Yes, I got that...just don't understand the concern. Do they also object to the CO2 attendees leave behind?
It is going to be interesting to see what COTA does with these two series and hopefully COTA will understand sports car racing and that this is NOT F1, and sports cars are VERY FAN FRIENDLY. ALMS pits are open; ALMS grid is totally open. WEC separate pass required for grid walk, Pit walk took place twice at Spa. Also access to the boxes. WEC autograph session was in conjuction with the Saturday pit walk (race was Saturday at Spa). At these events ALL grandstands were open to ANYONE for the price of admission. (WEC was 25 Euro per person and our parking pass adjacent to the village area at Spa was INCLUDED). Some teams did have specific hospitality in their enormous temporary facilities in the paddock (i.e. Audi, Toyota, AF Corse, etc.). For those of us who prefer attending sports car events, I hope that COTA doesn't ruin the experience that the fans are accustomed to having available to them. We were by COTA a couple weeks ago and if you end up parking in someone's field you best have walking shoes on if there is not a bus or similar providing transport to the circuit. Carol
WEC said that tickets for ALMS/WEC are suppose to be on COTA on Thursday. Hope they don't screw with sports car racing and fans - there's a major dog event in Austin that Sunday that I haven't ruled out if COTA screws thing up royally. Wonder how they will handle the hard season cards for WEC. Carol
It will be exciting to watch the LMP1 class Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro dominate there class without the Peugeot 908 HD being around this year. They were some 5 laps in front of the other LMP1 class at Sebring! They are FAST! Will the Toyota TS030 be there to make things interesting for Audi? The GT class will be action packed with Ferrari F458GT vs Porsche 911RSR! Ciao, SRR
Just FYI guys, you needn't feel pressured to buy early from COTA. There's no way this race will sell out and COTA has repeatedly offered special packages, one-day tickets, or lowered its prices as the last weeks until the event wind down. This has been true for every event other than F1.
Good to know as I only want to attend the race and nothing else. Heck if I can make it to the F1 race I only want to see the race and not practice or qualifying. Hopefully the shuttle service will be expanded as last year was kind of a hassle.
Thursday and NO tickets so far - only coming soon for WEC - why am I not surprised. Puppy Mill Awareness Day - our deaf/blind dogs are going to be used in a Differently abled Demonstration of obedience and agility. Carol
They're up for sale now. Looks like one price fits all. Three-day pass is ~$103 after taxes, fees, & Standard Delivery charge. Tickets | 2013 ALMS and WEC 3 Day Weekend - Austin TX at Ticketmaster
I've been hearing that they're actually thinking of scaling back the shuttle operation, because, you know, it went so well the first time around...lol.
How much do they cost? I didn't see VIP tickets listed. ETA: Oh, I see now...$549? No way. At least not for me. It'll likely be hot, but I'll manage without getting raped for $600+ after fees.
holy **** - NO WAY. This is going to be interesting as at the WEC races ALL grandstands are for one admission as in our 25 Euro for the entire race at Spa and parking was only 5 Euro behind the village. Time to make a phone call and find out more. Carol
So I finally get a person on the line at COTA - dumber than dirt - asked questions and says I am just a sales person. Why don't you have answers if you are a sales person? have you ever been to an ALMS, LMS or WEC race - no I am not a race person. So I am told you have assigned seating so your kids don't wander away and you keep your family together - best one yet! What about grid walk for ALMS - don't know anything about that. What about autograph session for WEC as they do that in the boxes and pits are open - don't know about that either. You get one seat in a seat he will select for you and you can't go into any other grandstand to sit but you can walk around. I told him this is NOT formula one and it's ego/who spends the most money but sports car racing and fan friendly/family friendly. Parking is 5-7 minutes away and is $45 but not in "little Mexico" on the outside of the circuit. Yes, he verified the $549 for hospitality but he said you are above the pits and get food and drink to which I said thanks, I'll bring my own or wait will it be a bust like at the F1 race? well that was 250K people. $87.94 get you (ticketmaster fee included, no fees other places) but you have to get a seat, couldn't answer how much more it costs to get a piece of plastic for your butt for the weekend. He says this worked with GrandAm, yes but you didn't have much of a crowd did you? This circuit will be encased in mothballs in a couple years. I wouldn't buy anything yet because he told me they don't have a clue what they are doing with this yet. LAMO Carol
these guys really are clueless I'm holding off on buying tix as well, let's see how this plays out for a couple of months.
Yeah Carol I agree it's amazing. And embarrassing. There are very few motorsport people involved with COTA. They cut Hellmund & Schwantz out. Chuck Aksland remains, but there's only so much he can do. They brought in Marty Hunt, Mel Harder & Lon Bromley, but we'll see how long they're all there. The thing is, even with these guys on board, none of them deal with the public or do anything that really affects the fan experience. They farm out their ticket sales to Legends and Ticketmaster...thus the utter lack of knowledge of anything even remotely motorsport related and the ridiculous fees piled onto the ticket price which really makes COTA's advertised price nothing more than deception. Call CGV and get tickets for the Canadian GP. Who answers? Operators who speak two or more languages and could answer any kind of question I could think of. Then you can also order from their website and it's the craziest thing...their advertised prices are what you actually pay. Did they actually tell you that lots P & F are a 5-7 minute walk? LOL. That's just fantasy. They haven't made any indication about open or closed paddock either. It's just amazing the stuff these guys do. It's clear they don't know their market and what their market expects in terms of information, etc. It's clear they don't know promotion, and it's clear they don't know motorsport.
With this latest news I wonder if the race will be aired live on tv? If it is it sounds like a good day to barbq and watch the race in the a/c at home.
WEC has live streaming of the races on their website - FIA World Endurance Championship − Official Website Audi has Audi TV with live in car camera as well as race coverage; ALMS is live streaming but delayed on TV. Live stream of the ALMS race is 21 September at 3:45 pm. ALMS qualifying is 21 September at 2:40 pm - live timing on their website or radiolemans. Just as an example at Spa, WEC had P1, P2 on Friday; qualifying at 18:40 on Friday evening; warm up Saturday at 9:00 with autograph session/2nd pit walk; race started 14:30. From what I have seen on FaceBook, COTA is not making concession for any support race for ALMS which normally runs the day prior; WEC has a Porsche series as support. Seems to me it would be very easy to make the two groups skeds work but then I know these series unlike those at the helm at COTA (see Hairy Scotsman's prior post). Carol
Yes, I was told a 5-7 minute walk. The person I spoke with has never attended a race as I mentioned and when asked about open pits, ALMS open grid walk, WEC autograph session in boxes which is the second pit walk, WEC hot grid walk, WEC season hard card (asked what is a hard card) you know the reply I received.. . .LOL I am not so much a fan of ticketmaster either. Couldn't agree more with your comments! Carol
I'm fully aware of the live streaming but I would rather sit in my ubber comfy recliner in front of my HD 36-inch flat screen than sit at my computer. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Good lord. I'm still on for working this event, but im hesitant on having anyone come with me just because of the circus already going on with tickets. lol, I'm looking forward to the 'easy' events like Elkhart, Petit & Baltimore
