Formula 1 fans spending time in downtown Austin will receive an early hit of V8 Supercars this weekend.
Ahead of the inaugural US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, the V8 Supercars Championship will be on display with its own information booth at the ‘Fan Fest’ in the town of Austin, promoting the championship’s venture to Texas next May.
Formula 1 contracts allow for very little promotion of the inaugural V8 Supercars event inside the race track, but the V8s will still have a touch point with the fans during the three-day event.
The main attractions for the Fan Fest include acts Aerosmith, Flo Rida and Enrique Inglesias, with the F1 race expected to attract around 120,000 spectators.
According to the Circuit of the Americas executive vice-president Bruce Knox, the Fan Fest is a bonus for this weekend’s race-goers.
“We are pretty excited about the Fan Fest and what it brings to the event,” Knox told Speedcafe.com.
“A V8 Supercars display will be part of what the Fan Fest will be offering.”
Knox said the growing excitement about this weekend’s F1 event was enormously encouraging.
“We are close to sold out,” said Knox.
“The whole region has really embraced it – businesses, community and government.
“This city knows how to have a party and the rest of the world is about to see that.”
Knox said that there was constant interest in the V8 Supercars event and that he had an F1, Grand-Am (March) and MotoGP (April) events to give his team practice on how to put and event together before the expected Aussie invasion.
While the new venue has had plenty of detractors and doubters (as many new venues and events do), the time of proof will be this weekend.
While there will be plenty of teething problems, the only obvious concern will be the traffic flow and fan movement into and out of the track given the lack of time for local road development.
Knox would not be brought into a discussion on recent reports about traffic issues when a recent fun run drew 5000 competitors – a couple of thousand more than expected.
“We have a new venue and traffic is very important,” said Knox.
“We have a massive shuttle and traffic flow systems in place. We will be doing everything to ensure we get the fans in and out as quickly and as comfortable as possible.”
Knox said while this weekend’s F1 event had dominated the focus of his management team, there was a growing interest in next year’s V8 event.
“There has been a lot of interest in the V8 event,” said Knox. “People are intrigued by it.
“With V8 Supercars rubbin’ is racin’ and that’s the closest thing to NASCAR-style racing on a road course.
“I think it will really appeal to NASCAR and road racing-type fans.
“I am sure once we have this weekend done there will be even more momentum.”
See below for Speedcafe.com’s F1 Race Guide, previewing the US Grand Prix.
See below for Speedcafe.com’s V8 Race Guide, previewing the Winton event.
