Formula One at your fingertips:
The BMW Sauber F1 Team PIT LANE PARK.
Munich/Nürburgring, 7th April 2006. The pit lane and
team garages at a grand prix represent the inner sanctum of
Formula One, which explains why they are kept off limits to
the public. And why it is the dream of every F1 fan to one
day cast an eye over the sacred ground, ask questions, even
get involved in tyre changes and developing race strategies.
The BMW Sauber F1 Team PIT LANE PARK helps to make the dream
come true. This unique theme park will celebrate its premiere
at the European Grand Prix on the Nürburgring (5th to
7th May 2006). Doors will open for the first time on the evening
of Thursday 4th May, with BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen
and BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers on hand to get things underway.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Director BMW Central
Marketing and Brand Management, said: "The PIT LANE PARK
brings Formula One up close and personal. For BMW it is important
to offer as many people as possible a live experience with
the BMW brand. Here, the fans can sample all those aspects
of F1 that they normally only see and hear from a distance
- in real time and at touching distance. This is a truly unique
project aimed at giving back something to all those people
whose interest underpins our sport. I'm delighted that we
can unveil the PIT LANE PARK for the first time at the Nürburgring,
just a stone's throw away from BMW Erlebniswelt." And
Mario Theissen added: "This theme park allows us to bring
the fans right up close to the sport.
That's why we've paid a great deal of attention to authenticity
and interaction. You could call it a high-tech adventure park.
The fans have told us that they want to get closer to the
action, find out more information and experience the sport
for themselves. What they're after is an experience to tell
their friends and family about, to take home a souvenir or
a photo which they can show everybody. And we've come up with
some totally new ideas to give the fans what they want. We
are very much looking forward to the premiere of the BMW Sauber
F1 Team PIT LANE PARK."
Spanning around 5,000 square meters, the park is located
in zone A7 at the Nürburgring. Admission is free and
the park is open to anybody with either a valid ticket for
that particular day at the Nürburgring or a BMW vehicle
registration document together with the car keys. The theme
park can accommodate a maximum of 16,000 visitors per day
and is open from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. from Friday to Sunday.
The PIT LANE PARK measures 120 x 45 metres. A 90-metre-long
stretch of track leads into a turning area, which is lined
by grandstands. A BMW Sauber F1 Team Formula One race car
and the smaller Formula BMW cars will take it in turns to
power down the track.
The doors of the garages along the edge of the pit lane are
kept open, inviting visitors to come in and look around a
reconstruction of the real thing. Inside are a selection of
cars, some race-ready, others stripped down into individual
parts. Here, the fans can compare the weight of a Formula
One part with its series production equivalent, or slip into
some race overalls and have photos taken in the cockpit. An
interactive quiz both tests and improves the visitors' Formula
One knowledge, while the Pit Stop Challenge is all about showing
off your practical skills. In the driving simulator, meanwhile,
it's you against the clock.
Elsewhere, BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Nick Heidfeld, Jacques
Villeneuve and Robert Kubica will be popping by at Speaker's
Corner to answer fans' questions in person. And in the last
garage is the Fan Shop, packed with the team's merchandise
collection.
After the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, the
wide-reaching installation will be packed away and reassembled
at another five grands prix in 2006: Barcelona, Silverstone,
Montréal, Monza and Shanghai.
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