Formula show draws more than 40,000 fans to downtown Helsinki
A car manufacturer brought its Formula 1 car to the centre of Helsinki for everyone to gaze at on Saturday. The "Helsinki City GP", which had been eagerly anticipated for months, eventually attracted between 40,000 and 50,000 fans to the Rautatientori Square, while many of them could hardly catch a glimpse of the Toyota F1 vehicle itself. At least they heard it well enough.
The spectators, who were crammed against the fence surrounding the track, could hear the deafening blare of the F1 engine, while the low-slung car itself was buried in the middle of the crowd. Some people also commented that the time was too short, and that they had expected the demo runs to last longer.
Italian F1 Driver Jarno Trulli drove a total of six laps on a short track from Rautatientori Square up to Kaisaniemenkatu, turning left to Vilhonkatu, and back to Rautatientori Square along Mikonkatu. The entire spectacle was over in six minutes.
There were some security problems with the huge crowd as well. In order to get a better view, some F1 enthusiasts climbed up to the roofs of kiosks, shopping malls, telephone booths, and to scaffolds. Some of the vantage points were truly precarious.
It took some time to chase people out of the dangerous places, as many ignored the organisers' loudspeaker announcements. Hence the show that was scheduled to start at 3.00 p.m. was delayed.
Eventually, Jarno Trulli accelerated off about 40 minutes later than planned, after Finnish rally driver Juha Kankkunen had first driven two rather quicker laps round the track with his rally car.
Because of the demo runs, some of the streets in downtown Helsinki had been closed.
With tens of thousands of people being packed in a small area, even some parking problems occurred. However, most of the drivers of illegally parked vehicles got away without fines, as the police did not have enough resources to handle both traffic control and illicit parking. On the other hand, the meter maids started their rounds later in the evening, issuing tickets for parking violators who had tarried too long downtown.
Links:
The Official Toyota F1 Team Fanclub
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 14.8.2006 - TODAY |
Formula show draws more than 40,000 fans to downtown Helsinki
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