This year I went to COTA for my 8th Formula One race, all at different circuits. Every race is a different experience and all have been great except Austin. Let me list my concerns.
- My first experience was when I received my tickets for the 3 days. I am showing 3 examples, Spa, Singapore and COTA. Spa and Singapore were either heavy cardboard or plastic with a lanyard that you could wear around your neck. COTA's ticket looked more like a movie ticket.
- Next experience was how to get to the circuit. We opted to go with the shuttle buses. The first day, Friday, we stood in line for 1.5 hours just to get our wrist bands and then had to wait in line to board the bus. The wait was bad enough but on the way to the circuit but our driver got lost twice. The first time she tried to drop us off at a high school that was miles away from the circuit. The second day was better since we already had our wrist bands but still took a long time to get there as traffic was terrible. No special bus lanes. On the 3rd day we left what we thought of as extra early so we could watch the pre-race activities. The line to get on the bus was worse than the first day. In all it took us 3 hours to get there and we missed all re-race activities. Getting back was worse because there was no organized lines to board the buses. Most of us tried to make a line but others walked to the front and cut in front. Getting back to Austin took us 4 hours.
- Now for the circuit itself. Like I said this was my 8th race (Monaco, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Spa, Australia, Silverstone and COTA). F1 is the best sport to follow as the races are all around the world in the most beautiful places. People travel from all corners of the planet to go to these races. I think of it as a chance to showcase the country and city they are in. I have no complaints about the circuit itself. We had great seats in turn 19 and could see a lot of the track. My problem was with the overall experience. This is an American race. The only things that showed me we were in Texas and America was a stage playing music, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the Speed Racer Car. There was a display of Ferrari's but the last time I looked Ferrari was Italian. Why not have American performance cars? I think we have a few. There was a carnival but are you going to a race or a fair? There was plenty of food and drink with some BBQ. When I went to Silverstone and Australia they had exhibits showed off their military that were unique to their country. I'm just saying, COTA missed a great opportunity to showcase America to people that are visiting the USA for the first time.
All I'm saying is we are better than this. Whoever is doing the planning could do a lot better job. Go to Silverstone and see how they use shuttle buses, go to other races and see how their race, country and city are promoted. Read your feedback, this was the 10th anniversary and negative feedback has been there for years.
