Austin's F1 track gets laid out

AutoBlog: Austin's F1 track gets laid out

:: Click to View Larger ::Here it is. Race promoter Tavo Hellmund has pulled back the sheets on the Austin formula one track, and the course looks damn impressive at first glance. The 3.4-mile course packs in 20 turns, a total change in elevation to 133 feet and a back straight that's a full three-quarters of a mile long.

What's more, the circuit is designed to promote passing for American fans with short attention spans thanks to plenty of long straights followed by tight, 45-degree turns. Hellmund said that the cars should be able to click off a 200 mph top speed, and will sail by the grand stands at 180 mph or more.

Interestingly enough, the course's designers have borrowed heavily from other tracks from around the world. Turns 3-6 are nearly carbon copies of a series of apexes at Silverstone, while 12-15 pay homage to Hockenheim. One section that's guaranteed to generate plenty of action is turns 16-18, a multi-apex monster cut from the same cloth as Istanbul's turn 8.

The Austin F1 course is slated to bare its first race by 2012, and there's some word that construction will get under way this December.