Austin lowers prices and offers a rain guarantee

The relationship between F1 and the United States is long and complicated. It is rich in scenarios that have led to a relatively limited adoption of the sport across the Atlantic. One can recall the famous Indianapolis Grand Prix with only six cars due to problems with Michelin tires.

The 2015 Grand Prix in Austin will also go down in history. Due to Hurricane Patricia, the weekend’s schedule was greatly disrupted, with sessions postponed before being simply canceled. As a result, the qualifying could only take place on Sunday morning since the Red Bull drivers were left to dance in the pit lane on Saturday afternoon while waiting for the rain to stop.

This had a significant impact on the circuit’s finances, which lost a large portion of the revenue generated by the circuit’s shops and restaurants. In addition, a heated controversy arose due to parking in flooded fields and bus shuttles that took an eternity to get spectators to their destination.

For 2016, the organizers decided to pull out all the stops to make people forget this sad episode. They managed to secure a concert by local star Taylor Swift on Saturday night. Additionally, they decided to reduce the price of most tickets by 11.5% and the price of parking by 37.5%.

But they have also decided to offer guarantees on the service provided: if more than 5 centimeters of rain falls before the Grand Prix, tickets will be refunded at 105%, even if spectators still attend the race. Similarly, bus shuttle fees will be fully refunded if spectators have to wait more than 55 minutes to leave the circuit.

We will see if all of these commercial gestures will allow us to reconnect with a demanding audience.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr