'red bull speed street india' with rachit thukral
A Formula 1 car passing in front of you at 300km/hr! Oh yes, I was one of the 60,000 people who attended the ‘ Red Bull Speed Street India’ last October and got to see the Red Bull Showcar driven by Toro Rosso’s(then HRT’s) Daniel Ricciardo. That’s was the first time I ever saw an F1 car and I’d like to share my experience using this article.
the morning
I had my breakfast and left home at around 12 pm. The event was to be held at the iconic ‘Rajpath’ in New Delhi , it’s a famous road which connects India Gate and the Rashtrapati Bhawan. And the easiest and cheapest way to go there was by Delhi Metro. I took a metro from nearby Metro Station and reached Connaught Place. Thereafter I took an auto(the green coloured taxi which you might have seen Button in at Indian GP) and reached the destination. The total cost of travelling(both to and fro) was around Rs 100 or about $2. |
I reached the place at about 1 pm, an hour ahead of when the programmed was scheduled. Obviously I was excited! There were plenty of things to entertain us before the main event including performances by famous music band Indian Ocean and few stunts by a professional stunt biker group called Ghost Ryderz. If that wasn’t all Ricciardo did Bhangra, a Punjabi dance along with a few professionals at the famous road, specially closed for the event
Between all the pre-shows, I heard the sound of the team starting the engine. And man, it was so loud! I was quite far from the garage but I’m pretty sure the it must have been heard by people at India Gate at the other end. The sound is still there - in my ears and my memory.
Between all the pre-shows, I heard the sound of the team starting the engine. And man, it was so loud! I was quite far from the garage but I’m pretty sure the it must have been heard by people at India Gate at the other end. The sound is still there - in my ears and my memory.
the roadshow
Enough of all the stuff, after standing in 35C for nearly two hours, it was time for the roadshow. One of the things I loved the most was that they actually simulated a race start at the roadshow. Ricciardo stopped right in front of me and zoomed past like nothing when those five red lights went out. He completed a number of laps and did some amazing donoughts on both sides of the road as well as the center. It was like amazing, the car went off like nothing! And when it comes to donoughts, I’m speechless! The whole car literally got covered with smoke and I said to myself -” this is what I saw in those videos on YouTube, this is what I wanted to see”. I tried to take pictures so many times but I just couldn’t get a single one. The car way was too fast for my phone’s camera to get it within its shutter. Luckily, I was able to record a few videos! |
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When this run was over I felt a little disappointed only to hear from the show’s host(who is also an RJ) that this way actually the first part of a three part show run and that two more runs were left!
More doughnuts, more runs, more awesomeness! I very well knew that this was the best day of my life. When all this was over, Daniel came out of his car, and stood over it to wave the Indian flag! That was quite unexpected but amazing to see and was well received by the crowd. Then he took a lap of the road in a Renault car and waved the Indian flag along the way. |
the negatives
So, that was the good part, but there were quite a few things which I didn’t like. First of all, Red Bull said on their Facebook and Twitter account that the event was totally free. Well, not really. One side of the road was reserved for pass holders. I could have easily got a pass through my friends. But the real problem was that the pass holder side which was covered was quite empty while the general category was stuffed with people at the other side of the road! Unlike the McLaren roadshow which happened a few days ago in Bangalore, there were no stands. All people without passes had to stand for hours in 35C! Also, the event was a little too long and held during daytime when temperature is quite high. The total duration of the event was 2 hours and 30 mins out of which the main roadshow was only of about 30 mins.
the end of the day
Once all this was over, MTV VJ Ranvijay shaked hands with all the crowd including me of course. He is quite popular in India and so he had to shake hands with both his hands. It was kinda funny! It was a Red Bull event so I obviously bought a Red Bull and moved across the place reliving the event before I left the place at 5pm. At that time, still a few people were there but I had to leave as I hadn’t eaten anything since morning and was not feeling well. I then searched for a nearby McDonalds using my phone and ate! When I returned home, I shared my experience with my friends on Facebook and also with Red Bull India’s Twitter account. You can follow Rachit on Twitter at @RachThukral and view his F1 website at http://www.rachf1.com/. |
[Official Video from Red Bull's YouTube Account]
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