Masters Endurance Legends race at the Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix 2022 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on October 21-23, 2022. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)
Race 1
Jamie Constable claimed victory in the opening Masters Endurance Legends race of the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, in support of Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix. Constable held second during the opening stages as pole sitter Guy Cosmo blasted into an early lead behind the wheel of the Cadillac Dallara P217, fronting the field by 8.7 seconds. But the race was neutralised following a couple of separate incidents, with Cal Meeker’s Spice GTP coming to a halt as Tim Day Jnr. spun through the stadium section.
The restart lasted only a couple of minutes as Razvan Sporea rotated at Turn 1 while a collision between Christopher Milner and Alexander Marmureanu into Turn 12 left debris on track. Constable came into the pit lane to make his mandatory stop while Cosmo entered the pit lane one lap later to hand over to Wayne Jackson, incurring the one-minute time penalty for an elite driver in the process. Those pit stops briefly handed the lead to Alexander Berg as the safety car came in and he used the free air to good effect, before he too stopped for his mandatory service.
Constable inherited the lead, some 18 seconds clear of Claude Malette, before the Canadian’s race was interrupted when he came to a stop at Turn 11. Malette was able to get his Lola Toyota Rebellion back up and running though relinquished second spot to Mirco Schultis, before the safety car was called for a third time after an incident involving Charles DiPasquale and Tom Mueller at Turn 1. As time expired the chequered flag was shown with Constable triumphant in the Pescarolo LMP1, ahead of Schultis and Malette, with James Sofronas the lead GT3 runner in fourth place overall.
Brad Hoyt and James Davison shared duties en route to fifth place while sixth spot was taken by Dante Tornello, in front of Travis Engen and Danny Baker. Bob Mueller and George Kurtz rounded out the top 10, ahead of erstwhile leader Berg, while the safety car duration hobbled the potential of Jackson to bring the pole-sitting car back into contention, winding up 14th overall. Race 2 is scheduled for 09:15 local time on Sunday.
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 99 | Jamie CONSTABLE (P1) | Pescarolo LMP1 | 14 | 37:19.259 |
| 2 | 96 | Mirco SCHULTIS (P2) | Oreca FLM09 | 14 | 37:27.553 |
| 3 | 14 | James SOFRONAS (GT3 - 3) | Audi R8 LMS | 14 | 37:50.183 |
| 4 | 90 | Dante TORNELLO (PDP) | Corvette DP | 14 | 37:52.066 |
| 5 | 2 | Travis ENGEN (P1) | Audi R8 LMP1 | 14 | 37:53.269 |
| 6 | 34 | Danny BAKER (P2) | Oreca 03 LMP2 | 14 | 37:54.092 |
| 7 | 28 | Bob MUELLER (GT3 - 3) | Porsche GT3R | 14 | 37:55.600 |
| 8 | 40 | George KURTZ (GT3 - 3) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT3 | 14 | 37:56.294 |
| 9 | 57 | Alexander BERG (P3) | Elan DP02 | 14 | 37:58.006 |
| 10 | 32 | Kyle WASHINGTON (GT3 - 1) | Porsche GT3R | 14 | 37:59.082 |
Race 2
Jamie Constable doubled up by cruising to victory in the second Masters Endurance Legends race of the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas. Race 1 victor Constable opened a lead at the rolling start and responded to early pressure by blitzing the field with a spate of fastest laps. A Safety Car period, caused by Charles DiPasquale spinning and stalling the Elan DP02 at Turn 11, threatened Constable’s position but he made his mandatory pit stop and retained a comfortable advantage.
Constable ticked off the laps after the Safety Car phase to chalk up his second win of the weekend by over half a minute. While Constable controlled proceedings there was some fierce competition for the remaining leading positions. Dante Tornello was one of the big movers early on, climbing from fourth to second in as many laps, though relinquished positions during the Safety Car period and occupied only seventh. Tornello set about closing in on his rivals and made it up to fourth spot before a spin through the Turn 11 hairpin left him back down in seventh, where he remained.
One of the highlights of the race was a fierce scrap between George Kurtz, Alexander Berg and James Sofronas, in which the trio at one stage ran three abreast into the hairpin – and all emerged unscathed. Berg eventually seized the initiative to finish runner-up to the dominant Constable, while Travis Engen made up two positions from the start to climb onto the podium in third place. Mirco Schultis suffered two spins during the race but still reached the chequered flag in fourth, ahead of Kurtz and Sofronas, with Tornello seventh after his late setback. Danny Baker had a wild moment through the Turn 19 but recovered to grab eighth place, with Cal Meeker and Tim Day Jnr recovering from near the back of the grid following Race 1 issues to round out the top 10.
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 99 | Jamie CONSTABLE (P1) | Pescarolo LMP1 | 17 | 38:51.687 |
| 2 | 57 | Alexander BERG (P3) | Elan DP02 | 17 | 39:22.485 |
| 3 | 2 | Travis ENGEN (P1) | Audi R8 LMP1 | 17 | 39:35.230 |
| 4 | 96 | Mirco SCHULTIS (P2) | Oreca FLM09 | 17 | 39:36.170 |
| 5 | 40 | George KURTZ (GT3 - 3) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT3 | 17 | 39:40.468 |
| 6 | 14 | James SOFRONAS (GT3 - 3) | Audi R8 LMS | 17 | 39:50.220 |
| 7 | 90 | Dante TORNELLO (PDP) | Corvette DP | 17 | 40:01.544 |
| 8 | 34 | Danny BAKER (P2) | Oreca 03 LMP2 | 17 | 40:04.325 |
| 9 | 29 | Cal MEEKER (PH) | Spice GTP | 16 | 38:59.566 |
| 10 | 8 | Tim DAY JNR (P3) | Ligier JS P3 | 16 | 39:03.532 |
Circuit of the Americas History
This is the first circuit in the US to be purpose-built for Formula One. Both the race and the circuit were proposed in 2010 by promoter Tavo Hellmund and World Champion motorcyclist Kevin Schwantz. Assistance was provided by the Hermann Tilke group, and construction started later that year.
The circuit relies on the State of Texas to fund the $25 million fee charged by Formula One to hold the race every year. For FY2016, a conservative faction in the Texas state legislature proposed a 50% reduction in the contribution of the state to that fee, which would in effect have forced the race to be cancelled, or at least dropped to every-other-year status. That proposal was eventually voted down, but the specter of future attempts by the extremists is omnipresent.
In February 2022, the contract to host the United States Grand Prix at COTA was extended for an additional 5 years through the 2026 season.
Circuit of the Americas Layout
The circuit is built on hilly range land, about 10 miles southeast of Austin. It runs counter-clockwise, placing unusual stress loads on the drivers. The course has four basic sections: the 0.6 km start/finish strait, with a sharp uphill section ending in a 135° lefthander; an eight turn sequence inspired by the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel section of Silverstone; another sharp hairpin leading onto a 1.1 km back straight; and a final series of tight corners that includes a near replica of turn 8 at Istanbul Park (but taken in the opposite direction).
Inside the turn 8 replica (known here as turns 17 and 18) is an amphitheater, designed for crowds up to 15,000, but somehow they squeezed in 80,000 fans for a Taylor Swift concert, the night before the 2016 United States Grand Prix. Immediately behind the amphitheater stage is a 77 meter (253 ft) tall observation tower and centerpiece, giving views of the track and all of the Austin metro area.
In between turns six and seven, a pair of short connecting roads create smaller courses for testing and lower formulae. With these roads, it is possible for two separate groups to hold events or conduct testing simultaneously.
The track configuration has never changed since the track opened. However, a concert stage for larger acts has now been set up along the back straight, facing the infield and the grandstands above Turn 10. This configuration is capable of accommodating 100,000 fans.
Masters Endurance Legends
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Photos by Ralph Arvesen
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