French driver wins V1 Challenge Azerbaijan
By Nigar Orujova
French racer Anthoine Hubert won the V1 Challenge Azerbaijan race, which was attended by 14 acclaimed racers from 12 countries.
Organized by Azerbaijan Automobile Federation, the race took place at the Baku Crystal Hall on October 11. Azerbaijan's First Lady and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva, Vice President of the Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, and Arzu Aliyeva watched the show.
The French driver was followed by German Harald Muller, Lebanese Abdo Feghali and Azerbaijani Adil Akhundov.
President of Azerbaijan Automobile Federation Anar Alakbarov presented the Cup to Hubert.
The winner of the competition was awarded with 10,000 manats, while the second and the third place winners were awarded with 5,000, and 2,000 manats, respectively.
After standing in the first place, Hubert said, "I express my great appreciation to the Automobile Federation of Azerbaijan for hosting the competition, which was organized at the highest level. The competition was very tough, because of the strong contenders."
The 18-year-old racer added that despite his young age, experience gained in previous competitions helped him win the race.
"Thanks to this competition, I learned about your beautiful country and Baku. Again I express my gratitude to Azerbaijan Automobile Federation, I wish for more large-scale events and development of motor sport, which will further help introduce Azerbaijan to the world," Hubert said.
The event brought together European champion Patrick Snijers from Belgium, three-time Drift Challenge champion and the holder of the longest drift record in 2014 Harald Muller from Germany, five-time champion of Portugal and European silver medalist Miguel Campos, winner of V1 Challenge 2011 Burak Cukurova from Turkey, winner of V1 Challenge Moldova 2012 Nicolae Chiriac, and winner of France F4 and Volant Euroformula 2013 races Anthoine Hubert.
Azerbaijan's team also included national carting champions Gulhuseyn Abdullayev, Adil Akhundov and V1 Challenge Moldova 2013 winner Timur Muradov.
The event presented the audience unusual tricks on different cars and motorcycles, as well as a concert of the Voca People ensemble. The spectators also watched a presentation of cars, which were decorated with Azerbaijan's flags, and a documentary on the preparations for the tournament.
Voca People's program featured a gentle sense of humor augmented by nice vocals and extraordinary repertoire.
The Israeli-based Voca People ensemble, created in 2009, is a small theater company of eight actors that appear in white costumes and white make-ups.
The show's main story is about a spacecraft from a planet named Voca that makes a forced landing on Planet Earth. To restart the space vehicle energized by music, the newcomers try to get familiar with earth's musical pieces. The band has so far performed in the United States, Spain, Italy, Hungary, France and Russia.
The V1 Challenge, which in 2011-2013 attracted over 110,000 spectators, promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Preparatory trainings for the V1 Challenge Azerbaijan were launched on August 25. Theoretical and practical trainings were organized for drivers and judges during the trainings.
Azerbaijan Automobile Federation also plans to organize an exhibition of classic cars at the Heydar Aliyev Center in the near future.