Circuit of the Americas

V8 Supercars

MAY 17-18-19 2013

RESERVED SEATING

STARTING AT $83 At the gate
GENERAL ADMISSION(3 day pass)

$69 At the gate
SINGLE DAY PARKING

$30 on-site
Sunday Race Day Pass

$49 AT THE GATE
COLLEGE STUDENTS & MILITARY*

$49 AT THE GATE
VIP Club

Learn More
Schedule of Events

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To learn about Season Ticket opportunities in our Premium Seating Grandstands, please call us at 512-301-6600 (ext 1)

View our FAQ Page Book A Room

*With Valid ID. Current military & veterans.

Event Information

V8 Supercars is Australia’s premiere motorsport category and arguably one of the most exciting sporting championships in the world and they are coming to Texas in May for the V8 Supercars Austin 400! 28 V8 Supercars will hit the track at thundering speeds of up to 185 miles per hour. These skillful drivers will race it out on the Circuit of The Americas across four Championship races. V8 Supercars are the most popular motorsport category from down under. Prepare yourself for the power, the noise and the thrilling racing action.

» View the V8 Schedule

V8 SUPERCARS INVADE TEXAS FOR THE AUSTIN 400

Driver Profiles

Jason Bright

Todd Kelly

Mark Winterbottom

James Courtney

Waltrip's Ride Of A Lifetime

See Video

Nissan Motorsport Journey to the Grid

See Video

2013 Race 2 Summary

See Video

Clipsal 500 Adelaide Rewind

See Video

VIP CLUB

The VIP Club is the premium syndicated corporate suite available at the inaugural Texas 400. Excellent service, electric atmosphere, riveting driver interviews and appearances, managed table seating, and optimum viewing locations elevates the VIP Club to a new level of comfort and style. All the excitement, speed and power of V8 Supercars racing will always be close at hand, only now it comes wrapped in a velvet glove. The VIP Club Package includes:

Individual day passes to each day of the event including entry to the circuit, Paddock Club, as well as the climate-controlled VIP Club and adjoining tip-up seating and balcony viewing area
Premium food and beverage package that includes fully catered breakfast and lunch buffets (light snack on Friday) with complementary soft drinks, water and juice as well as morning and afternoon tea and coffee.
An alcohol package of premium beers, red and white wines.
Closed-circuit television screens for optimum viewing of all the action.
Driver appearances and interviews.
Reserved and managed table seating.
Souvenir hard card and lanyard.
Reserved corporate car parking (1 vehicle pass per every four tickets purchased)
Dedicated hosts and facility manager so you can relax knowing all the details, as well as you and your guests, are well taken care of.

James Courtney

I can’t wait to get my first look at Circuit of the Americas this weekend! The circuit looks amazing on TV. A couple of my mates have raced there already and they said it’s a really fast, fun, flowing circuit. I’m excited to get over there and take a crack at it.

Fabian Coulthard and I are coming over early to do some media stuff and demo laps at the MotoGP race this weekend.

I think Americans will enjoy the Aussie V8 Supercar race at COTA in May. Our cars are not too dissimilar to NASCAR, which has a huge following in the U.S. If we can tap into at least 10 percent of that, it’ll be a huge audience. Everyone in the championship is pretty keen that we’ll have a good crowd and put on a good show for everyone.

Like NASCAR, we’re a contact sport. We rub panels and push each other around, which makes the racing very exciting. Also like NASCAR, the race cars look very similar to the road cars. People can relate to the cars that we have. Plus, with the close, aggressive racing, people really enjoy it and have a great race weekend.

From my experience, I can say that V8 Supercars stand up well to the rest of the motorsports world. First of all, the championship is very competitive. It’s also very well represented; all the teams are very professional and have good budgets. Finally, it produces good racing and everyone that drives these cars has a ball and wants to be involved in the championship. It really ticks all the boxes. I’ve driven all sorts of cars all over the world and it might not be the nicest car to drive on its own, during testing, but put them in a race situation and they’re a blast.

A lot of people tend to ask why, when I was headed down the Formula 1 path, why I came back to Australia and V8 Supercars. For me, in the open-wheel categories, you lose the wheel-to-wheel combat and the feeling like you had growing up racing karts and banging wheels. You have to rely so much on aerodynamics that the racing gets quite boring and I didn’t enjoy it as much. I’m having more fun racing now than I’ve ever had.

I have a lot of mates that are always asking me to hook them up with a drive for the Gold Coast or even the full season. The championship is growing massively and gaining recognition worldwide. It produces great racing and in the end, that’s what we love: banging wheels and racing hard with each other. That’s what you can do in this category.

Even in DTM, they can’t race as hard as we do. They can’t bang fenders because you’ll break one of the aerodynamic aids. The only other series that race as hard as us is probably the NASCAR boys and the British Touring Car Championship. It’s a good championship and everyone that tries it, loves it.

The cars look straight forward, but they’re actually quite tricky. The hardest thing to adjust to is the differential; it has a locked diff, so the rear wheels are always spinning at the same rate. That means the car tends to have a lot of understeer mid-corner. You have to adapt your driving style and work to set the car up so you can cut that part of it out.

The cars are very heavy, the tires aren’t the best, they have a lot of power and a locked diff—it’s quite a unique thing to drive and it produces really great racing. You just need to take the time to wrap your head around it.

All the V8 Supercars, including my No. 22 Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore, have undergone some big changes this year as part of the “Car of the Future” upgrades.

The weight distribution is very different; with the fuel tank moving and the gearbox changing position in the car, it’s probably the biggest difference. We also have a bigger brake, bigger wheel and bigger tire, which probably makes the car a bit nicer to drive than what we’ve had previously. The engine has moved further back and toward the center of the car, which has helped the weight distribution and safety side of things. The driver seat position has also changed in the car, so it’s safer.

At the tracks we’ve raced at so far, we’re already going quicker than we did in previous years, so the performance of the new car is a lot better. The racing has also been really good.

I’m starting my third season with the Holden Racing Team (HRT). For the US fans, HRT is a bit like a Team Penske or Ganassi situation, where there’s a lot of heritage and the team has been very successful. I came to the team right after winning the 2010 Championship and, unfortunately, that’s when their partner, the big man, Tom Walkinshaw, passed away. It sent shockwaves throughout the whole business.

From there, the team and the business lost direction for a little while. A few key people were put into place and now we’re back on track and headed the right way. There were a couple years that weren’t so successful for us, but with the new rules set and the new cars, we’ve been more competitive and headed back to where we should be. We’ve had a good start to the season and I’m currently eighth in the standings.

I’ve been to the U.S. before and done some karting and a couple of sports car events, but I’m really excited for the race in Texas. I have a couple American mates that I grew up racing cars and karts with who will be there. It’ll be cool to get out to Circuit of the Americas and show them what our Aussie V8 Supercars can do.

Learn more about James Courtney by visiting www.jamescourtney.com.au, and get your tickets for the V8 Supercars' debut in Austin, TX., at Circuit of The Americas on May 17-19 at http://circuitoftheamericas.com/v8-supercars/

Mark Winterbottom

I was lucky enough to visit Austin, Texas, and Circuit of the Americas last June. I thought it was amazing, and when I saw the track, it was only 50 percent built. The front half was asphalt, but the second half was dirt. Even then, it was still one of the best looking circuits I’d seen and I think it will suit our category well. I can’t wait to have a go at it.

My first impression of Austin was: this is a lot different than what I expected. I thought Texas was going to be a dry desert, but it was completely different. There were trees and it seemed tropical with a big river running through town. It’s a really trendy, amazing place. I was blown away. I’ve made a few trips to America, but never to Texas. Now, after that trip, it’s one of my favorite places to go. It definitely changed my opinion of Texas.

Not many of the V8 Supercar guys have been to Texas, so when I got back people were asking a lot of questions, not just about the track, but about the town and how to maybe plan a holiday around the race. I think they’ll get a shock when they get there, because it is so different than what you’d expect. But, on the flip side, I guess it’s probably like Americans coming to Australia and thinking they’ll see kangaroos and koalas everywhere – your perception is often a long way off.

I did make a trip to a boot shop while I was there though: Allens Boots. I learned all about boots and the details; what the status is for each and who should wear what kind. There’s a lot more to it than boots and a hat. It’s not the cowboy stuff you imagine.

I think Americans will warm to our V8 Supercars. To me, our Series is a bit like a combination of IndyCar and NASCAR; you get sedans like in NASCAR, but we race on road courses like in IndyCar. On the one hand, it’s a completely different category than what Americans are used to, but on the other hand, it’s very similar to what they already watch.

Mark

Our cars will suit the Circuit of the Americas very well and provide a great race. There will be crashes, banging into each other and rivalries. The whole weekend will be very competitive. Hopefully, the American fans take to it and we keep going back for years to come.

There was already a lot of hype around the race when I was on my trip. There’s definitely support for the Series in the U.S., I think from watching on SPEED. I even went to a remote part of Texas and I went into a little bar and the guy in there said to me ‘Hey Frosty, I just watched your last round on SPEED.”

I drive the No. 5 Pepsi Max Ford Falcon for Ford Performance Racing and I’m looking forward to meeting all the Ford fans in the U.S. There’s massive support there, not just for Ford in NASCAR, but for Ford in V8 Supercars, because you can watch it on SPEED. I think there’s going to be a lot of support for all the other brands as well. Of course, selfishly, I’m hoping Ford will get more support than the others.

All of the cars are definitely different this year with ‘The Car of the Future’ rules put in place by the Series. They look the same, but internally, they’re massively different. I think it’s good because the competition is even closer, which I didn’t think could actually happen. There have been more winners and different teams at the top, because the car is a lot different to drive and how you achieve the setup is a lot different as well.

We’re still trying to learn the ropes and we’ve had a rough start to the season thus far. It’s been a lot of headaches for both engineers and drivers at the moment. There’s going to be a lot of long nights because there are areas that need improving and if you let it go too long then you’re out of the championship. But, come Austin, I think we should be well and truly on top of it. It will be a good time to debut our cars in another country.

COTA is going to be a wild card on the calendar for us this year. Everyone’s been talking about it a lot and asking questions. I know the racing will be amazing and I think, out of all the rounds, this is the one drivers are looking forward to the most.

Learn more about factory Ford Performance Racing V8 Supercars driver Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom Jason by visiting markwinterbottom.com , and get your tickets for the V8 Supercars' debut in Austin, TX., at Circuit of The Americas on May 17-19 at circuitoftheamericas.com/v8-supercars/

Todd Kelly

Fans at this year's Austin 400 will get the chance to see two new manufacturers do battle in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship.

Nissan and Mercedes-Benz became the first two automotive marques to join the V8 Supercar grid this year since the Australian championship became an exclusive Ford vs Holden (GM) battle in 1995.

For Nissan, it is a return to "Down Under" competition after previously dominating the series then known as the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1990, 91 and 92. Nissan drivers Jim Richards and Mark Skaife also won the Bathurst 1000 - the Australian equivalent of the Daytona 500 - in 1991 and 92.

Nissan's return to the sport has been entrusted to the Melbourne-based Kelly Racing squad run by Bathurst-winning brothers Todd and Rick Kelly

Now known as Nissan Motorsport, the team is doing battle with a four car squad backed by U.S. companies. Todd and Rick Kelly drive the two Jack Daniels supported entries with James Moffatt and Michael Caruso aboard a pair of Nissan Altimas backed by computer security software maker, Norton.

The team has an additional link to the US with the Nissan Altima road car built in Smyrna, Tennessee and Canton, Mississippi. Nissan Motorsport will do battle against Ford, Holden (GM) and Mercedes-Benz at the Circuit of the Americas from May 17 to 19.

The team faced a huge task over the past 12 months as it transitioned from running Holdens in V8 Supercars last year while simultaneously kicking off the Nissan campaign

"I’m so immensely proud of each and every person at Nissan Motorsport,” said Todd Kelly (pictured above.)

“So much time and effort has gone into designing, constructing and assembling our four Nissan Altima V8 Supercars. We’ve strengthened every area of our team over the last 12 months in preparation for the 2013 season and I’m confident that all our work and effort will pay off this season.”

Click on the video link above to view the video about the development of the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar.

Jason Bright

I am really looking forward to heading back to the US to get the chance to race a V8 Supercar in Texas. I’ve had a couple of stints racing in the US in the past – in US Formula Ford 2000 back in 1996 (where I finished runner-up in the championship) and in Indy Lights in 2000.

Those years were great. I was learning so many new circuits with the variety in the series with road courses and ovals. I learned so much about setup on cars because of the ovals. The ovals were so much more technical than road courses and there were a lot of lessons I learned from back then that have really helped my career.

I love going to new tracks - I think that’s one of the challenges for a race car driver is learning a new track and learning it fast, in a limited amount of time. You have to figure out what works, especially on a track like Circuit of the Americas, where you can take several different lines through the corners, working out what works best there and going through the data and trying to figure out what is the quickest way around that track.

Getting the chance to go to the Circuit of the Americas is going to be great and I think the fans in the US – especially those who normally follow NASCAR – are really going to enjoy V8 Supercars.

Qualifying is extremely close, especially for a road course. Everyone sees how close qualifying is in NASCAR on ovals, but on road courses we’re even closer. Then, they’ll see how hard we can race. The cars are as good as any other motorsport in the world for being able to race hard, and good, close racing is what the fans come out to see.

While it will all be new for the American fans, myself and everyone in V8 Supercars have been getting used to the new generation of cars that were introduced this year. NASCAR had their “Car of Tomorrow” – we’ve been running the new V8 Supercar “Car of the Future.”

The new car regulations have been put in place to control costs and include a variety of new control parts. These include 18-inch wheels (up from 17 inch), a transaxle gearbox and an independent rear suspension.

The biggest thing that we have to get used to is the rear end. Going to an independent rear suspension is a big change and we’ve had to refine the setups a lot more and learn how the rear end works. I think we’ll see the cars improve a lot over the next six to 12 months as we all get that working better and better.

The cars are a bit racier than the old one; they’re a bit lighter and with the independent rear suspension and bigger wheels. It will all make the car a much faster and a better race car as time goes on.

During the support race at the recent Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne our Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodores were really strong and we were able to run at the front of the field.

We’ve still done less testing than anyone else in the field, which is amazing. We did the two manufacturer days, which you’re only allowed to bring one car to and we did the Eastern Creek test, which everybody did. So to see the cars one-two there and then one-two at the Grand Prix was very satisfying.

I think we’ve gone the right way about it; instead of designing and manufacturing everything ourselves, we bought manufactured stuff that other teams have designed. I think that’s been the better way. We’ve been able to pick and chose, by looking at what other teams are doing, then pick the stuff that we like and what’s going to work well and give us the best end result. That’s proven to be a good decision.

I think the American fans are in for a real treat with the V8 Supercars. I’m sure on a great circuit like Circuit of the Americas we can show’em some good stuff.

Learn more about Jason by visiting www.jasonbright.com.au and on his official Facebook page, and get your tickets for the V8 Supercars' debut in austin, TX., at Circuit of The Americas on May 17-19.

a Print Version

Friday, May 17 (all times CDT)

Start	Finish	Category	Session
09:00	09:20	Porsche GT3 Cup	Practice 1
09:35	09:55	Porsche GT3 Cup	Practice 2
10:10	10:40	V8 Supercars	Practice – Part 1
10:55	11:25	Pirelli TC/TCB Class	Qualifying
11:40	12:10	V8 Supercars	Practice – Part 2
14:00	14:40	Pirelli GT/GTS Class	Qualifying
14:55	15:25	V8 Supercars	Practice – Part 3
15:40	16:00	Porsche GT3 Cup	Practice 3
16:15	16:45	V8 Supercars	Practice – Part 4

Saturday, May 18

Start	Finish	Category	Session
08:00	08:15	Porsche GT3 Cup	Practice 4
08:30	09:45	Pirelli TC/TCB class	Race 1 & 2
10:30	10:50	Porsche GT3 Cup	Qualifying
11:05	11:20	V8 Supercars	Qualifying Race 13
11:30	11:45	V8 Supercars	Qualifying Race 14
13:00	14:00	Pirelli GT/GTS Class	Race 1
15:15		V8 Supercars	Race 13
17:00		V8 Supercars	Race 14
17:55	18:25	Pirelli GT3 Class	Race 1

Sunday, May 19

Start	Finish	Category	Session
08:15	09:15	Pirelli TC/TCB Class	Race 3
09:30	10:00	Porsche GT3 Cup	Race 2
11:05	11:20	V8 Supercars	Qualifying Race 15
11:30	11:45	V8 Supercars	Qualifying Race 16
13:05	14:05	Pirelli GT/GTS Class	Race 2
14:15	14:45	Porsche GT3 Cup	Race 3
15:15		V8 Supercars	Race 15
17:00		V8 Supercars	Race 16

V8 Supercars

MAY 17-18-19 2013

To learn about Season Ticket opportunities in our Premium Seating Grandstands, please call us at 512-301-6600 (ext 1)

View our FAQ Page Book A Room

View V8 Supercars Schedule

View Full Size Map

Event Information

V8 SUPERCARS INVADE TEXAS FOR THE AUSTIN 400

Driver Profiles

Jason Bright

Todd Kelly

Mark Winterbottom

James Courtney

Waltrip's Ride Of A Lifetime

See Video

Nissan Motorsport Journey to the Grid

See Video

2013 Race 2 Summary

See Video

Clipsal 500 Adelaide Rewind

See Video

V8 Supercars

MAY 17-18-19 2013

To learn about Season Ticket opportunities in our Premium Seating Grandstands, please call us at 512-301-6600 (ext 1)View our FAQ PageBook A Room

View V8 Supercars Schedule

View Full Size Map

Event Information

V8 SUPERCARS INVADE TEXAS FOR THE AUSTIN 400

Driver Profiles

Jason Bright

Todd Kelly

Mark Winterbottom

James Courtney

Waltrip's Ride Of A Lifetime

See Video

Nissan Motorsport Journey to the Grid

See Video

2013 Race 2 Summary

See Video

Clipsal 500 Adelaide Rewind

See Video

To learn about Season Ticket opportunities in our Premium Seating Grandstands, please call us at 512-301-6600 (ext 1)

View our FAQ Page Book A Room