Bobby Epstein on the results of COTA .’s first decade

The 2022 US Grand Prix will take place for the tenth time at the Austin Texas Speedway, and now few people remember that the Circuit of the Americas project once caused much skepticism, but the right approach to business, practiced by Bobby Epstein, COTA president, enabled him to overcome all difficulties, and now his company is expanding successfully.

The Formula 1 contract has been extended until 2026, the track also hosts regular MotoGP stages, although motorcycle racers complain about too many bumps on the track, and the NASCAR body series stage returns to Austin next spring.

But that’s not all: according to Epstein, the capacity of the concert hall, which is part of the complex, has been increased from 14 to 16 thousand people and construction of a large amusement park has already started. Fourteen of the 26 attractions have already been installed, including the construction of a huge carousel on the lake shore.

“Hopefully the park will open fully by the end of next year, but I won’t be surprised if everything drags on until 2024,” Epstein said. – The construction and obtaining of various types of permits always takes more time than we would like. Several attractions are already running, but this is just the beginning.

Of course, not everything and not always went smoothly. In the first year of the circuit’s operation there was a sewer failure and in 2015 the Formula 1 race weekend was accompanied by extremely bad weather. We have greatly improved the drainage system, but this amount of precipitation falls once every 500 years. We had 450mm then, it’s impossible to prepare for this. And during the pandemic, we were generally on the brink of bankruptcy.

Our business is based on ticket sales and all our venues are designed for a large number of spectators. In those years, the workforce had to be reduced to literally two dozen people, who were mainly engaged in maintaining order.

My career had nothing to do with racing before. I have always believed that it is possible to build an entertainment complex, where, among other things, motorsport competitions can be held. But we were pressured by the press and the public, insisting that COTA be run by professionals who know a lot about racing, and we tried.

I regret that we did not leave this model right away. It was a mistake. It took us a while to realize that the US consumer wanted something more and then they reacted more actively, so we moved away from traditional racing events and went to real festivals. And it turned out that to drive the best race in the world, it is not necessary at all to know how to drive a racing car. So this weekend we expect more than 400,000 viewers.”

Epstein says he’s too busy hosting dignitaries on Grand Prix days and doesn’t always get a chance to keep a close eye on what’s happening on the track, but one of his favorite memories is when Lewis Hamilton became world champion after the results. US Grand Prix: “When Lewis won the COTA title in 2015, he said, ‘Of the circuits in the world, this is my favourite!’ I understand that he mainly meant the track, but also the atmosphere of the race weekend in general. That was nice to hear!”