www.theblisspages.com - rush hour in regent st
www.theblisspages.com - rush hour in regent stLinks on this page: the route : race order, teams and drivers : the event : the Formula One cars : postscript : the video
On Tuesday 6 July 2004, the sound of Formula One V10 engines was heard in Regent Street to help publicise the British Grand Prix. I was there, and I did see glimpses of some of the cars over the surging crowds. I could have headed over to additional large screens in Hanover Square and Great Marlborough Street, but I wanted the live experience.
Juan Pablo Montoya toured Hamleys and signed autographs from 14:00. There were themed competitions and in-store promotions with a chance to win a VIP behind-the-scenes tour of the Williams headquarters at Oxford.
It was on between 18:00 and 20:00 and eight teams were there. The first Formula One run was at about 18:50. All the Formula 1 drivers did a practice run of the course in a road car first. Martin Brundle drove Austin Powers' Shaguar, and one 'lucky' driver was behind the wheel of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car!
Jenson Button was quoted as saying, "I get to hear an F1 engine revving to 19,000 rpm every other week so I know the sound is incredible, but even I can't wait to hear the noise that will be created when eight come together during the procession along Regent Street".
After their run, drivers were presented on the podium but I couln't hear them and only saw glimpes of them in the distance.
Renault and Sauber were the only teams not there - and they must be kicking themselves!
The cars left Waterloo Place, drove up Regent Street, right into Great Marlborough Street, left into Little Argyll Street and left again on to Regent Street, before returning to Waterloo Place.
Well, words can't do justice to this evening, so I have some photographic and video evidence as well!
I work only about 100 yards from the pit area so I wandered around at lunchtime. I could see that it would be very busy later, so determined to leave work at four. As usual, it was a little later when I left, and as expected, it was heaving. About 500,000 people turned up in total.
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I stood at the bottom of Lower Regent Street and was only two rows back. Unfortunately, as it later transpired, I stood on the east side (nearest to Trafalgar Square). There were plastic barriers in the middle of the street, and they then built a narrow track - on the other side of the road. We were already much further from the action - and there was worse to come.
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After a couple of hours, the safety and medical cars inspected the track, followed after a while by the drivers’ parade. The final parade before the main event was four dustcarts sweeping the track.
Now, after three hours wait, it was about time for the Formula One cars, so, as if on cue, the dustcarts parked right in front of us. There was nearly a riot, but in the end the dustcarts moved further up the road, only to be replaced by the cars from the drivers’ parade. They at least were possible to see over, and now we could hear a car.
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First up was Nigel Mansell in the Jordan - and the noise was incredible. It was far louder than any other car, and the sound was almost visceral as it bounced off nearby buildings. After the car passed, we were all united in an incredulous and almost unbelieving joy. It seemed impossible that anything could be so loud. You could feel it, and it kept reaching new crescendos of intensity.
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Next was Christiano de Matta's Toyota, and, although very loud and fast, it was almost an anti-climax.
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Luca Badoer was almost sedate, waving to the crowd as he pootled up the road, though, as with nearly all the other drivers, emulating Toad of Toad Hall, he spun the wheels and did a doughnut at the finish line.
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Jenson was next, and he did us proud, roaring off the line and disappearing in a moment, followed by the echoes of his departure. His return was equally dramatic.
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Zsolt Baumgartner was next in the Minardi, relatively unsophisticated and difficult to drive. Although Minardi are regularly lapped in races, they are still damned fast! Interestingly, they both sounded and their exhaust smelt different from most of the other cars today.
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Then came that great showman, Juan Pablo Montoya. Leaving smoking tyres as he roared up the road, he also filled the air with smoke on his return as he did multiple spins at the finish line, to the delight of his adoring fans.
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David Coulthard was also very popular and spectacular.
Martin Brundle was the last driver out, and was tidy if unspectacular.
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We then rushed down to the pits to look at and take pictures of the cars and watching out for celebrities, before wending our way home, and in my case, writing this on my Dell PDA on the train.
It was a fine warm-up for the British Grand Prix. Will we ever have a London street circuit? Personally, I'm not sure - it will take a great route, a lot of time and commitment, and involve much disruption. For the moment, I'm content to watch Silverstone on the television - at about £240, it's probably better to see an overseas Grand Prix live than our own. I spoke to someone who had just come back from Indianapolis, had a weekend ticket for about £80, and got to meet and talk to some of the drivers.
It's about three minutes long and recorded on my Canon Ixus V3 digital camera. I just held it over my head and aimed for the noise! Turn up the sound and click on:
Windows Media Player is required to view the video.
If the video doesn't play on your system, you can download it free from the Microsoft web site:
updated Wed 07 Jul '04 give feedback...
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: © Mike Bliss 2009