By not sticking to speeding regulations, david Coulthard made the city's first F1 car show an event to remember
By not sticking to speeding regulations, david Coulthard made the city's first F1 car show an event to remember
A BIT after 1 pm, as the traffic began to swell up on the road leading to Bandra-Worli Sea Link, many enthusiasts on two and four wheels cut across traffic at high speed to catch a glimpse of former Formula One ace David Coulthard drive on the sea link.
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David Coulthard waves to the crowd.u00a0
PICS/ATUL Kamble |
The Brit, now a part of Red Bull Racing, was told that he could not go beyond 100kph but it seemed as if he was doing what any first-time tourist would follow the locals, some of whom were going at more than twice the stipulated speed limit to reach the seal-link in time.
"I didn't have a speedometer in the car and I am used to driving around at 200 miles an hour. So, I am really not a good judge of the speed at which I was going. But I was not trying to speed," Coulthard said in tongue-in-cheek fashion as one of the engineers informed him that his top speed was 260kph.
"I have been told I was doing 260. I didn't realise that and honestly I was not trying to speed," the Scot said, evoking cheers and applause that seemed to say 'Thank God, you didn't realise.'
After all, for most of the passionate F1 fans in the city, this was the first opportunity to see and, more importantly, hear a F1 car in motion.
As Coulthard came out of the paddock and moved towards the starting point, breaking into 360-degree spins, he had everyone going crazy.
He then slammed the throttle to the roar of the crowd and sped away, making sure that those who braved the afternoon heat on a Sunday were not disappointed.
Minutes later, Coulthard returned after a lap and again broke into three spins, waving to the roar from the stands and disappearing in the smoke bellowing from the car.
Had he not gone all out on the spins, which overheated the engine preventing him from going for the scheduled second round, the experience would have been even better.
But most of those who turned up yesterday went back sweaty and happy something that's very rarely possibleu2014 and thanking Coulthard for not adhering to speeding regulations.
Even the otherwise alert traffic constables were ready to let Coulthard off the hook. "He didn't go beyond 100," said one of them, happy to turn a blind eye this time around.
