A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, I just watched a piece that Speedvision ran prior to the first running of the USGP at Indy in 2000. During the piece, Bob Varsha talked about the 1984 race in Dallas, Texas, when Keke Rosberg won, what Varsha called a rally race. He mentions the tracks heat (held in July) caused the circuit to break up. How can Tavo Hellmund, Red McCombs, and Texas think that the 2012 race won't be a complete disaster and mirror the 84 Dallas race from a heat standpoint? Yes, the heat of Bahrain, Malaysia, and other venues are fierce (both heat and humidity). But Texas is interested in beer, boating, and football come June, the logical race date since Montreal typically falls during this time frame. You have constantly mentioned the roads leading into the track are no where near acceptable. F1 has been a failure in America. No American drivers or teams for fans to identify with or support. Do you think that Joe the cowboy will be able to understand Jarno Trulli, or be able to pronounce Karthikeyan? Is Bernie staging the race in Texas to appeal to the new Mexican drivers in F1? If so, why not have Carlos Slim underwrite the cost and save Texas and the US the embarrassment, and host the race in Mexico? No one will sit in 100+ degree heat Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, say "Isn't this great?" and come back the following year.
Speedvision video:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-mVyOQpZ7Q
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo0KSPM4jwk&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkGWWV_yxjE&feature=related
Your thoughts?
Brandon Stevens
Dear Brandon, No question about it, the Texas heat could be a negative factor for the fans and they will not return. If the promoter is smart they will cover the grandstands so the fans sit in the shade. We would have moved the race to a cooler month, but when, as the calendar is full. As for your other reasons, well I think they could all go away if an American driver ever got a competitive ride in F1 and had the talent to win F1 races. Will the race be another financial flop like all the other venues – Dallas, Phoenix, Indy, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Riverside? That depends on whether Austin wants to keep footing much of Bernie's huge sanction fee with taxpayer dollars. And that all depends how much economic benefit the track brings to Austin. To this day we still maintain that Long Beach was the right setting for F1 in the USA. Californians love their cars and Long Beach is close to Hollywood and is the perfect fit for the jet-set crowd of F1. And you cannot beat the weather and the ambiance. Mark C.