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Tuesday, 12 April 2011 |
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The Circuit of the Americas is an under construction 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) motor racing circuit in Travis County, due for completion in 2012. It is due to hold the Formula One United States Grand Prix from 2012, and a race of the MotoGP World Championship from 2013.
The track and race were first proposed in the middle of 2010, the circuit will be the first in the United States to be purpose-built for Formula One. Designed by German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke—whose has also designed the Sepang, Shanghai, Yas Marina, Istanbul, Bahrain, Yeongam and Greater Noida circuits, as well as the reprofiling of the Hockenheim circuit and the Fuji Speedway. The circuit will run in a counterclockwise direction and has twenty turns, with 40.5 metres (133 ft) of elevation change. This will make the track the third-highest in terms of elevation range on the calendar after Spa-Francorchamps and Suzuka.
TrackThe final design was released on September 1, 2010, and draws from several European Formula One circuits, including a recreation of Silverstone's Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence, Hockenheim's arena bends and a replica of Istanbul's Turn Eight. The spectator capacity of the course is estimated to be one hundred thousand, with the use of permanent and temporary seating facilities.
Construction began on 31 December 2010, and is due to be complete by June 2012. |
