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Fans on Manezh Square watching a Formula One car make a U-turn during last year’s Bavaria City Racing. This year’s event takes place Sunday afternoon.
This Sunday, however, foreigners will be leading the race, as Formula One comes to Moscow with the likes of former Monaco Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, who will join other drivers in taking a spin around the Kremlin.
He will be accompanied by Formula One drivers Kazuki Nakajima and Heikki Kovalainen from the AT&T Williams and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes teams in the second Bavaria City Racing event in Moscow.
“I’m really looking forward to going back to Russia,” said David Coulthard, according to the event’s web site. And, in words that will delight Formula One fans and send a shiver down the backs of those who are not so fond of fast, loud cars, he added, “I’ll be making some noise with the car and hopefully creating a bit of a show.”
More than a hundred cars will take turns zooming around, including a Russian-made Formula One style car, Adrenaline, built by Moscow students.
Kicking off at 2 p.m., drivers will start at Vasilevsky Spusk, in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral, before going straight onto the Kremlyovskaya Naberezhnaya; then, they’ll move to Mokhovaya Ulitsa before making a speedy U-turn at the southern end of Tverskaya Ulitsa and going back to Vasilevsky Spusk as fast as possible.
Local Formula One fans are looking forward to the event, especially since attempts to make Russia a venue for the Formula One championships have so far failed.
“I do not believe that Formula One as a business has a future in Moscow, which is why this is such a great opportunity for us as Formula One fans,” said Svetlana Amelichkina, head of the Russian fan club.
Even though the average speed in Formula One is around 350 kilometers per hour, when asked how fast racing cars will be going on July 19, Oleg Stolyarchik from sponsor Bavaria responded by saying the official speed limit in Moscow is 60 kilometers per hour.
Apart from watching cars shoot around the Kremlin, visitors can enjoy a parade of vintage cars that will include Bugattis, Ferraris, Porsches and numerous American vintage sports cars.
For more detailed information on the program and a map of the route, go to Bmcr.ru. Access to the race is free in areas around Kremlyovskaya Naberezhnaya, while tickets for seats in specially set up areas on Vasilevsky Spusk range from 2,000 to 10,000 rubles. The warm-up will start at 12:30 p.m. with the first drive starting at 2 p.m. and events continuing to 5 p.m.
