Was Austin's First F1 Race a Hit??? (Portland, Commerce: schools, organic)

[Austinite101]

So far, I have seen rave reviews. Looks like Austin hit it out of the ballpark and when the world was watching too.

[JoninATX]

It was a BIG hit for Austin.

[JohninAustin]

Probably the best run major sporting event I have attended. I took the light rail down to the downtown shuttle system which then took us seamlessly to the track. FLAWLESS. The track design was great (loved the Miro Rivera designed tower) and the atmosphere truly special. I will be buying a 3 day pass every year they hold it here... and I was not a race fan before this weekend.

[Austinite101]

I notice that there are two little stinkers voting in this poll. I had a feeling that some other people would try and come poop on us so I made it so you could see who voted for what. SAguy and some guy from San Jose thought it stunk.

[&heart]

I'm happy for you, Austin!

[LiveUrban]

It was a huge hit!!! People were enjoying themselves greatly and downtown was absolutely buzzing for the Fan Fest (which was fantastic!). This was a great thing for Austin! I noticed that a lot of locals went downtown for the festival.

The only thing is that I wished Soco would've been promoted more. I feel it captures the Austin vibe better than downtown and would've been a great place for more of the fans to hang out at.

[migol84]

Originally Posted by Jink

In a word? Yes. I was there and saw people from all types of backgrounds, countries, etc., and they were all going nuts the entire time. Hearing several comments like "one of the best races I've seen in the past 5 years", "I'm definitely coming back next year", "this is definitely one of the most beautiful tracks I've seen in a long, long time" and other surprising comments, I'd say they hit it out the park!

All of those comments mean completely nothing to me because I'm totally aloof when it comes to these track races. But I guess if they were happy, then I guess its a good thing.

[cBach]

I went to the Fan Fest with my family today and the entire experience was among the most pleasant I have had at any festivals. We took the Metrorail downtown, walked 4 blocks west on 4th St. and were able to do many fun and free things. We did 3 simulators, and we enjoyed the free dorritos, pepsi, and espresso.

The crowd was not the "Drunk Ibiza dancing Eurotrash" that many had thought. Instead it was a mix of sophisticated Mexicans from Mexico City with their families and upper class middle aged Europeans with a sense of style and sensibility. I would have to say the crowd was very low key, almost boring, but that's perfect for family activities.

What's with all the free food and drinks? Hey I'll take it but you'd think they'd be gouging those rich tourists, instead they are giving away free food? Oh well, I'll take it...

[Pretzelogik]

If they tried this project in Cali. or many other states...they would still be on the drawing boards...fighting numerous gument agencies.

[cBach]

I think that Austin's penchant for embracing "weirdness", along with good crowd management skills from ACL and SxSW have made us a natural host for F1. We aren't NASCAR country here, that's too mainstream American and we don't do anything mainstream. We are a medium sized city but we have alpha sized city ambitions. We desire to keep our culture but expose the world to it. We want to introduce the world to Texas Barbeque and steaks. We want the world to experience our hospitality and live music.

That's why F1 succeeded in Austin. F1 fits in Austin because, just like everything else in this city, the things that don't make sense are the things that are embraced.

Face it, we knew nothing about F1 prior to the racetrack being built. All we knew was that it sounded "cool" and we would love international exposure. Fast forward from that day to two years forward and we all embrace this foreign thing called F1. We plan for an event that we've never experienced by basing what it might be like on another festival that crowds our city, SxSW. We invoke the same crowd control measures. We make sure adequate public transportation is available to the racetrack. We built an amazing racetrack. Then we host an amazing race in perfect weather.

The other comments are right. This would never be able to occur anywhere else in the US except Austin. The cities that have the fortitude to build racetracks already have NASCAR tracks and the other cities have too much red tape.

If F1 is to succeed in the US, it will have to succeed in Austin. Today was an important first step and I believe next year will even be better.



I am truly proud of Austin.