16th September 2010, 22:42
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| Senior - BHPian  | Report & Pics : Lewis Hamilton at Chennai's MMSC track A Formula One Driver visiting India is a big deal. And When its going to be the 2008 F1 world Champion driving an AMG Mercedes at the Chennai Race Track, it's gotta be HUGE. The 'Hot laps with Lewis Hamilton' event by Vodafone was being publicised in the media. Lucky winners of an SMS contest would get to ride shotgun with the 2010 championship contender in a Mercedes SL63 AMG on the MMSC track in Chennai. The weather was very pleasant, by Chennai standards. The event was scheduled to start at 11 AM. Vodafone seems to have arranged transport for spectators which was a good move since the track is 40kms away from the city and it would have been difficult for those interested in attending the event.     The track adorned a red look with the Vodafone livery.  At 10 AM, The crowd started pouring in. By 10.45, the area around the main straight was bustling with activity.   At 11, a helicopter is heard in the distance. The crowd goes wild seeing the helicopter which makes two swift passes over the main straight and lands on the circuit.   Lewis is transported to the SL63 from the chopper in an M class and makes a grand entrance with the host Nikhil Chinnappa counting down from 10.  Lewis descends from the SL and greets everyone. The contest winners waste no time and get into their overalls for their hotlaps with the Formula One star. Lewis takes the first few winners in the SL63 and after the 3rd run, says that the SL is overheating. Thankfully, the organisers have a spare car. A CLS AMG is pressed into service.  After the contest winners were done with their hotlaps, the few chosen VVIPs were awaiting theirs and the first one was the coveted Tamil Film Star Vikram who greets the crowd. Team-BHPian mlcarrera was one of the chosen few to get a ride in the SL63 with Lewis. It would be great to hear his experience. Please do the honors, mlcarrera. In between car changes, our 'only' female racer Alisha Abdullah gets acquainted with the Formula One superstar.    The hotlaps came to a close. Hamilton and the contest winners climbed on to the vodafone truck.  Hamilton uncorked a champagne bottle...   ...and sprayed the champagne at the excited spectators finishing the track event with style. He takes a 10 minute recess before the press conference. At the press conference, he greets with a 'Vanakkam' He inspects the tyres of the SL63 that's sharing the stage with him and admits there's still some tread left. He answers questions thrown at him without being diplomatic. He spoke about his split-second decision at Monza because of which he retired in the very first lap. He also said that he was happy to be driving with the 7-time Championship winning legend. He mentions that he's always been racing since childhood without ever taking a year off as a break. And that it's not easy to be as good as he was after the 3-year break that Michael took. He said that Karun has to move up to a better team to show his true potential and that at the small teams, it's about who brings in the most money. (Now we know why Yamamoto is driving Karun's car). He was also complimenting the efforts of Vijay Mallya in bring the Force India team up from the bottom. About the Indian GP, he says that he has just seen pictures and is excited about the grand prix. He promises to be there with his girlfriend who apparently claims that she looks Indian. He also mentioned that his secret of winning is because he is his own engineer and takes decisions on the setup himself. During practice, while other drivers give feedback and complaints to their race engineer about the car, Lewis Hamilton comes back to the pits and orders for a stiffer roll bar or lower ride height or increased tyre pressures. The event draws to a close as Lewis walks off the stage. Just before he alights the M-class, he's mobbed by those present for pictures and autographs and obliges to a few.  He finally bids goodbye with a smile.  Videos: For the tech nuts: The tyres that the SL wore Before:  After:   30% of the Pics Courtesy: Ganesh Ramalingam Last edited by Rehaan : 20th September 2010 at 13:15. |
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17th September 2010, 15:00
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| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: chennai
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17th September 2010, 15:11
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| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: chennai
Posts: 519
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17th September 2010, 15:13
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| BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Chennai
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17th September 2010, 16:12
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| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: chennai
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17th September 2010, 16:34
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17th September 2010, 16:36
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17th September 2010, 16:48
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NYC/MAA
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| A few pics from my visit at this event which was one of the better organized at the MMRT. And, the view is much better from the stands!. Who needs a pass?.  |
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17th September 2010, 17:10
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| Senior - BHPian  | ^^ Awesome shot Nick. Looks like a still from Rajnikanth movies |
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17th September 2010, 17:13
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai
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| Quote:
And what was Nikhil shouting into the mic? LEWIS PAARU, LEWIS PAARU?  Nick, fantastic shot dude. Last edited by Gilead : 17th September 2010 at 17:16. | |
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17th September 2010, 18:37
| #11 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: chennai
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| Very well written Rubicon. Very descriptive. Beatiful pics guys.  Very sad that i missed it today.  . Hoping that vodafone comes up with something different next time |
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17th September 2010, 18:52
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17th September 2010, 18:53
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| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chennai
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17th September 2010, 19:21
| #14 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chennai
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17th September 2010, 19:29
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