Wednesday Morning Spring Training update from COTA

Herta stays fastest Wednesday morning

It is a bright, sunny day here at the Circuit of the Americas. The sun is deceiving as the temperature at 9 am was only 40 degrees. But the temperature is almost 60 degrees as the IndyCars finish the third test session of the two day test.

The morning session of Day 2 resulted in 22 minutes of red time. Jack Harvey, driving the number 60 Meyer Shank Racing with ASPM, was the first to cause a red flag, Later in the, Scott Dixon, the defending series champion driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, had an off track experience in turn 9. James Hinchcliffe, driving the number 5 entry for ASPM had an oil leak late in the session. No crash damage or injuries happened.

The track has a unique feature of a 251 feet (77 m) observation tower designed by Miró Rivera Architects and built by Patriot Erectors as a landmark for the venue.

The views are spectacular

The structure of the tower consists of an elevator hoist-way surrounded by a double helix staircase of 419 stairs, both of which lead to an observation platform 230 feet (70 m) above ground level.

The platform provides a 360-degree panorama of the circuit, as well as views to downtown Austin, Texas.

The observation platform, which is accessible to the public for an admission fee, can accommodate up to 70 visitors and features glass railings and a partial glass floor.

In addition, a "veil" consisting of 18 bright red steel tubes runs nearly the full height of the tower, acting as a canopy for both the observation platform and the stage below.

The design of the observation tower was inspired by the visual imagery of sports cars and movement, and the red color was selected to mimic the streaks of lights trailing race cars at night.

Media were allowed in the tower yesterday and I was able to get some views from the observation platform.

Yes, you have to move around to get the panoramic view, but it was breathtaking! The markings are a red, white blue and green. I was able to take photos while the cars were on track to give you a better prospective.

Lucille Dust reporting from Austin