COTA has confirmed that it has concluded a deal with Bernie Ecclestone and paid him for the 2012 US GP.
The race has remained on the calendar after today’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Delhi.
In a statement investor Red McCombs said: “Mr Ecclestone received his check today for the USGP. We want to thank the fans supporting us, the local officials and businesses that have encouraged us, the state of Texas, Circuit of The Americas’ staff and Bernie himself.”
Bobby Epstein added: “Our investors have believed all along that this project has tremendous benefit for our region, and provides a strong economic engine for the future. We remain committed to reaching our goal of being valuable community partners as we establish a platform for sports and entertainment. We’re glad that Tavo’s vision of bringing F1 to the people of Texas will become a reality.”
The statement added: “Engineering and construction teams working on the track will resume immediately, ensuring completion for the 2012 race date.”
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog 
Outstanding news.
Let’s hope the “check” doesn’t bounce!
For their own sake, I hope they did. No F1 race in the USA situation was a scandal.
PS Is it me or there are too many -OTA’s in F1. FOTA, COTA… YOTA?
…until the next hiccup.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. I’m expecting more stories about 1) how they got their funding 2) do they now have the money to build the track, 3) can the track be finished in time. I truly hope they do, but I’d rather they didn’t if it’s going to be one embarrassment after another.
Dude, the track is being built and has been for months. They dug out the track down to 8 or so feet and it has been replaced with road base and other more stable dirt. They are closer than you might think to starting pavement. Buildings are already footed and being built, too.
It will get done on time. We are excited here in Austin…
Thank you Steve, I was aware of that, and I’m not wanting them to fail. But I’ve also seen more than one construction project DNF due to lack of funding, or run into an unexpected obstacle that raises the cost and obliterates the completion date. I know a few people in Austin and for their sake I do hope this gets done, and they have a world-class venue in their backyard.
Adam, do you know where the extra money came from? From the statement its seems to come from Red McCombs to get the race running. There was a lot of cash invested into the development of the circuit in the first place, so would of been a shame not to continue building. Would of McCombs tipped in the extra cash knowing the government will come onboard to help pay the race fees once the race is up and running?
So if you visit the venue can you call yourself an Austin Rover and the race winner will be known as an Austin Maestro?
Oh somebody has to make Brundle use that in commentary. Especially if JB, Lewis or Di Resta win.
the money came from Bobby (hugely wealthy Hedge Fund Manager) and McCombs