Over the weekend Circuit of The Americas (Austin, TX) hosted the GT World Challenge (GT3), McLaren Trophy, and Pirelli GT4 America racing series. I haven't been to COTA in a few years and I was excited to come see the races this Saturday with two friends. We spent the drive from Houston debating the various merits and pitfalls of Formula 1. After a very confusing loop around COTA, due to construction, we found the open parking lot and made a b-line for the paddock.

One great thing about races other than F1 at COTA is how much access your ticket (~$30) gets you. You'll be able to see all the teams at the paddock and the photo taking opportunities are amazing. It's really interesting to watch the teams work on their cars, problem solve, and get a small taste for the level of passion these people have for the sport. The GT3 race was kicking off and we made our way to the grand stands to watch.

There was a pretty wild spin at Turn 1 as the GT3 spec cars roared off. Experiencing racing in real life allows you to hear just how amazing these vehicles sound, which is never truly reproduced when streaming or watching the TV. The World Challenge BMW has incredibly loud up shift pops and bangs and I'm convinced the Corvette and Porsche cars had the best sounding high RPM scream. Unfortunately all three of us agreed the Aston Martin vehicles sounded awful. It was also interesting to watch the team reactions and emotions in the Pits as vehicles were serviced.

Right after the World Challenge race the McLaren Trophy race kicked off. This was probably one of the less overall interesting races, the competition wasn't quite as tight. However, the cars still sounded great and I loved the Lightning "McQueen" McLaren livery as well as the Piped Parker car livery. We went off to the concession stands as the race was checkered and enjoyed a quick break and a few beers before heading off to turn 15 to watch the GT4 America race.

The most entertaining race of the day was without a doubt the GT4. These cars are closer to street cars than the GT3s from earlier in the day, so the speeds aren't quite as extreme. However, there were several whole track yellows so the field was corralled in by the safety car repeatedly resulting in incredibly close racing and a nail biting finish. The length of the race took a toll on drivers as shown by the Supra catching air off a Kerb. When dusk arrived we were able to seed bright red glowing rotors.

I highly recommend checking out COTA especially if you live in Texas and can make it a day trip. These series need to grow in popularity, GT cars are in many ways just as amazing to watch as the more popular racing series like F1, NASCAR and Indy. Of course F1 is also hosted at COTA every year.