BMW Sauber F1 Demo Run

Temperature as high as 40 celcius but hundreds of viewers standing along the road behind those barriers. Sound of a V8 BMW engine roaring blasting through the air. This is what happened in MiTC at 2.30PM on 1st April 2007 (april fool’s day).

I was there with my girlfriend and other friends as well to witness the Formula 1 (F1) demo run on the streets by BMW Sauber F1 team which is organised by Petronas. Though I’ve been to F1 event few times but able to witness it about 1 meter from me is something so special. It’s different from being at the track which is quite a distance from me and definitely different from watching it at home on the screen.

We reached there around 1.15PM and many roads around the area was blocked for the demo run. It took us quite a while to get a place to park and it is quite far away too. Many cars were already there at the moment as I think this is the first time a F1 demo run was held in Melaka.

At first I thought that there will be just a short run by the reserve driver of BMW Sauber team, then when I was waiting for the event to start at 2PM, I saw BMW Sauber’s Drivers opposite of me. I was standing opposite of their ‘garage’ and from my place, I saw the media was interviewing the drivers, wow! By 1.45PM, many visitors has arrived to witness this event and the weather is so hot as the sun is sitting high up in the sky.

After waited for more than half an hour for the Chief Minister to arrive, it started with a introduction run where those drivers and riders were introduced to the public, then the Chief Minister flaged off as to start of the event.

1st is a demo run by Robert Kubica, the team’s second driver. It was an amazing experience where the sound is so loud and the speed of car is so fast that it is so hard to get it captured on a camera. He ran several laps then made a pitstop then continue and after total of 6 rounds he pitted back into the garage. All the visitors were entertained as they witnessed the a demo run of a F1 car, which is the pinnacle of motorsport. After the F1 run was the Petronas Sprinta Yamaha Racing Team demostarting the Yamaha R6 which is a superbike. After that it was the Petronas Sprinta Raceline Racing Team where they demonstrated the Yamaha Cubs which those ‘Mat Rempit’ used to race.

After those motorcycle, the day continued with a demo run by the Petronas Syntium Team with a BMW M3 car which was driven by the 2006 ATCC Championship Runner-up, Fariqe Hairuman. Then the Petronas Formula Xperience Racing School show what they are made of as they will be the next generation of F1 drivers. The next most impressive show was by Chris Pfeiffer, the Indoor Streetbike World Champion on a stunt bike. He showed his skills on balancing a bike and many more stunts that all visitors looked with awe. Then after that, the F1 team made another run with their first driver, Nick Heidfeld on the wheels.

Though all have to stay under the hot sun for hours but it is worth it and it was a once in a lifetime experience for those who can’t afford to attend the race in Sepang next week. Below are some pictures that I able to take during the few hours there.