Hamilton Vrooms, Zooms, Vows Bangalore Fans

Bangalore, Sep 27 (IANS): British Formula One (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton Tuesday stepped on the gas to vroom, zoom and vow about 10,000 frenzied fans on a 500-metre stretch on the outskirts of this tech hub in a McLaren Mercedes.

As in many of his Grand Prix races the world over, the 26-year-old Hamilton drove on an unused road of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Ltd, seated in the track suit of F1 car (MP4-23) in which he won his maiden World Championship in 2008.

Though there was no other to race or compete with him on the track, Hamilton was cheered and lapped up by the boisterous crowd for accelerating within seconds after leaving the pit and racing to the other end in a jiffy on a hot and humid forenoon.

Apart from swaying the car zig-zag and going in circles with the front wheel locked while rear tyres turned rapidly emitting thick smoke, Hamilton displayed some breathtaking stunts, including back-up spin over (reversing, tucking around and straightening) with deafening screeching sound.

As thousands of fans missed his first race demo due to unprecedented rush and chaotic scenes at the open venue, a sportive Hamilton readily agreed to do another round of race before the curtains came down on the one-hour show of speed, brute force and bravado.

Making his fourth visit to India but first to Bangalore, Hamilton also treated a couple of Vodafone (sponsor) contest winners and select celebrities on the fast lane for hot laps, demonstrating his extraordinary motor racing skills and expertise in handling sports cars with aplomb.

With the maiden Indian Grand Prix to be held at Greater Noida near New Delhi Oct 28-30, excitement gripped the young, trendy and die-hard motor sports fans, who came to the venue in droves for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a racing superstar and an F1 car.