Bernie Ecclestone and Tavo Hellmund talk about the future
The US Grand Prix has been off the Formula 1 calendar since the year 2007. The Circuit at Indianapolis has had a rich history, rather sporadic lately though. The news that the US Grand Prix will be included in the 2012 calendar of Formula 1 was not much of a surprise. The real surprise however, was that the US Grand Prix will not take place in Indianapolis. Bernie Ecclestone (CEO Formula 1 Group) and Tavo Hellmund (Managing partner for Full Throttle Productions LP) spoke about the future on Formula 1’s official website.
The United States are considered one of the most important markets for Formula 1 racing. It was revealed that this time, the race will take place in Austin, Texas. Bernie and Tavo were asked who came up with this idea. Tavo responded by saying that he had come up with the idea and took it to Bernie. He said that Austin is the perfect place, keeping in mind the fact that the state has developed immensely over the past 15years.
The State is now the 11th largest global economies and holds the headquarters for many of the Fortune 500 companies. He added that this was the right time for making it happen and it would be easy for most of people in Central and South America as well, to reach the Capital of the state.
Bernie’s idea was that he wanted to take the US Grand Prix to a city with global recognition. Tavo’s plan and their needs matched perfectly according to Bernie. Bernie believes they are confident since they verified the idea with every aspect.
Tavo Hellmund started off by explaining how he and Bernie became friends. He said that they were family friends and that Tavo’s father and Bernie were responsible for the return of the Mexican Grand Prix in the 80’s. They have known each other for decades. Tavo added that he has been familiar with Formula 1 ever since since he started taking his first steps in this world. He has been organizing motor sports events or music festivals in the US and is thus aware of the needs of the fans in the area.
Tavo said that this project involves the best of the best. People from NFL and NBA to the people involved in the election campaigns of Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barak Obama. It also involves Red McCombs (McCombs Partners) and Bobby Epstein (Prophet Capital Management).
They hope to make the US Grand Prix a worldwide event. They want to build a track that will stand as a symbol and America shall be proud of it. He said that the MotoGP legend Kevin Schwantz is also involved in the project. He said that Austin is the home of many internationally prominent actors, athletes and business people and thus they have a very strong bench.
They believe that they can beat NASCAR this time around. They want to deliver the whole package and Bernie and Tavo, are more than happy with the layout of the track as well as the package that they are making. Tavo believes this will happen, but requires a lot of hard work.
Tavo says that he has conveyed his ideas to Hermann Tilke and Peter Wahl who are the most established racetrack architects of our times. They chose an area that offers natural elevation differences, which will essentially make it a fast track, with difficult corners. The most important element for them is to make it in a way that displays it as a masterpiece for spectators. They will try to build it in a manner that allows spectators to see a large part of the track from wherever they are. The layout will be presented to the FIA this September.
Bernie wants to bring the US Grand Prix back, keeping in mind Formula 1 is a World Championship, and it implies that the US should be a part of it. They believe that the teams and manufacturers will also support them in this project. According to Bernie, the US Grand Prix may take place around June somewhere near the race in Montreal in 2012.
He was asked before ending the interview if they had planned another Grand Prix in the US besides the one in Austin. And he responded by saying that they would love to make it happen, but are not planning anything yet. The reality of the matter is that they have a contract for Austin at the moment and this is where the US Grand Prix will be staged.
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