Austin looking to change date for 2013

Dec 7, 2012 (Gustavo A Roche).- Well, sometimes other sports and events are just too important too ignore. In the USA, Football –not the one that goes by that name in all the rest of the nations in the world- is one of those, specially when the local team happens to play the very same day as the 2013 US Grand Prix is scheduled.

Due to this conflict, the organizers of the United States Grand Prix want to change the date of its 2013 race to avoid clashing with the Texas “Longhorns” football game in the city.

The Texas Longhorns - the University of Texas' American football side - has a match against Oklahoma State on Saturday November 16 with the grand prix scheduled for November 17.

This is not “professional” Football (NFL) but rather College, but in a city with not team in the PRO circuit, attention turns big to the student competition, which brings crowds usually over 100,000 to the city of Austin. Hence the Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein is keen to avoid a clash due to the stresses it would put on the city's transport and accommodation networks.

"Circuit of the Americas has expressed our strong preference for an alternate race date in 2013," Epstein told the Austin American-Statesman.

"We understand that setting a global calendar can be very challenging, involves many factors and is out of our control.

We feel confident that Formula One has taken our concerns seriously and is working earnestly towards a collective solution. Ultimately, our 2013 race date may remain as it currently stands."

Finding alternative dates for the race seems will take a bit as the Indian and Abu Dhabi grands prix are back-to-back on October 25-27 and November 1-3, while the USGP itself is part of a back-to-back pair with the Brazilian Grand Prix.