Austin track officially named as “Circuit of the Americas”
The new US Grand Prix track, which is currently being built in Austin, has been officially named as the “Circuit of Americas” according to organisers.
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) announced midway through the 2010 Formula 1 season that the US Grand Prix would be reintroduced to the sport in the coming 2 years, which means that a US Grand Prix is expected to take place in
2012.
However, since the organisers wanted to arrange the race in the US at a different venue this time, it was revealed that Tavo Hellmund and Bernie Ecclestone advised an idea of building a new track in Austin, Texas for the Formula 1 grand prix, which was passed
by the FIA.
The organisers came up with the design of the track later on and currently, it has been revealed that the track is currently being built at its designated location in Austin after levelling the ground.
Other than that, it has been revealed that because of this announcement, the track promoters have revealed that this track would also host a MotoGP race from 2013-2023, as the organizers signed a ten-year deal with the management of MotoGP.
The construction workers recently started working on this project back in January and it is expected that the track would be completed by the middle of 2012 at a cost of $250 million.
However, Tavo Hellmund stated that the branding of this circuit was intended to signify the multi-faceted potential of the development of the track.
“We are building a destination for entertainment and business, not simply a race track, and this brand reflects that entire idea”, Hellmund said.
Since the FIA is hoping to diversify the sport and take it to different countries of the world, it seems that this is a pretty huge step for the FIA.
Other than the US grand prix, it has been revealed that a Russian Grand Prix is also going to become a part of the sport soon.
However, most of the drivers and teams have stated that they are not going to compete for a season of more than 20 races per year.
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