Bavaria City Racing part 1 FRI
From the early ninetees of the last century, there have been several studies to the possibility of having a Formula 1 race in Rotterdam. While all the studies basically said: yes, the infrastructure is suitable, the one reason as to why Formula 1 never made it to my hometown is costs.
So, is there something else we can do ? Oh yes there is. What about some demonstration runs then ? We’ll ask some F1 teams, we’ll ask some Dutchmen racing in other classes, like Formula 3, and we’ll ask Jan Lammers with his Racing For Holland team. And so the idea for Monaco aan de Maas was born, and on August 7th 2005 it became a reality when Minardi and Williams would visit Rotterdam.
Now, two years later, the spectacle has grown considerably. A two day racing extravaganza has been added to the program, and for the race day itself, they have cars and drivers enough to race all day if they have to.
The announcement for the event called ‘Race Salon’ was made right after the 2006 edition of the Bavaria City Race. They had plans to do something in the Ahoy Exhibition centre, and that it was going to be fun.
The nearer we got to August 2007, the more names and teams were confirmed. Spyker would be there with Sutil and Albers, Renault would be there with Piquet jr and Kovelainen, Doornbos was finally confirmed with his Champcar, and 2 A1GP teams will be driving round. Netherlands ( off course ) and Team Ireland ( which doesn’t surprise me either ).
So.. the weekend has started. It’s Friday morning, and the Race Salon has opened it’s gates.
There is a lot to see and do and experience. There is a high performance engine started allmost every 15 minutes somewhere, drivers walk around the three halls, doing autographs, posing for photos, or just for a chat.
The three halls are:
A: The experience hall… just sit on the grandstand, and enjoy the many demos going around.. wheather it’s team Bleekemolen with their Porsches and Lamborghinis, or the Suzuki Swift cup racers, or the 2CV racers, or the Insane Bike Posse, or the big guns like the Spyker F VIII-7 and the Renault R27, there is something for everyone. Earplugs and breath protection are a wise precaution.
B: The engine hall. Here you can find some of the best alternative racing teams, like the Formula Zero ( which run on a Hydrogen fuel cel ) and some of the Eco Challenge teams, aswell as the best of the best in the Dutch motorsport scene, like the Benelux Racing League or the Dutch Supercar challenge. You can also find the gate to the Dakar challenge ( outdoors ) here.
C: The Monaco hall. Built like a track with pitboxes and a pitstraight. This is where you can find most of the cars that race in international classes like Formula 1, Formula 3, Champcar, A1GP and WTCC. This is also the area to have a chat with drivers and mechanics.
and while not a hall, there is the distinct area D: The Dakar experience. If you don’t mind the sand, and if you happen to like big 4×4 cars and army material. I mean, it’s nice to see a Bowler Wildcat taking on a big sand hill, but to see a Leopard 2A6 tank doing the same is something completely different.
In all, the first day of the Race Salon was a fun one, and I can’t wait till tomorrow to get back.
Bavaria City Race part 2 Sat
At some times, the experience hall was simply closed because it got too crowded. There wasn’t a square millimetre left in that hall. Again, lots of smoke, added to the smell of burning rubber.
And, the other halls were allmost completely filled too.. if you wanted to take nice pictures today, you’d have to bring a lot of patience with you.
And off course, pretty much every driver has been asked to step forward, to be interviewed. And while they were there, to do some promotional work too… like swapping places with an airforce pilot (which Robert Doornbos did).
One thing I also noticed was that some stands were changed slightly or completely. Renger van der Zande for instance, now had his own pitbox, and the Racing For Holland stand had their pit material in place now aswell.
A special mention has to be made to the members of the Ferrari Club Netherlands. Each year, they organise a rallye in which each member takes with him a child that has a debilitating or lifethreathening disease, and give this child a day to remember. Today, apart from driving around, they visited Rotterdam Airport, where they were allowed to go full throttle on the runway, before finally ending at the Race Salon. Off course, this all under police protection.
The nicest surprise came at the end of the day though. Oliver Tielemans, a Dutch World Touring Car Championships racer for Alfa Romeo did some tests with the car he will be driving tomorow. Since his regular car was unavailable, he’ll be driving around a 20 year old Alfa Romeo tourer. Not that it’s a punishment to drive it around. Far from it.. It has a 1.7 litre turbocharged engine that produces a whopping 450 bhp.
One more day to go. A long day it will be again… but a rewarding day. If only it would stay dry for once.
Bavaria City Race part 3 Sun
The main benefit of being a reporter photographer is that you don’t have to be there that early to have a good view at the races. While I was still lying in my bed at 7:30 a.m., some where allready at the track, just to be sure they would have a spot right at the front. I reckoned that if we, I was accompanied by Martin Cligge, a photographer for DutchA1GP, would be there round 11:00 a.m., we’d be early enough.
We found a nice spot to park Martin’s car, about as close as we could get to the paddock, and walked the rest. The press centre was well equipped, and well catered. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, water and beer in abundance, aswell as sandwiches, muffins, scones and other eadibles. We got our neon yellow jackets and the official program, and got on our way.
The paddock was bustling with activity. All the drivers had arrived, all the teams had set up their stands, and most of the press was doing their job. My first instinct was to go to the one team car I hadn’t seen earlier at the Race Salon: A1GP Team Ireland. I had allmost forgotten how bright the green on that car was. I got into a nice conversation with one of the people of Team Ireland. I asked them if they were ready for half a million spectators, and they assured me they were. I also asked them why they were here, and it’s quite simple: A1GP had asked all teams who would like to drive along with Team Netherlands, and Team Ireland is not the team to say ‘No’ to an event like this. Also, they have been working together with Team Netherlands in the past, and their friendships go a long way. I was also told that they have no confirmed driver yet, and that Adam Carroll impressed them greatly during the Snetterton test.
Most teams were doing their preparations now.. engines were warmed up, tyres were heated where applicable, and drivers were getting ready. Time to find a nice spot to take pictures from.. and we found one at the middle of the Willemsbrug. We figured that most photographers would go either to the left or the right of the show arena which was created on the middle of the bridge, so we went to the middle.
One more time back to the paddock, see some cars entering or leaving for a test lap, and it was getting nearer to 2 p.m., so it was time to get to our spot. After prime minister Jan Peter Balkende and mayor Ivo Opstelten had declared the track good to go, the spectacle started.
Christijan Albers was the one to kick off this year, in a Spyker FVII-7. As pretty much every driver today, he would go upto the limit, and would try to take it beyond. Doughnut here, doughnut there, burnout here, burnout there.. there simply wasn’t much left of his tyres after 3 runs along the 6 km long track.
Next, the World Touring Car Championships drivers. Tom Coronel in his Seat Leon Cupra, Duncan Huisman in a BMW 320 i and Olivier Tielemans in a IMSA Alfa Romeo 75 that was 20 years old ( but what a car ). Olav Mol was supposed to start aswell, but his car just wouldn’t start. Somehow, the ignition wiring became fused. Like Albers before them, all three drivers drove their cars beyond what they’d normally do. Huisman’s tyres in fact, were completely shot after just one run, and people who have seen it said his exhaust pipe was red hot.
Heikki Kovelainen left no space without some rubber. He did doughnuts on places not done before, and he even got into seventh gear on the Coolsingel. And waiving to the audience. He was clearly having fun.
A mixed group took the stage. Choppers built by team Violator accompanied by several drift cars. With their Nissans and BMWs they made a smoke curtain that the military would be jealous off. They would never drive in a straight line… never. On the screens in the background, we were able to see that the next group of cars were ready.. and a familiar sight it was.
Jeroen Bleekemolen, John O’Hara and David Hart in a Dome Judd s101.5 The agreement was that John would entertain the people at the Hofplein, while Jeroen would do his funny stuff on the bridge. All day I have seen the excitement on John’s face, he simply couldn’t believe what was happening to him, and what he would be allowed to do for a change. A1GP made it’s presence in Rotterdam, and I have overheard people saying that they do want to go to Zandvoort at the end of September now.
Local hero Robert Doornbos was next. His job was basically to get Holland ready for the Champ Car races at Zolder, just accros the border in Belgium, and Assen. Also, he wanted to thank his Dutch fans whom don’t get to see a lot of him lately, as most of the racing in Champ Cars is done in the USA and Canada. His thanks to his fans is now written all over the streets of Rotterdam in rubber.
Adrian Sutil decided to try to outdo everyone else, and at the end, rubber sprayed on his exhaust caught fire much to the enjoyment of the spectators off course.
In an old Lotus F5000 car from 1970 Michel Bleekemolen, Jeroen’s father, showed everyone he can do everything his sons can. Not sparing the oldie, he drove asif he was posessed.
Last but not least, Nelson Piquet Jr. showed for once and for all that he is a main candidate for a Formula 1 seat next year. Yes, Nelsinho knew the track. After all, two years ago, before he won that first A1GP race, he had allready driven on it, alongside his father, in a classic Lotus F1 car. Knowing where to turn, and where to show, he was a fitting end to a most enjoyable day.
Now if you do plan to visit the Netherlands and Rotterdam next year, and if you are a race fan, make sure you plan it on the 3rd weekend of August. You will not regret it.
1: Exclusive Photos by Richard Renes
2: Exclusive Photos by Richard Renes
