USF1 to be based in North Carolina
February 9, 2009 by Grace
Filed under People & Events
Like Charlotte is so totally happening man!
While this shouldn’t really surprise anyone, Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor’s USF1 project will be located in the heartland of NASCAR: Charlotte NC. This makes sense because much like England, Charlotte has the racing related support network necessary to run a race team. Now whether or not Charlotte is ready for F1 is a different question all together. Anderson stated that they are looking at some buildings and that it makes sense to put the operations in NC because “90 per cent of the technology that exists in F1 comes from the US anyway” and “Not many people here know, but there are talented Americans in Europe doing very well right now.”
Oh and right I’m also a part owner of Windshear wind tunnel which happens to be located in Charlotte.
God I love this sport!
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Ah yes, just another reason that NC is such a great state!
LOL. Yeah, forgot to mention that wind tunnel thing. ;)
NC is a perfect place to launch this team. Does anyone know if there is a favourable test track close by?
Hey BJ, off the top of my head, I think Lowes may be the only “road track” with the type of facilities needed but it is a “Roval” and I doubt it would be very effective. OF course there is Road America not too far away but the big question is which track can handle F1 testing with the safety measures and amenities needed?
Fellas, fellas — this is USF1, US as in United States. We won’t need any testing. These cars will be winners right out of the gate, or pit, if you rather.
Good old American know-how trumps testing any day. See Ford, GM, Chrysler…
Snarky enough?
Virginia International is on the Virginia/NC border. Road Atlanta is kinda in the neighborhood. The new Birmingham, Alabama (Barber Motorsports Park) track is supposed to be pretty nice. Sebring is there if you want to beat the snot out of a car.
LOL. yeah, there may too many bumps at Sebring. I had forgot about Barber. Wonder if it could also handle the safety demands of an F1 test.
As someone very close to the Windshear project, I would like to make a correction. Mr. Ken Anderson is in no way involved with Windshear, Inc. He was a technical advisor to the project but left last year to pursue his new venture to start an F1 team. Ken has never had ownership or any financial interest in Windshear, Inc. Windshear Inc. will welcome USF1 as a customer. We wish Ken all the best.
Great update Valerie and thanks for the correction. All the reports I have been reading suggest he is still part owner. Thanks for correcting…we don’t want to perpetuate incorrect information.
Obviously another incentive for Tony Stewart to sign on. That Windsor is a clever guy
Small roadcourse between Columbia, SC and Charlotte, NC called Springdale Race Course.
Think it could handle the demands of F1 cars from a safety perspective?
Doubtful, mostly just time trialing and sports car club races, but short of Lowes Motor Speedway, I really can’t think of a reasonably close track that could handle those demands. Like earlier peeps mentioned you have VIR and Birmingham, neither of which are reasonably close to Charlotte.
but why they don’t buy for 1 dollar ex-honda racing?
dunno if there is a serious project, considered the huge amount of money they need.. Having a team of f1 in the U.S. it’s a disadvantage because every race will be a big cost of fly, and also the development will be always slower due to the distance from the base.. a team who at every race come back to the U.S.during the european season will double his cost.
I think only some big Irl team could now afford build a f.1 team, maybe only Penske could have the skills but they did it in the 70 (and they win a race with Watson) an then retired..
sincerely i hope i’m wrong for all the enthsiastic U.S. fan but I don’t believe this team will arrive in F.1. :(
@Nelson DB
I thought the same until I remembered Bernie’s plan to refocus F1 to the middle East and Asia. Suddenly it doesn’t matter so much if your works are in Woking or Charlotte if the race is in Malaysia.
Still I’ll bet to be successful they will need an operational works in Europe somewhere to cover the European season while keeping the development works in the US.
That’s my hunch too Dave. I think it will be gray matter in the states and operations in Europe. Good point and welcome to F1B mate. ;)
Folks, VIR is only about 2.5 hours from Charlotte (160 miles) and hosts Grand AM racing along with American Superbikes, which require decent runoff and no precarious Armco barriers, buttresses, etc. Doubt that the team will actually be in the Charlotte city limits, but instead in the suburbs heading closer toward VIR anyway. Barber in Alabama is a haul from NC (both in the southeast but this region of the country is deceptively vast). Road Atlanta is also fine proving ground and is ~3 hours from Charlotte (200 miles) and holds the Petit LeMans each year and runs Prototype Porshe, Peugot, Bentley, etc…. it can handle F1 cars. Throw in Lowe’s Motor Speedway and there’s plenty of testing opportunities nearby. What NC needs desperately is good Fish & Chips to feed all of the Euro mechanics that make their homes there for Grand AM and Am. LeMans teams already in the vicinity.
Welcome to F1B and thanks for the great update. I was leaning toward Road Atlanta as i like that track and it seems an obvious choice with minor adjustments. There are a string of requirements to be an F1 test track and I think RA could pull that off.
Do you have any predictions for drivers for USF1? We’ve heard a full spectrum of names, most that would make you cringe, from Tony Stewart (chubby Nascar driver), to Danica Patrick from Indycars. Not sure how many bridges Scott Speed may have burned while at Toro Rosso, but he at least knows the tracks and paddock. If the team would consider a non-American, my vote goes to Cristiano DaMatta (if healthy) or Alan McNish. There are a few young guys in Nascar that would do well like Casey Mears (Rick Mears’ son) and AJ Allmendinger.
It’s a guessing game at this point but I think AJ and Scott might be looked at in depth. Scott has some experience and AJ has some promise but in the end, they may go with a veteran and a young guy from a feeder series like Formula BMW. Just a hunch.