Need advice/help for F1 cota trip

[autoart]

My son and I are going to the F1 race at cota. No tickets yet any advice on where to sit, discount tickets or advice in general? We are fling in from Southern Calif. Is there a bus that takes you in from Austin to the track? I heard parking is a mess that weekend. Thanks

[Patrón]

there are shuttles in the downtown area as well as taxis but I definately would take the shuttles. just know that the lines take a while. last year was a horrible storm and people complained of the long waits, supposedly cota is fixing that problem for this year. as far as tickets, i've only bought cota event tickets through cota.

[autoart]

I always go to the long beach grand prix, and you can score cheap general tickets from scalpers on the way in. Don't know if that's possible their. I saw on their site a general Sunday ticket is $99. Thanks.

[Kong Sheng Han]

You're coming from CA. I see no point in risking not being able to purchase a ticket after flying in just to save a few. Anyways..

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by autoart

I always go to the long beach grand prix, and you can score cheap general tickets from scalpers on the way in. Don't know if that's possible their. I saw on their site a general Sunday ticket is $99. Thanks.

i've only been to two f1 events and a few lemans events and i don't recall either where people were selling tickets outside the venue. there were people selling tickets on the way to the track, in the parking lots offsite.

[whats77inaname]

Sit on turn 11.....it's the hairpin.....great sight lines from there. You'll have to bring your own seats (get some folding camping chairs for $20 at Academy or some place similar) or sit on the grass, as it's GA seating. Having gone to over a dozen races including every F1 as well as Lemans, V8 Supercars, etc, this location is hands down my favorite location.

Gotta get there early, though, this area is a slight hill, and the best view is from the top. We generally get there @ 8am to get the best spots.

If you're only going race day, you can pick up tickets on Groupon for $89/each for GA admission.

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-for...ith-the-weeknd

Good luck!

[surlynkid]

Turn 11? Beginning of back straight. Nah.

Sit at T12. You can see T12, T13-14 and T15. Lots of action there. T15 is second choice but you can't see them entering T12 as well.

[Zulu Saffa]

I have sat at T12 and T15 and I vote T15 higher up. I have sat there for F1 and Moto GP. You can see them coming into 12 and follow through entry to T16. I bought Sunday tickets off CL for F1.

I have tried driving and busing. Both were a PITA, but glad I bused for F1 as driving home in my state would not have been good for anyone.

Hope you have a great time.

[autoart]

Thank you whats77inaname i just bought tickets with groupon

[whats77inaname]

Originally Posted by Zulu Saffa

I have sat at T12 and T15 and I vote T15 higher up. I have sat there for F1 and Moto GP. You can see them coming into 12 and follow through entry to T16. I bought Sunday tickets off CL for F1.

I have tried driving and busing. Both were a PITA, but glad I bused for F1 as driving home in my state would not have been good for anyone.

Hope you have a great time.

Those are great views, as well. I usually do T15 for other events like Leman, etc, as traffic (foot, vehicle) isn't that bad and getting in and out of the venue is pretty easy. I've also sat in the main grandstands, but honestly, I wasn't really impressed. The only thing I really enjoyed was watching the pit stops, which were awesome. The first year we took the bus.....and it was a debacle. 3 hour wait just to get ON a bus. For the 2nd USGP, we decided to drive. That was a disaster, as we didn't park anywhere *near* our seats, and getting out was a nightmare. After that, we decided to recon, and the T11/Parking Lot L combo seemed like the best bet. After we did it last year, we'll be doing it from here on out.

We did the 3 day pass once, but after the first time, it really isn't worth it. The track is way out, so it's a bunch of driving to get there. Depending on the weather, it can be exhausting sitting in the heat/sun/rain/wind/cold all day. I really like F1, but there's a limit. Every year we made small changes to have the best experience for our money/time allocation, and we feel we've hit the perfect scenario. Everyone's will vary, of course.

Originally Posted by surlynkid

Turn 11? Beginning of back straight. Nah.

Sit at T12. You can see T12, T13-14 and T15. Lots of action there. T15 is second choice but you can't see them entering T12 as well.

Yeah. T11. It used to be *incredible* when they had V8s and you could hear them as they pulled away from the hairpin @ WOT. You see the cars cresting from the top of the hill, hit the hairpin, then nail the back straight. Due to the elevation, you can also see the action @ T12. Another reason I'm partial to that turn is that parking lot L is right there, and we pretty much tailgate. It literally takes about 3 minutes to walk from our seats to the truck, which is filled w/beverages and food. Lastly, when we get ready to leave, we have never had to wait, and we miss all the traffic b/c of the proximity of the lot to our seats, as well as the roads leading out from that lot miss the major, congested, thoroughfares.

As you can tell by that last part, yeah, we don't stick around for the post race concerts *lol*. Last year it was raining and COLD/WINDY up until right before the race. It was miserable. The year before, it was 100+ degrees trackside, also miserable. Helps to be parked close and have the appropriate gear (blankets, shoes, shorts, raincoats, umbrellas, alcohol) readily available to deal with the weather changes

[Migstwo]

the COTA web site has the shuttle info I believe.

http://www.circuitoftheamericas.com/

[gobuffs]

Turn 5-6 you can see most of the end of the front straight thru turn 9 and turn 12 to 19/20. Or buy GA and go up in the tower.

[whats77inaname]

OP, how was it?