There’s no sound like that of an F1 car. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve watched hundreds of grands prix on television with your set’s volume turned up or even if you’ve sat trackside at a grand prix proper. An F1 engine creates a magical mechanical cacophony that makes you grin and giggle like a bakvissie.I shudder to think what kind of money it cost to host the ING Renault F1 Road Show in Sandton, or the logistical nightmare the organizers and city officialdom faced to close off one of the busiest business centers in Africa, but heck, fourteen years since the last Grand Prix was hosted in South Africa and more than half a decade after F1 teams tested on local soil, it was good to see the pinnacle of motorsport (controversies over espionage, notwithstanding), to enthrall the masses. It was waaaaay overdue.
While the Renault R27 was unveiled in the shadow of Madiba’s statue in Nelson Mandela Square and various big wigs posed next to Giancarlo Fisichella and Nelson Piquet Junior on early Sunday afternoon, La Regié’s F1 technicians in the Paddock Area fired up one of the 2,4-litre V8s, which barked a few times before blaring out the tune of our National Anthem and buzzing into its sonorous upper rev ranges for a few moments. Was it a bit cheesy? Sure. But did it have the intended effect? Undoubtedly.
Thousands of Formula One fans flocked to the makeshift L-shaped track to witness these R27s blast down the streets of Sandton. I’m convinced that the F1 Roadshow won’t be an annual occurrence, because it caused a major disruption to the City and it will take a while to return Sandton streets to pristine condition, but I guess that South Africans need to prepare themselves for more of the same in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup.
In this case, the Roadshow was a coup for Renault SA. It was an opportunity to show off La Regie’s wares (as was the case with the African-print Clio toy cars and new Renault Sport Mégane R26), but also to treat its franchisees and selected customers. Despite is Confiance programme, Renault SA will need to continue its efforts to improve customer satisfaction levels before seeing the fruits of its labour. Having said that, the smiles on the faces of the thousands of fans, let alone their whoops of delight, were priceless.
For one afternoon, Formula One fans could care little about F1’s tarnished image and escape into the magical world of Formula One. The F1-part of the on track entertainment only arrived by the end of proceedings, but no one who attended the event will ever forget the sound and speed of those F1 machines.
Listen to Piquet Jnr revving it up at the Renault F1 Roadshow.