New York Would Not Host the 2012 Us Grand Prix
The wait is over, as we hear finally from the F1 officials that the F1 will soon appear in the United States for the US Grand Prix. No! It is not as always the darling New York City hosting the event rather it is to return to a newly made venue in Austin, Texas from the year 2012.
It had been a long frustrating wait as every now and then the US media had some or the other news to share as the developments and negotiations took place and the race lovers kept hoping for the return of F1 to US as soon as it would be possible. The motor Sport loving country had waited long enough now. There was a flicker of hope when the news came out that the ever attracting Monticello Motor Club in upstate New York was having negotiations to host a Grand Prix from 2012. This seemed unbelievable, though fantastic at the same time but it was not very long until it started sounding like just another one of those tactics to actually get the real deal signed which was to carry the event to Texas from New York.
It had been a tradition of decades that the Watkins Glen in the North East remained a solid fixture at the F1 calendar. From 1961 until 1980 it had been the biggest success story of the US due to the consistency of US Grand Prix. It had been hailed and loved as it turned back year after year at the New York state track with all its glitz and glamour.
Well! There are reasons for it being the success it had been. One of the reasons was location, the North East, it had been successful in attracting the more open-minded Americans of the European descent and of course brilliant was the setting in the upstate New York, the wooded hills combined with the tracks kissing the curves made the whole track turn into a seductive driving experience. This dream tack was encouraged by the Grand Prix Drivers Association to be awarded the best GP in 1965, 1970, and 1972.
The timing for the race on the calendar was also the best suited one. Autumn announced the coming back to college and this racing experience every year became the big party that marked the start of the academic year all around the East Coast.
The American F1 drivers proved their relative success on this track throughout the 60s and 70s. Amongst them Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Mark Donahue, Peter Revson and none the less Mario Andretti notably maintained F1’s craze in the States. This popularity reached to its peak when Andretti was fighting for the Championship in the late 1970s; finally it was in 1978 that he actually made for it. It was the time when US was actually hosting two Grand Prix, one staged in the Long Beach and the other one still in Watkins Glen, also called as the United States West Grand Prix and United States East Grand Prix respectively. Both of these GP brilliantly complimented each other by the contrast of the sceneries and the locations they passed through.
However, came the sad seasons of the tour as things started turning sour in the year 1980, between the US and F1 and Watkins Glen got erased from the calendar. This lack of financial support destined in the non-payment of the debts of the track to F1 teams and also did not let the safety of the track get improved after a series of horrifying accidents, which snatched the lives of some of the track heroes like Francois Cevert and Helmut Koinig. In 1982, they together tried for a revival but it was brief. This time there were three US Grand Prix making a new record, one in Long Beach, in Detroit, and the third at the Las Vegas. However, in 1983, came the sad turning point when Long Beach declared that it could no longer afford the ever-increasing fees of the race and hence stated it would rather be hosting the Champ Car series.
Now, we hear the F1 return to America, but on a new track at a new place and among new controversies. Let’s see how much of the zeal and zest would return with it returning to Austin.
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