The beautiful Circuit of the Americas – where to be in September. [Photo by Jack Webster]
All, and I do mean all, sports car racing fans should be making the trip to the Circuit of the Americas for the Lone Star Le Mans event scheduled for September 19-20 in Austin, Texas.
The finest sports racing cars in the world, along with the best drivers will be descending upon Austin for an incredible day of racing on Saturday, September 20.
Things get underway with the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship race, which starts at 11:35am and continues until 2:20pm. Featured in this race will be the four IMSA classes running in the TUDOR series, with the Prototype, LMPC, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes all vying for victory. The Championship in this series is coming down to the wire, with close battles featured in each class. In its inaugural season, the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship has featured some outstanding racing, with close finishes in all of their races.
Following up the TUDOR race on Saturday will be the FIA-WEC 6 Hour endurance contest, which gets underway at 5pm and concludes at after dark at 11pm. In this race you will get the opportunity to see the fastest sports cars in the world battle it out for the World Endurance Championship in their only North American appearance. Want to see this year’s Le Mans winning Audi or the new Porsche 919 Prototype? Austin is the only place in the US you can see them.
Fresh from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the FIA-WEC race will feature the Le Mans winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro doing battle with the Toyota Hybrid team and the all new Porsche 919 Hybrid, which is in its debut season. In Austin, you will have the opportunity of seeing and meeting legendary drivers such as 9 time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Porsche pilot and former F1 star Mark Webber, world famous actor turned professional driver Patrick Dempsey and many, many more.
It addition to the factory battles in the P1 class, there will also be outstanding cars and drivers competing in the P2 and GT classes, with cars from Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin and others.
It is going to be an historic race weekend. Don’t miss your chance to see the best cars and drivers on the planet at one of the finest circuits on the planet – The Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Unlike some other forms of international racing, where fans are kept at a distance from the drivers and cars in the paddock, both the TUDOR series and the FIA-WEC feature a fan friendly, open environment, with autograph sessions scheduled for all of the drivers in both of these series.
So be sure to make your travel plans to come to Austin. This is a race weekend you definitely want to put on your calendar. Just watching on TV won’t be enough for this race – you have to be there to experience it.
I’ll see you in Austin.
Eddie has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up).
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