Lewis Hamilton enthralls Mumbai

Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton, the British FI champion driver, as part of the Vodafone Speed Fest, zipped down, burned rubber and showcased his extraordinary racing skills at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai in his MP4-27 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Car on Sunday. The 1.5 km stretch street racing, the first ever driving under lights at night experience at BKC, began with amine-carnival with African dancers, stilt walkers, the cheer leaders and even the football dribblers.

And, later Hamilton's speed skills threw open gigantic screech and vroom sounds, kicking up the spray while whizzpassing the crowd with doughnuts and slow run thus cheering, and leaving around 40,000 to 50,000 audience spellbound. They included, Bollywood stars, corporate honchos, political bigwigs, and many children.  

Hamilton, fresh from his victory at the Italian Grand Prix, the Vodafone Speed Fest in Mumbai is just a week ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix night race. Actually, Vodafone and Speed go hand in hand and on Sunday in a survey undertaken by German-based engineering services provider P3Group, it’s the fastest data network in the country. The excitement around this race began on Twitter with a #speedupmumbairequesting people to tweet their opinions on what it takes to speed up the city. Over 1000 people had tweeted about what they would love to do to speed up the city.

As for the Vodafone Speed Fest promotional activities, in the run up to the Speed run, Vodafone has already been engaging with customers and racing enthusiasts of Mumbai with Vodafone Speed fest from Sept 11-16 at malls and high-foot fall locations across Mumbai. This is on how motor racing enthusiasts and speed lovers will enjoy a full-scale speed experience with helmet simulators, car simulators and also an opportunity to get up close and personal with the exact replica of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car.

All through August 2012, Vodafone has also been engaging with its customers and motor racing fans across the country through a road show showcasing the exact replica of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car at business parks and malls. This initiative has seen tremendous response from die-hard fans and motor sport enthusiasts all over as they engaged in interactive games and clicked pictures with the speed machine.

On the business front, in order to make significant in-roads into the small and medium business community and to give them a platform for easier path of growth, Vodafone India, launched the second season of Vodafone Drive into the Big League. This initiative gives one lucky SME the opportunity to take center stage with their logo on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes cars at the second season of the formula one motor racing event in Delhi.

Vodafone received a phenomenal response of over 3,00,000 entries for the contest vying for the coveted spot. After the city qualifying rounds in 10 cities across the country, 21 finalists will now take part in the Grand Finale competing for the top honour. The winner of this unique initiative will be announced days before the start of the Indian Grand Prix weekend (Oct 26-28, 2012) in Delhi.