Saturday 9 August at 01:19 : During a press conference, Rotterdam Racing and Ahoy Rotterdam announced the programme for Bavaria City Racing and ING RaceSalon 2008 which may only be described as overwhelming. For the first time ever, three Formula One teams will be coming to Rotterdam to entertain the audience with spectacular demonstrations. On Sunday, 17 August, Toyota F1, Force India and ING Renault F1 will tear through the city centre of Rotterdam during the Bavaria City Racing event. They are preparing for these special performances in their pit boxes at the ING RaceSalon event in Ahoy.

Whereas it had already been announced that Robert Doornbos and Sakon Yamamoto would be on board as drivers for the ING Renault F1 Team, the organisation also confirmed the arrival of Formula One celebrities Jarno Trulli (Toyota F1) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India). Adrian Sutil will accompany his teammate in the second Force India car. The arrival of Force India has been made possible in part by the technical temporary employment agency INAXTION, based in Dordrecht (the Netherlands).

“The participation of Toyota, Force India and ING Renault F1 is a milestone in Dutch motor sport history, and goes beyond my wildest dreams”, according to an enthusiastic Robert Heilbron, director of Rotterdam Racing, organiser of Bavaria City Racing, and co-organiser of ING RaceSalon and Moscow City Racing. “It's not only these three top teams which are important to us," adds Jolanda Jansen, Ahoy Rotterdam General Manager and co-organiser of ING RaceSalon,“but with our racing events, we have come to represent a true platform for the Dutch motor sport, an annual meeting attended by many famous drivers.”

Famous drivers
In addition to Formula One, many other top teams and drivers will be coming to Rotterdam. On Monday it was confirmed that the A1 Grand Prix orange team would once again make an appearance in Rotterdam. Renger van der Zande and the brothers Tom and Tim Coronel will also join in the action for performances in the GP2, the WTCC and the drifting discipline, respectively, in which Olaf Commijs and others will also put in an appearance. Rotterdam will also be welcoming a large number of Dakar Rally drivers, including Hans Bekx, and there will be many major talents present from the karting scene. With the help of several drivers, the Bleekemolen family also have a spectacular demonstration programme planned for ING RaceSalon.

New Energy
During Bavaria City Racing and ING RaceSalon, there will also be a considerable focus on ‘new energy’. The racing events will be turning the spotlights on ecological solutions for the motor sport. The audience will be treated to various tough racing and street vehicles which incorporate environmentally friendly aspects such as running on rape seed oil, bio-ethanol, or which have electrical or hybrid-driven engines. Sponsor ING will be compensating the CO2 emissions for both events.

Auto firsts for the Netherlands
During Bavaria City Racing and ING RaceSalon, the audience will be able to enjoy lots of powerful, fast yet beautiful cars. Among these cars are a number of firsts for the Netherlands. Such as the Nissan GT-R, the Renault Twingo RS, the Megane R26 Radicale and the Seat Ibiza 3-door sc.

Bavaria City Racing and ING RaceSalon Programmes
During the press conference today, the Bavaria City Racing and ING Race Salon Programmes
were announced and further information was given. The programmes for each event are enclosed. For further information, see also www.bavariacityracing.com and www.racesalon.nl