美国赛车场COTA的1号弯看台及建设第二赛道的计划
美国赛车场COTA的1号弯新增了一座巨大的多层看台，连接主维修区，本周成为F1美国大奖赛的豪华接待场所。
COTA的1号弯道俱乐部及其建设第二条赛道的计划
2026年，作为一级方程式美国大奖赛的举办地，美国赛车场的外观将有所不同，因为赛道逐渐完成其转变为全年娱乐场所的过渡。一个主题公园、一个新的会员俱乐部以及未来的驾驶课程是最新增的项目
对于观看F1美国大奖赛报道的观众和电视观众来说，这很难错过。今年，美洲赛车场的1号弯道看起来与以往大不相同，因为新增了一个巨大的多层俱乐部。通过一条横跨赛道的缆车与主维修区相连，这个周末，这座新的接待设施成为了F1奢华的Paddock Club的延伸。从1月2日起，它将成为一个全年仅限会员的俱乐部，被称为'The Circuit'，因为场地将在明年开始转为私人场所
'这并不是传统意义上的年度会员资格，'COTA赛车运动高级副总裁Parris Mullins说。它更像是一个乡村俱乐部。有年度会费来维护设施和支付人员工资，但入会费是一次性支付，实际上提供的是终身会员资格
“在过去24小时内，我们收到了50多份额外的投稿，而这还是在比赛周末之前。在比赛周末之前，大约有600人联系我们。我们与大约140人进行了一对一的交谈，许多人已经开始支付定金并签署合同。”
“永远不会超过300名成员。我们将北美会员限制在250名。剩余的50个名额将是国际和公司会员的混合。”
“从COTA新1号弯道俱乐部的视角。”
“这个新设施不仅仅是COTA主席Bobby Epstein的创意。它符合F1管理层的全面推动，让赛事显著增加他们的接待服务。‘我们的合同续签也很大程度上依赖于这一点，’Mullins补充道。‘我们需要改善会员的体验和Paddock Club客人的体验。F1对此做出了重大承诺。这项运动已经发展壮大，某些市场需要这类设施。他们必须不断提高他们提供的服务。’”
COTA决定私有化带来了一些副作用，现在该场地不再对赛道日或地区驾驶俱乐部开放。但前景中有一个解决方案。在现有F1赛道北部的空地上，COTA已经制定了先进的计划，建造一个第二赛道，这个赛道较短，适合汽车和摩托车使用。
"将建造第二条赛道，主要是因为我们认识到，我们正在取代自赛道开放以来一直与我们合作的许多人和组织，" 毛林斯解释道。"对我们来说，在本地地区发展赛车运动非常重要。我们不会建造另一个FIA一级设施，因为没有这个需求。相反，我们希望建造一些适合本地赛车运动社区的东西，让他们能够继续使用赛道，并以更低的价格点获得使用机会。
"COTA显然具有声望。我知道人们喜欢能够说他们在大奖赛赛道上开过车，我们对此表示遗憾，除非他们是会员，否则这种情况将不再可能。但我们希望给人们一个可以驾驶、享受赛车运动并继续在基层参与的地方。
虽然细节仍然很少，但赛道的未公开布局已经被定义。COTA也对新建的赛道持开放态度，该赛道按照FIA三级标准建造，适合赛车、跑车和入门级单座赛车，可以举办较小的赛车运动系列赛。但毛林斯认为，由于不需要迎合F1赛车，因此有机会设计一个更适合高性能跑车及其驾驶者的赛道。
“我们希望创造一些与大奖赛赛道不同个性的有趣事物。COTA 是围绕一个主要的赛事周末的需求而建造的。我希望它有一些我们这里没有的弯道。例如，我们没有弯道，所以我认为新的赛道应该有一个。它还应该有一个标志性的S形弯道。我们希望有人们可以在他们带来的车上享受的特点。布局应该更适合他们。”
当被问及次要赛道的时间表时，穆林斯不想承诺一个确切的日期，但有一种紧迫感，不希望让当地驾驶和汽车俱乐部在没有赛道的情况下等待太久。
“我们仍然需要最终确定一切，并与城市一起完成这个过程，”他说。“我们已经足够接近，可以放心地说我们希望尽快完成。我们不希望当地赛车运动社区在没有设施的情况下等待太久，但我们也需要确保项目正确。”"
COTA 仍然将自己视为“人民的比赛”，在 F1 周末有高达 44 万人的观众人数，通过逐渐将整个场地变成一个巨大的主题公园，组织者希望利用 Netflix 时代后 F1 的变化人口。其中一些可以非常直接地实现，新的 COTALAND 游乐设施与赛道的第三部分并行运行。但大奖赛也继续其传统的大型晚间音乐会，吸引奥斯汀流行的大学体育和美食文化。”
获得到2034年的新F1合同为COTA提供了长期稳定的保障，使其能够将投资转化为一年四季都能为赛道带来收入的方式，同时举办F1、MotoGP、WEC以及从2027年开始的Formula E。COTALAND符合这一规划，专属会员俱乐部和副赛道也是如此。
但COTA并没有忘记，其核心业务是在周末期间让成群的F1粉丝得到娱乐。Mullins承认说：“F1提供赛道上的动作。我们的任务是补充这些动作之间的空档。”音乐会就是第一步。Bobby用这些音乐会做的事情真的是开创性的。
“最终，这是体育，但也是娱乐。我们想要娱乐人们。”
英文原文
Inside COTA's Turn 1 clubhouse and its plans to build a second track
Formula 1's United States Grand Prix venue has a different look in 2026 as the circuit gradually completes its transition into a year-round entertainment venue. An amusement park, a new members club and future driving course are the latest additions
For spectators and TV viewers tuning into coverage of F1's US Grand Prix, it's been hard to miss. Turn 1 of the Circuit of the Americas has a distinctly different look to it this year with the addition of a mammoth multi-storey clubhouse. Connected to the main paddock area via a cable car that crosses the track, this weekend the new hospitality structure serves as an extension of F1's swanky Paddock Club. From January 2 it becomes a year-round members-only club, dubbed 'The Circuit', as the venue turns private at the start of next year.
"It isn’t an annual membership in the traditional sense," says Parris Mullins, COTA’s Senior Vice President of Motorsports. It’s much more like a country club. There are annual dues to maintain the facilities and cover staffing, but the initiation fee is a one-time payment that essentially provides a lifetime membership.
"We’ve had more than 50 additional submissions in the past 24 hours, and that was before this race weekend. Before this race weekend, around 600 people had reached out. We’ve had one-to-one conversations with approximately 140 of them, and many have started putting down deposits and signing contracts.
"There will never be more than 300 members. We’re limiting North American membership to 250. The remaining 50 places will be a mix of international and corporate memberships."
A view from COTA's new Turn 1 clubhouse.
The new facility isn't just COTA president Bobby Epstein's brainchild alone, though. It fits a calendar-wide push by F1 management for races to significantly ramp up their hospitality offerings. "A lot of our contract renewal was dependent on this as well," Mullins adds. "We needed to improve both the members’ experience and the experience for the Paddock Club guests. F1 has made a big commitment to it. The sport has grown, and certain markets demand these kinds of amenities. They have to keep improving what they offer."
COTA's decision to go private has some side effects, with the venue now no longer available for track days or for regional driving clubs. But there's a solution on the horizon. On an empty plot of land to the north of the existing F1 track, COTA has crafted advanced plans to build a second, shorter circuit designed for both cars and motorcycles.
"A second track will be built, primarily because we recognise that we’re displacing a number of people and organisations that have been partners of ours since the circuit opened," Mullins explains. "Growing motorsport, particularly in the local area, is very important to us. We’re not going to build another FIA Grade 1 facility because there’s no need for one. Instead, we want to build something that suits the local motorsport community, allows them to continue using a circuit and gives them access at a much lower price point.
"There’s obviously prestige associated with COTA. I know people love being able to say they’ve driven their car on the Grand Prix circuit, and we’re sorry that this won’t always be possible unless they’re members. But we want to give people somewhere they can drive, enjoy motorsport and continue participating at a grassroots level."
While details remain sparse, the circuit's undisclosed layout has already been defined. COTA is also open to the new circuit, built to FIA Grade 3 standards suitable for touring cars, sportscars and entry-level single-seaters, hosting smaller motorsports series. But by not having to cater to F1 cars, Mullins feels there is an opportunity to come up with a track more suited to high-performance sports cars and the people who drive them.
"We want to create something fun with a different personality from the Grand Prix circuit. COTA was built around the requirements of a single major race weekend. I’d like it to have corners we don’t have here. We don’t have a banked corner, for example, so I think the new circuit should have one. It should also have an iconic chicane. We want features that people can enjoy in the kinds of cars they bring to the track. The layout should suit them much better."
When asked about the timelines for the secondary track, Mullins didn't want to commit to a firm date, but there is a sense of urgency not to leave local driving and car clubs without a track for too long.
"We still need to finalise everything and work through the process with the city," he says. "We’re far enough along that we’re comfortable saying we want to get it done sooner rather than later. We don’t want the local motorsport community to go without a facility for too long, but we also need to get the project right."
COTA still sees itself as the "people's race" with its enormous spectator numbers of up to 440,000 across the F1 weekend, and by gradually turning the entire venue into one giant theme park the organisers want to lean into F1's changed demographic in the post-Netflix era. Some of that can be taken quite literally, with the rollercoaster rides of the new COTALAND amusement running alongside the circuit's third sector. But the grand prix also continues its tradition of big-name end-of-day concerts, roping in Austin's popular college sports and food culture.
Earning a new F1 deal to 2034 gives COTA the long-term stability to write off those investments, and turn them into ways to make the circuit a year-round source of revenue alongside hosting the likes of F1, MotoGP, WEC and - from 2027 - Formula E. COTALAND fits into that picture, and so does the exclusive members club and the secondary track.
But COTA hasn't forgotten that its core business is to keep the hordes of F1 fans entertained over a weekend. "Formula 1 provides the on-track action. Our job is to complement that between sessions," Mullins acknowledges. The concerts were the first step. What Bobby did with those was really groundbreaking.
"At the end of the day, this is sport, but it’s also entertainment. We want to entertain people."
Motorsport.com ·
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