Baku, January 23 AZERTAC

The Baku City Circuit team visited Birmingham, England where the newest circuit on the F1 calendar made its first appearance at the internationally renowned Autosport International car racing show at the NEC Arena.

Autosport International is Europe's largest indoor pre-season motorsport event and this year was celebrating its 27th anniversary. The annual event once again featured the very latest in motorsport, automotive and performance engineering technology, alongside cars and exhibitors from every level of motor racing, including for the first time ever, the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix stand.

Designed to educate, inform and enthuse the attending public on the freshest race weekend in F1 and conveniently located right beside the F1 Racing stand - complete with a full line-up of every car on the current F1 grid - the BCC stand experienced tremendous footfall throughout the four days in the NEC Arena as fans, media and industry insiders dropped by to learn more about the fastest street circuit in the history of F1. The stand had something for everyone: video screens replaying the action for those wishing to relive last year’s inaugural race on the streets of Azerbaijan’s capital, traditional Azerbaijani snacks and treats, educational brochures and information on where to stay and go out when visiting Baku and most popular of all, an F1 simulator for anyone wishing to showcase their own driving skills. The stand was an endless hub of activity as visitors checked out all that was on offer with a constant stream of competitive punters trying to set the fastest time on the simulator. After four days of intense ‘racing’ and some really remarkable lap times, the fastest lap was eventually recorded by Scott Harrison who set a highly impressive time of 01:37:437.

Furthermore, in an effort to reward the many visiting fans who came to Birmingham for the weekend, BCC also held a raffle that saw a lucky guest win two flights and tickets to Baku for the 2017 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, taking place on the weekend of June 23-25. BCC staff collected close to 4,000 raffle entries from visitors to the stand throughout the weekend. The draw for the trip to Baku next June to witness the second successive F1 race weekend in the city took place on Sunday afternoon. Perry Owens was the lucky entrant whose name was drawn at random out of the hat and he will now be flown to Baku with his chosen guest to enjoy the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix next June. Well done Perry, we hope you enjoy your time in Baku!

The BCC team was also busy with additional promotional activities in Birmingham, regularly hosting visits from journalists and media partners who came by the stand to find out more about what can be expected at the newly rebranded 2017 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The highlight of the weekend came when BCC’s Head of Marketing & Communications, Nigar Arpardarai was interviewed by Sky Sports News presenter Rachel Brookes on Saturday lunchtime.

Arpardarai was delighted with BCC’s first appearance at the Autosport International Show as she reflected on a successful weekend in Birmingham: “It was such a pleasure to be at the Autosport International show for the first time and showcase our wonderful city and circuit to such a passionate and knowledgeable motorsport audience. We were overwhelmed by the amount of people who visited our stand and expressed a desire to learn more about our beautiful capital city and even to come and experience the F1 race weekend for themselves in June. We are proud to be the hosts of the fastest street circuit in F1 and this was a really welcome opportunity to promote our race at such a prestigious event. We are especially thrilled for Perry Owens who will be flown to Baku next summer, we truly hope he enjoys every minute of his time in Baku!”