Updated 11/16/2012 02:27 PM
Track preps continue as fans arrive for big race
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Pace cars took to the Circuit of the Americas track Thursday afternoon to get the feel for how they'll handle Sunday's big race.
The United States Grand Prix is bringing people from all over the world, including every corner of the country, to Central Texas.
Bart Hoffman rode his motorcycle down from Buffalo, New York, and met up with a few friends along the way.
"We made a plan to come down,” Hoffman said. “I spent some time at a friend's house, now we've got Formula 1. Monday morning, we head back north."
Hoffman says he also attended F1 races in Indianapolis. He says nothing beats hearing and feeling the race in person.
"It's phenomenal. It's like nothing else,” Hoffman said. “The sound, the people—it's really good."
Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber says the bulk of the technical work will follow Friday's practice runs.
"We will tune things like gear ratios, even downforce levels, to see how much top speed we need compared to how much grip we need in the corners,” Webber said. “We are going to adjust the wings quite a lot to get that balance right."
Hoffman says there's a little bit of research that goes into picking out the right seat. For example, fans at Turn 11 will able to watch drivers as they deploy their DRS. It gives them an extra boost of speed down to Turn 12.
Hoffman will be watching Turn 5.
“That's where the track is going back and forth, the switchbacks,” Hoffman said. “They are going to be hard accelerating through there, so it will be really cool to see."
Turn 5 also puts Hoffman on a perch, so he can catch the action across much of the circuit—action he says is worth the cross-country trip.