Veteran Formula One circuit designer Herrman Tilke will be responsible for the Austin F1 track, promoter Tavo Hellmund said Wednesday night.

Hellmund also said the project is much further along than has been assumed.

“This has been long in the works,” he told AutoWeek. “Everything is in place.”

Although the former racer told local media on Tuesday that three possible venues were still under consideration, that suggestion was apparently a smokescreen.

While several alternatives were under consideration, Hellmund said one site was settled on some time ago and the land--more than 800 acres--has already been purchased. Additionally, initial permissions for amenities such as water and waste, which are usually time consuming affairs, have already been granted.

Although Hellmund has yet to divulge details, he said that the site is to east of Austin, a few miles from the airport, apparently in hilly countryside that has provided Tilke with a good starting point for a design.

The German architect is charged with creating a fast circuit with challenging corners that resemble those of classic, established tracks such as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

Tilke first sent a representative of his company to Austin around two years ago and has allegedly made many personal visits since. He is looking for office space in the city from which to base the project.

Hellmund was adamant that Austin is an ideal location.

“Other than New York or L.A., which already have 10 million people, where are you going to find a place that within a 150-mile radius you have three of the top 10 largest markets in the United States? That is the wonderful thing. Our position between Canada and the United States, North, South and Central America, is unbelievable.

“You take that into account, you take into account the draw that Austin is, it’s the state capital, it’s in the hill country, it’s got a huge, huge vibe and tag of being the coolest place.”

As reported previously, the race is set to benefit from the Texas Major Events Trust Fund, which is intended to reimburse cities for costs they face when hosting big sporting events.

However, that relates only to specific events and does not have an impact on the cost of building the facility, budgeted at $200 million. The track project is financed by unknown private investors, Hellmund said.

One of the key elements that helped generate funding is that, aside from F1, the circuit will be used to help develop alternative fuels.

Tavo said he has known F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone since he was a teenager. His father was involved in promoting Indy-car and Trans Am races in Mexico City, and also helped to bring F1 back to the country in 1988. Hellmund’s father was also involved in the 1986 World Cup of soccer and in organizing music events.

A site for the 2012 United States grand prix has been selected.

It was earlier reported that although a promoter has won the rights to stage the race on a purpose-built track in Austin, Texas, the actual site for the venue is still being decided.

But a lawyer for promoter Full Throttle Productions is quoted by the local American-Statesman newspaper as revealing that land has been secured.

"We're just not ready to disclose it (the actual location) yet," said Richard Suttle.

Suttle also said regular F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke has been appointed.

But even with the new details, doubts about the project remain, including insider sentiment that it resembles past negotiating moves deployed by F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Until the shock news of the Austin deal emerged, Monticello Motor Club in New York was considered the front runner for a contract.

Club president Ari Straus said the 2012 start-date was the biggest surprise.

"Somebody starting from scratch would not be able to do it until 2013," he said.

The implication could be that if Austin is unable to be ready for 2012, Monticello could be back in the frame for a project the following year.

"If Bernie comes back to the table," Straus said, "Monticello is ready."

But Austin promoter Tavo Hellmund, reportedly a friend of Ecclestone's for decades, said he is not worried about the tight schedule for 2012.

"If it (the date) slides back, it slides back," he said.

Although mainly funded privately, the project will also enjoy some state input, with a letter to Ecclestone signed by Texas governor Rick Perry pledging $25 million per year from the state's Mayor Event Trust Fund

New US GP promoter Tavo Hellmund says that he does not yet have a site on which to construct the circuit, but he is looking at three possible locations in Austin.

Hellmund also says no land has been purchased, ....

The [Austin American ]Statesman also summed up the local response: “The announcement stunned many in the Texas auto racing community and surprised and delighted some political leaders, but it left others wondering about significant details — including where a track would be built, who would build it, how much it would cost, who would pay for it and why would an Austin project succeed where others haven't?”

Meanwhile the Austin Business Journal underlined the mystery attached to the project: “City of Austin and Austin Chamber of Commerce officials were unfamiliar with race organizers’ plans and do not appear to have been deeply involved in the deal, according to city and chamber sources. Although Mayor Lee Leffingwell was cited in the news release on the Formula 1 website, a staffer said the mayor was not informed prior to the announcement.”

Unites States Grand Prix organisers have confirmed that their new track will be located to the south east of the city, near Austin's international airport, after revealing the backers of the event for the first time.

In a press conference held in Austin on Tuesday, promoter Tavo Hellmund confirmed that well-known American businessman Red McCombs will help bankroll the race, which will take place in an area formerly known as Wandering Creek.

.... Promoters announced Wendesday morning that the track will include grandstands for up to 20,000 spectators at the start and finish, and 50,000 or more around the rest of the track.

The track could cost up to $220 million to build.
....

MotoGP supremo Carmelo Ezpeleta has confirmed that the new Formula 1 venues in Delhi and Austin are in talks to host grand prix motorcycle racing from 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Both were listed along with Singapore and Abu Dhabi as potential future targets for MotoGP last year, and Ezpeleta said he was keen to get India on the schedule for next season if a deal could be concluded before June, when the 2012 calendar will be finalised.

"They are working right now. The FIM has visited Delhi to decide regarding the safety measures," he said.

"We are awaiting the answer from them, but for now to be honest the Delhi people are so concentrated on finishing the circuit for Formula 1 this year, which is a lot of work. We have time until June to know exactly what the situation is."

Ezpeleta said discussions with the Austin group were at an earlier stage, amid suggestions that the track could replace Indianapolis as MotoGP's second United States venue. The MotoGP rights-holder underlined that he would let the Texas organisers focus on their inaugural F1 grand prix initially.

"We are talking with Austin also, but just talking," said Ezpeleta. "It's one of the circuits we are in discussions with. It's a nice project. Again, they need to have 2012 for Formula 1."

He believes the level of interest from potential MotoGP venues is a key indicator of the championship's health despite continuing tough economic conditions.

"Regarding the sponsorship and the health of the championship, it's going well," Ezpeleta said. "We have a lot of requests from many countries for grands prix. We are discussing those. But in principle, we are okay."

The freshly dubbed 'Circuit of the Americas' has officially netted itself a second major international event as confirmation came this afternoon that the MotoGP World Championship will be headed to Austin, TX in 2013.

The announcement of the 10-year-agreement is a major coup for the brand-new venue as MotoGP is widely considered the second biggest international motorsports series trailing only F1. Landing both championships right off the bat lends considerable legitimacy to the project.

The Circuit of the Americas is set to become only the fourth venue in the United States to ever host a Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship round, joining Daytona International Speedway, Laguna Seca, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The United States currently hosts two MotoGP rounds.

The championship has visited Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca uninterrupted since 2005, the year it replaced World Superbike at the spectacular circuit, ending a ten-year drought during which the Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship did not race in the States.