Dublin, Ireland – Forget Monaco, Monza or Silverstone! If you want to get so close to a Formula 1 car that you can almost touch it, and to have your eardrums vibrate from the luxurious sound of the engine, you should visit the event organized by the Dutch beer producer Bavaria every year since 2006.
This year, at the invitation of the company K&M sistem, the authorized representative of Bavaria for Montenegro, we had the opportunity to go to Bavaria City Racing, a top demonstration of auto-moto sports, which was held ten days ago on the streets of Dublin, and was previously organized in Rotterdam and Moscow.
How serious this event is is shown by the fact that drivers such as Fernando Alonso, David Coulthard, Heiki Kovalainen, Nelson Pike junior, Adrijan Sutil and Vitaly Petrov participated in the previous editions. This year, the residents of Dublin and their guests enjoyed the car of the McLaren F1 team, which was driven by Jenson Button through the narrow streets in the heart of the city, and from the F1 teams Caterham was also there. This event transformed the center of Dublin into a spectacular race track providing its residents with five hours of non-stop entertainment.
As soon as we arrived at the airport in Dublin, we realized how much interest there was in this event, because a very friendly and smiling border policeman during the passport check stated that we were probably coming to see Jenson Button. Of course, the answer was yes, although in addition to Button, drivers of GP2 and Formula 3000 cars, Spyker's racing model from Le Mans, Mini WRC cars, various Ferrari and Lamborghini models, motorcycling champions, drifters and stuntmen were scheduled for the "race". .
Doubts about the complete success of the event arose on Saturday evening, the day before the race itself, because it started to rain heavily and coldly, which continued in the morning until just before the start. That's why it was a big surprise for us when we approached the paddock with the cars, and saw that the spectators filled the stands covered with tarpaulins and umbrellas, which confirmed that the Irish are great enthusiasts for auto-moto sports. By the way, the great value of Bavaria City Racing is that you only need to buy a ticket for 10 percent of the places around the track, while the rest are free.
The cars started under the VIP zone of Bavaria, from which we watched part of the race, while we spent part of the time right next to the track itself.
The real excitement, with a muffled roar, was already felt when the first cars specialized in drifting (sliding the rear wheels while turning the vehicle in place while burning the tires) started to take to the track. After that, when the official announcer announced that Jenson Button was going to the track in McLaren's MP4-12C passenger model, there was the first great enthusiasm, but also the first interesting moment. Namely, because he probably misjudged the sharp curve, the so-called hairpin, Button could not "catch" it from the first, but had to go back in reverse and only then continue. This caused some laughter from the crowd, which soon turned into cheers, when the 1 F2009 champion continued driving.
After the Button, various vehicles followed, and the greatest excitement came when the McLaren mechanics started the engine of the F1 car. The sound that came after that drew out almost all those who were watching the events on the track in the closed part of the VIP zone.
Baton started the first lap on a 2,56 km long course, which passed through the very center of the city, past the most important historical places, and ended next to the famous Trinity College. For the first time in its history, Dublin felt the prestige, sound and smell of Formula 1.
This time, the Briton didn't miss entering the narrowest corner, slipping his rear wheels in it just enough to open an exit path for himself. The speed he was going did not exceed 160 km/h, but it looked furious on the narrow streets, which were immediately lined with euphoric fans of this sport.
After the U-turn at Trinity, it was followed by a return on the same road towards the paddock, in front of which Button turned the car several times to the delight of us who were holding cameras and phone cameras with both hands a few meters from him, even though our hearing was in serious danger. Anyone who hasn't heard the sound of a Formula 1 engine from such close proximity can hardly find out by watching the race on television.
Baton then got out of the car, and in the style of a Grand Prix winner, climbed onto it and greeted the enthusiastic crowd.
Besides him, another 70 vehicles from different categories of auto-moto sports participated in this event. Participants in the Bavaria City Racing demonstration were also Giedo van der Garde, Kateram F1 team test driver, Eugen Laverty (Aprilia), Adam Carroll (Le Mans Spyker), Aaron Smith (Motorbase Performance), Eugen Donnelly (Mini WRC), Terry Grant ( Monster Street Mania) and others...
In the end, after five hours of enjoyment, about 110.000 spectators went home full of impressions, and many went to the famous pubs, where the bravado of the masters of the wheel will be recounted for a long time, while the smell of tires and gasoline will probably be felt on the streets of Dublin for a long time. .
Baton: Spectators "went crazy"After his two drives, Jenson Button did not hide his personal enthusiasm for this event. "Our main goal was to make a show, so the weather couldn't spoil our fun. It was great to see so many people come despite the rain. This event is fantastic for motorsport fans in Ireland, who went absolutely 'crazy' when they saw and heard an F1 car," said Button.
Peer Swinkels, a member of the board of directors of Bavarija NV, said that they are extremely proud to have brought the very top of autosport to Dublin. "After Rotterdam and Moscow, the center of Dublin and its recognizable locations offered a phenomenal new decor that brought fans a real Formula 1 spectacle. As an independent, family-owned brewery, Bavaria is able to follow its own course and invest in important markets around the world, including Dublin, even in these difficult economic times," said Swinkels.Bavaria - beer according to a unique recipePivara Bavarija is the second oldest family-owned company in the Netherlands. It employs about 1.000 workers, in the country and abroad.
The company is managed by the Swinkels family, whose seventh generation has been producing beer according to a unique recipe since 1719, which has enabled them to maintain top quality.
The basis of quality is pure ingredients, which is why Bavarija makes beer from natural pure mineral water, and the company also owns its own barley plantations.
Bavaria is the second largest brewery in the Netherlands, but also the second largest exporter of beer in the Netherlands. Of the 6 million hectoliters produced annually, 65 percent is exported to 120 countries around the world, including Montenegro.
By the way, in Dublin there were also representatives of the company K&M Sistem, representatives of the products of the company Bavarija for our country, who were proud of the way in which Bavarija once again highlighted its prestigious character, quality and commitment to customers. Drifting with a championThe author of this text himself had the opportunity to feel firsthand the excitement that reigned on and off the track, as a passenger in a racing Mazda RX7, which was driven by the champion of the European drift championship of the same name as the famous actor James Dean.
With complete racing equipment, we crossed the track driving more diagonally and turning than driving straight, and in some places, Din and his two colleagues turned simultaneously in close proximity to each other, lighting both the tires and the fire in the hearts of the spectators around the track.
In the end, there was more rubber left on the asphalt than on the rear wheels of the Mazda, and there was a cloud of smoke in and around the car's cabin.
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