Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Just a few days are left until the start of an exciting and spectacular motorsport, art and entertainment event called City Challenge, to be held in the center of the Azerbaijani capital Baku on October 26, 27 and 28.

City Challenge races are a spectacular urban motorsport experience with excitement, fun and action for children and adults alike.

A car parade in the center of Baku will be held on October 25. Starting on that day, the city will be engaged in a previously unseen show.

11 teams each with two cars will arrive in Baku. The entry list for the GT race includes a nice variety of seven different car brands, with the top sports car manufacturers BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche all being represented for the inaugural event on the streets of Baku.

The event brings three days of exciting entertainment, breathtaking city races and many fun activities for the whole family to Baku. City Challenge is promoted as a venue where manufacturers can test green technology that can be integrated into ordinary automobiles.

The races have performed the magnificent show in Bucharest, Romania and Budapest, Hungary. In the capital of Azerbaijan, the event will be held with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Motorsport Federation of Azerbaijan.

The races will be held around the Government House. One circle extends to 2,300 meters. Race cars overcome this distance in about 54 seconds.

City Challenge organizing team works hard to make Baku ready for the event, building the track and tribunes since October 12, practically in the center of the city. The grandstands are to seat 15,000 people.

"Of course, utmost attention is being paid to the safety for both competitors and spectators. Concrete elements, tire stacks and fences are being installed along the track. We're applying the highest international safety standards for motorsport events," says City Challenge CEO Hartmut Beyer.

The driver line-up is equally impressive, according to the City Challenge website, with former Formula 1 and CART champion Jacques Villeneuve, ex-F1 racer and Le Mans class winner Jos Verstappen and multiple DTM champion Bernd Schneider on the grid.

"I have never been in Baku before and I am looking forward to racing there," says Bernd Schneider, who will be teaming up with Russian driver Sergey Afanasiev in one of the German HEICO Motorsport team's pair of Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 cars.

GT World Championship winning teams HEXIS and Vita4One are among the eleven teams taking part in this race. Other teams to have signed up are Mühlner Motorsport, with Baku-based driver Mark J. Thomas driving one of its Porsches, Rhino's Leipert Motorsport, Molitor Racing, Franz Konrad Motorsport, Vita4One Italy, Motopark, ATTEMPTO Racing and GRT Grasser Racing Team.

Outstanding French acrobats will present a spectacular show on the Boulevard. The COGO Urban Artistic Show combines international modern circus artistic with urban street art and traditional arts. The fast and furious show is beautiful and romantic at the same time.

Approximately 120 countries will broadcast the show and see the beauty of the Azerbaijani capital. Information on the program and tickets for the show is available on the City Challenge website.