A different exposure altogether

With the 16th edition of the Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix on its way this March, Sepang International Circuit and Tourism Malaysia held ‘The Ultimate Sahara Force India Pit Stop Challenge’ in the City recently.

The idea of the event was to promote Formula 1, the upcoming race and Malaysia tourism under one roof. Targetting the corporate crowd, the event saw four teams – two from Mumbai and two from Bangalore – of nine members each, participate in a pit-stop challenge, just like they show in the actual Formula 1 races.

After a demonstration by a group of experts who showed how to change the tyres of the Sahara Force India Formula 1 car, each team had to work in unison and clock the fastest time in doing the same.

 The winning team will be flown down to Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, from March 28 to 30.

Man Singh, who was in the winning team ‘Perak’, confessed that it was challenging but worth it. “There were two people per tyre and one team leader. Actually changing the tyre was tougher than I thought. We were under a lot of pressure to do it fastest. I’ve never even opened my own car’s tyre but the team spirit and cheering made it really fun. It was a very well organised event and I think we’ll host events like this at our company too,” said Man, state head, ESSAR Oil Ltd.

“I’m really excited at the prospect of going to Malaysia next month. I’m thinking of taking my wife and daughter as well!” he added.

Kadhiravan, also on the winning team, said that the event was more about creating a connection to Formula 1 in India. “The Sepang circuit is very different from others in the world and giving corporate guys a chance to physically touch an actual Formula 1 car was a great experience. The activity really connected us to the sport. It was a unique concept that has never been done here before. As a group, we had a clear target and even though it was random people put together, the results were better than we expected!” smiles Kadhiravan, an employee of Aircel.

Dato Razlan Razali, chief executive of Sepang International Circuit, attended the event.
“We are here not only to promote the Formula 1 race but also the state-of-the-art facilities of our circuit. The high standard facilities make it ideal for international events and corporate programmes,” he said.

A special Formula 1 Package called ‘Alive@Sepang’ with travel partner Cox & Kings, which includes garage tours, pit lane walks and a chance to meet the Sahara Force Indian racers, was also launched.