Fred Makowiecki and Stef Dusseldorp drove their McLaren MP4-12C GT3 to overall victory in the inaugural City Challenge GT race on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan this past weekend.
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| Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Vertstappen, BMW Z4 GT3 (Photo: WRI2) |
In the race with mandatory pit stop including tire and driver change, Makowiecki and Dusseldorp ended up ahead of two BMW Z4 GT3s, both run by the Vita4One team, with Frank Kechele and Mathias Lauda second and Yelmer Buurman and Nicolaus Mayr-Melnhof third.
A third BMW Z4 GT3 was driven by former Formula 1 drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Verstappen. They finished the race on Sunday in seventh place.
Interestingly, Villeneuve's BMW was sponsored by Pepsi. When the Canadian raced in the Australian V8 Supercars series earlier this year, his car was sponsored by Pepsi Max.
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| Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Vertstappen, BMW Z4 GT3 (Photo: WRI2) |
The spectators got a chance to see several of the best GT3 cars in action such as the Porsche 911, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Audi R8 LMS, BMW Z4 GT3, Ferrari 458 İtalia GT3, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 600 +, and Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3.
The race was held on a 2.1-km long City Challenge race circuit that ran round Government House in downtown Baku.
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| Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Vertstappen, BMW Z4 GT3 (Photo: WRI2) |
The event also featured demonstration of sports cars, gymkhana and drifting, as well as autograph and photo sessions with the drivers. It was organised by Berlin-based City Challenge GmbH.
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| Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Vertstappen, BMW Z4 GT3 (Photo: WRI2) |
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| Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Vertstappen, BMW Z4 GT3 (Photo: WRI2) |
