Last weekend saw an incredibly successful Formula 1 United States Grand Prix held at the Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas with over 180,000 spectators, two major concerts and of course, the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
This coming weekend, the next great race in the Formula 1 series, the Mexican Grand Prix, will be held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City and judging by last year’s race, it will be another highlight of the season.
Peter Wahl and Carsten Tilke, both partners of Hermann Tilke and part of the senior management at the famous German track designing firm, Tilke Engineering,  spent a few days with us on Vancouver Island.
Peter was involved with Christian Epp, Director of the Americas, from the very beginning of the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit, however, this was Carsten’s first visit to the island.  During their stay at the Villa Eyrie Resort, we had a chance to spend some time in the Driver’s Lounge to talk shop and sample some amazing food from the Executive Chef, Terry Pichor and his team at the Summit Restaurant.  They showed us a few new projects Tilke currently has on the go and wow – race fans watch out!  There are some amazing new tracks coming along in the US and the Middle East.
On Wednesday, it was time to take them to the Circuit, drive a few laps and take an all-wheel drive pick up truck and, just like two years ago, drive into the forest to look at the terrain of phase two at the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit.  Through the tour, they got an understanding of the elevation changes throughout the terrain and will now return to the drawing board to design something truly special.
In the meantime, we can release a few little secrets up front.  The combination of phase one and two’s straightaway will result in becoming one of the longest straights found anywhere in North America.  What’s even more amazing is that there will be a hard-right at the end of this corner that will feature a close to 20-degree banking.  Stay tuned for more regarding phase two.
Thank you to Peter and Carsten for visiting the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit.  We hope you had a great time on Vancouver Island and exploring the Cowichan Valley.