Tavo Hellmund
Hellmund in 2010.
Born	(1966-02-24)February 24, 1966 (age 59) Mexico City,Mexico
Education	University of Texas St. Edward’s University
Occupation(s)	Businessman, promoter

Tavo Hellmund (born February 24, 1966) is an American businessman, event promoter and former racing driver. Although he worked for the 1986FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Hellmund is better known for his work inFormula One racing, where he was responsible for both the return of theUnited States Grand Prix (2012, Austin) and theMexican Grand Prix (2015), in addition to being a founding partner ofCircuit of the Americas.^[1][2] As such, he has been described in journalism as the mastermind of theUnited States Grand Prix, and North America's F1 Hero.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Hellmund competed in theBritish Formula 3 International Series, Formula Vauxhall,SCCA races,Formula Ford races,kart racing, theARCA Re/Max Series,late model races, andIMCA Modified races, earning numerous wins.^[9] Notably, he achieved victory in hisNASCAR Winston West Series debut atLaguna Seca in 2001.^[10] He ultimately ended his driving career in 2005 due to budget constraints.^[11]

Hellmund has worked in several capacities on dozens of events, including a variety of races such asINDYCAR,IMSA andSCCA. Outside of motorsport his work includes the1986 FIFA World Cup.^[12] From 2005 to 2009, he promoted the Texas Racefest at Thunder Hill Raceway inKyle, Texas, which combined aUSAC National Midget race and aNASCAR 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 has had a lifelong relationship withBernie Ecclestone.^[15] In May 2010,Formula One announced that a 10-year deal was made with Hellmund's Full Throttle Productions for theUnited States Grand Prix to be hosted atCircuit of the Americas outside ofAustin, Texas beginning in 2012.^[16]

Hellmund named the trackCircuit 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]

In July 2014, Ecclestone confirmed theMexican Grand Prix would return to the F1 schedule in the 2015 season. Hellmund worked with Alejandro Soberon, chief executive ofGrupo CIE, to launch the event.^[20] After the first event, John Maher of theAustin American Statesman recounted that, on Sunday November 1, 2015 theMexican 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 chairmanNiki Lauda told reporters after theMexican Grand Prix, "It was the best I've ever seen in my whole life."^[21]David Tremayne ofThe 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 theMexican Grand Prix was awarded theFormula One Race Promoters' Trophy for a record fifth year in a row.^[23]

In June 2022 it was revealed that Hellmund was one of the chief architects behind theSXSW Sydney event and on June 30th, The Australian New South Wales government,Destination NSW andTEG announced the launch of the multi-year SXSW Sydney Festival beginning in October 2023. Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG, event producer forSXSW Sydney thanked Hellmund for his 'vital support and vision.^[24]

In November 2015, it was reported that Hellmund was considering buying theManor F1 Team, which was struggling financially, fromStephen 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 theBrazilian Grand Prix and the deal fell apart. Manor fell into administration and was out of business two months later.^[26]

On February 17, 2021 Hellmund, along with formerHouston Astros general managerJeff Luhnow andSan Antonio Spurs CEORC Buford announced the pricing of the initial public offering for theirspecial-purpose acquisition company SportsTek listed on theNasdaq Exchange.^[27][28]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

• Tavo Hellmund driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 1960 births
• Living people
• University of Texas at Austin alumni
• St. Edward's University alumni
• American racing drivers
• British Formula Three Championship drivers
• NASCAR drivers
• ARCA Menards Series drivers
• American motorsport people
• American expatriates in Mexico
• Racing drivers from Mexico City

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