The V8 Supercars felt at home in Texas for the inaugural Austin 400 at Circuit of the Americas. It was an extremely hot weekend, with temperatures just under 100 degrees fahrenheit. The cabin in the race cars reached upwards of 140 degrees.
Circuit of the Americas is amazing. A top notch venue for the drivers, the fans, and everything in between thanks to the concert pavilion in the middle of the track. 68,891 fans attended Austin 400 over the 3 day weekend.. This is a tremendous number considering it was the first time the racing series (or any Australian sporting event) has visited North America. This weekend was the first of a new racing setup for the V8 series, with 4 27-lap races totaling 400km in total. Jamie Whincup took 3 wins for Red Bull racing Australia. Fabian Coulthard was able to break the string with a win for race 3.
The Pirelli Road racing series held races at the track in between the V8 Supercar events. Pirelli GTS, GT, TC, TCB, and GT3 Porsche cups added to the race weekend, and they put on a spectacular show as well. The GTS and GT classes had races at the same time which lead to some traffic in the turns.
Multiple Holdens re-badged as Pontiac GTOs/G8s and tons of other super Club Dirty Approved cars filled the parking lots.
Circuit of the Americas had a great atmosphere. Tons of friendly people, tons to do and see at the track, and the great city of Austin has endless exploring possibilities The race was such a success for the track and the series that talk about next years race has already started. More activities during race day, the potential for a performance in the amphitheater, and the possibility of an American driver in the race are just a few of the talks. With the V8 Supercars utilizing the Car of the Future platform, there is potential for a new automaker to join the series. One of those automakers is Cadillac, which would further strengthen the Austin 400's presence in the American eye. Both Holden and Cadillac are GM products, but it would be a battle of Australia versus America.
If I haven't made my point clear enough, I highly recommend checking out the V8 Supercar Series live at Circuit of the Americas if (more like when) they return next year. It will be the cheapest trip to Australia you can buy, all while watching great racing from multiple series.
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