!!! now mikey has a sad..

thx for the clips

[Voltron]

Glad to hear you're having fun, Mike. Sorry about all the hiking but I bet a nice beer goes down pretty sweetly afterwards.

[ironbut]

Very cool Mike!

Thanks for sharing.

Enjoy the race!

[Torpedo]

Wow, thanks for sharing

[jvlgato]

Good stuff, Mike! I swear I smelled some exhaust fumes and burned rubber watching those!

[emelius]

so Alonso's moved up to 7th on the grid after penalties...but Vettel only needs 15 points to secure the championship...

maybe Grosjean'll wipe someone out...

[ironbut]

Woo Hoo!

Great race and kudos to Austin and the folks at Circuit of the Americas!

Turn 1 looks like a classic (I love elevation changes).

On to Interlagos!

Edited November 18, 2012 by ironbut

[Torpedo]

Great race. Looks like Vettel stands pressure way better than he used to. The circuit is amazing, it's a pity the track is so smooth that tires need so much time to heat up. I wish there's some rain one of these years there. And why not at Interlagos next week

Edited November 18, 2012 by Torpedo

[mikeymad]

well done TX for putting on a great race....

[emelius]

http://jalopnik.com/5961977/the-us-grand-prix-in-austin-the-ber-gallery?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_twitter&utm_source=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Jalopnik's gallery...

[ironbut]

A fitting end to the most exciting season of F1 I've ever seen!

And even though my man Alonso wasn't able to pull it off, I have to hand it to Vettel who showed me a lot more this year.

It was great to see Massa's comeback at the end of the season. I'll never forget that last lap in Brazil when Hamilton won the championship on the last 1/4 lap and the look on his dad's face when he realized what had just happened.

It was kind of sad to watch Speed say goodbye to F1. As David Hobbs said, "they really raised the bar" and god help NBC if they can't equal Speeds coverage.

So, what crazy rule changes will be in place for 2013?

And will Ferrari's new wind tunnel be the key to building a more competitive chassis?

Will New Jersey be on the schedule?

Next stop Spain for pre season testing in Feb.!