Tavo Hellmund (born February 24, 1966) is an American businessman, event promoter and former racing driver. Although he worked for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Hellmund is better known for his work in Formula One racing, where he was responsible for both the return of the United States Grand Prix (2012, Austin) and the Mexican Grand Prix (2015), in addition to being a founding partner of Circuit of the Americas.[1][2] As such, he has been described in journalism as the mastermind of the United States Grand Prix, and North America's F1 Hero.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Hellmund has worked in several capacities on dozens of events, including a variety of races such as INDYCAR, IMSA and SCCA. Outside of motorsport his work includes the 1986 FIFA World Cup.[12] From 2005 to 2009, he promoted the Texas Racefest at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, which combined a USAC National Midget race and a NASCAR West Series race in the same event.[13] Racefest was a sellout and won his company (Full Throttle Productions) Short Track Promoter of the Year in 2006.[14]
Hellmund named the track Circuit of the Americas after a horse track in Mexico City owned by his business partners.[17] He originally sketched the layout of the track on a barbecue napkin back in 2007.[18] After a dispute with one of the COTA investors, Hellmund agreed to being bought out in 2014.[19]
Mexican Grand Prix
In July 2014, Ecclestone confirmed the Mexican Grand Prix would return to the F1 schedule in the 2015 season. Hellmund worked with Alejandro Soberon, chief executive of Grupo CIE, to launch the event.[20] After the first event, John Maher of the Austin American Statesman recounted that, on Sunday November 1, 2015 the Mexican Grand Prix had a race-day attendance of 134,850, and the three-day mark was 335,850. Three-time world champion and former Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda told reporters after the Mexican Grand Prix, "It was the best I've ever seen in my whole life."[21]David Tremayne of The Straits Times wrote, "Now, that's a serious audience. As an object lesson in how to organize a grand prix, Hellmund's team set a new benchmark, and for this, the sport should be grateful".[22] In December 2019 the Mexican Grand Prix was awarded the Formula One Race Promoters' Trophy for a record fifth year in a row.[23]
SXSW Sydney
In June 2022 it was revealed that Hellmund was one of the chief architects behind the SXSW Sydney event and on June 30th, The Australian New South Wales government, Destination NSW and TEG announced the launch of the multi-year SXSW Sydney Festival beginning in October 2023. Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG, event producer for SXSW Sydney thanked Hellmund for his 'vital support and vision. [24]
Manor F1 Team
In November 2015, it was reported that Hellmund was considering buying the Manor F1 Team, which was struggling financially, from Stephen Fitzpatrick.[25] Hellmund stated that towards the end of 2016, a consortium led by him had agreed to the purchase on the condition that the team finished the season in 10th place in the Constructors' Championship. This would have guaranteed the team $15 million the following year in prize money. However, Manor lost the position at the Brazilian Grand Prix and the deal fell apart. Manor fell into administration and was out of business two months later.[26]
^Sylt, Christian and Reid, Caroline, Motorsport Magazine. "The great Texas gamble". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
