Following successful events in Bucharest and Budapest from 2007 till 2009, City Challenge is ready for its next event, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Friday, October 5 till Sunday, October 7. “Since our last events, our team has been working very hard to turn our vision of cultural entertainment and motorsport for the entire family into reality in other cities,” says Hartmut Beyer, CEO of City Challenge GmbH, based in Berlin. “We are delighted that negotiations with the authorities in Baku have been successful as they share our vision that sporting and cultural events can build bridges between people. Baku is a very fascinating city with a rapid development. We are looking forward to adding this next chapter to the City Challenge story and continue to work on future events.”
2007-2009: City Challenge events in Bucharest and Budapest…
With its first racing event in 2007, City Challenge brought the FIA GT1, GT2, GT3 and Formula 3 British Championships to the Romanian capital of Bucharest. A street circuit was designed around the spectacular Parliament Building. All these classes – except for the GT3 class – returned to Bucharest for a second time in 2008. Following changes in the Romanian government, the third City Challenge race series was hosted in Budapest in 2009, where the Hungarian capital gave GT1 and 2 race teams a new city circuit to explore. A police-escorted parade of the race cars from the circuit to the city centre and back caught a lot of attention.
Coverage from more than 400 media representatives shared the City Challenge experience with a global audience and a crowd of 44,000 spectators, including Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, turned out to enjoy thrilling races through the city streets.
City Challenge Baku 2012 – the next step…
With the experience from the successful events held in Bucharest and Budapest, the City Challenge team is now gearing up for its next step: City Challenge Baku 2012, to be held in the burgeoning capital of Azerbaijan. A temporary race track will be installed around the impressive Azerbaijan Government House, near the seaside boulevard and the Caspian Sea.
Of course, utmost attention will be given to safety for both competitors and spectators. Concrete elements, tyre stacks and fences will be installed along the track. “We are applying the highest international safety standards for motorsport events and we are working together very closely with the national sporting authorities in Azerbaijan. We will also bring experienced track marshals from other countries to contribute their knowledge and thus add to the development of motorsport in Azerbaijan,” says City Challenge CEO Hartmut Beyer.
Invitation race for cars driving under the FIA GT3 regulations…
The main sporting event of the City Challenge Baku 2012 is an invitation race for GT cars to FIA GT3 regulations with two drivers per car, held under the banner of City Challenge GT. City Challenge CEO Hartmut Beyer says: “GT3 has been the success story in motorsport in recent years, with a strong international presence in many series and various national championships with a wealth of cars. Moreover, numerous manufacturers and tuners have developed GT3 cars, so there is a lot of potential all over Europe. With our City Challenge GT in Baku in early October, at a time when most championships already have come to an end, we are providing an interesting opportunity for a one-off, non-championship end-of-season event for teams and drivers, a genuine challenge, so to say.”
GT3 cars currently available, and thus eligible to race in the City Challenge GT, include fascinating sports cars like Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Audi R8 LMS, BMW Z4 GT3, Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+, McLaren MP4-12C GT3, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R and various other brands and models.
The City Challenge GT participants will start the race weekend with a Town Parade and autograph session on Thursday. Track action gets underway on Friday with two free practice sessions of 90 minutes each. Saturday’s programme includes two 30 minutes’ qualifying sessions, followed by two qualifying sprint races in the afternoon. The first driver of each team will drive the first qualifying session in the morning and the first qualifying sprint race in the afternoon. The second driver will drive the second qualifying session and the second qualifying sprint race. There will be a 30 minutes’ repair break between both qualifying sprint races. Based on the results of each of these two sprint races, points will be allocated to the teams to determine the starting grid positions for the main race on Sunday.
After a 30 minutes’ Warm Up session on Sunday morning and a drivers’ presentation before lunch time, the City Challenge GT race with a duration of 60 minutes will start at 14.00 h local time. The mandatory pit stop with driver and tyre change will take place during the 30th and the 35th minute of the race.
Teams can nominate any driver they like, without having to take into account driver categorisation (platinum-gold-silver-bronze). “We want to keep the format as simple as possible, the best team with the best car wins,” says City Challenge CEO Hartmut Beyer.
Event programme…
The City Challenge event will bring plenty of on- and off-track entertainment to Baku city. Next to the City Challenge GT, further support races or demonstrations will be added to the programme (e.g. race with historical F1 cars – Classic Grand Prix Baku). Throughout the weekend, Meet & Greet and networking possibilities are available in the VIP Area.
Spectacular City Challenge entertainment productions will be presented throughout the event area To keep the party atmosphere alive all weekend long, City Challenge features performances by a spectacular line-up of DJs, musicians and bands. With local and international artists playing everything from pop to rock and classic, there’s a wide range of acts to entertain the crowds before, between and after the races. During the evenings, the Baku skyline will light up with breath-taking multimedia shows. Visitors will find something to get excited about at City Challenge, regardless of their age, which makes City Challenge an event for the entire family. Activities for younger visitors include face painting, clown shows and street theatre featuring local TV personalities and enough indoor and outdoor workshops and activities to occupy the most active little bodies and minds. There’s plenty to keep the big kids busy, too. they’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to getting closer to action.
Baku, Azerbaijan…
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic is located in the Caucasus region and connects Western Asia with Eastern Europe. It borders with Iran and Turkey on the south, Russia on the north, Georgia on the north-west and Armenia on the west. The country is rich in natural resources and has a rich ancient culture. In 2008, the World Bank declared Azerbaijan one of the top ten developing countries of the world. The population is estimated at nine million people. Two million of them live in Baku, which is the capital city of Azerbaijan. It is located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea. There are three major districts: the old town, which is under UNESCO World Heritage Sites projection, the Soviet built city and a new part. The city holds many museums and famous buildings like the new Flame Towers.
Source : City Challenge