Racing Line: "Another 48 hours"

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  • Beteiligte Poster: Lars
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  • Forum gestartet am: Freitag 06.08.2004
  • Sprache: englisch
  • Link zum Originaltopic: Racing Line: "Another 48 hours"
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    Re: Racing Line: "Another 48 hours"

    Lars - 20.10.2004, 17:58

    Racing Line: "Another 48 hours"
    ANOTHER 48 HOURS

    Copyright: Racing Line by McLaren

    It’s nearly holiday time. But first, Kimi Räikkönen must visit London, Essen and Cologne. Thre higt-profile events in two days: a TAG Heuer watch launch, a motor show and a circus act. Racing Line followed his every move.

    It’s the build-up to the Christmas holiday season and London’s West End is crammed with busy, red-faced shoppers hunting down that last-minute gift. They’re not the only ones on tight schedules, thought. Team McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Räikkönen has come to London for the first of what will be two days of promotional work.

    Kimi is visiting the flagship UK emporium of Team McLaren Mercedes’ Official Timekeeper TAG Heuer for the UK launch of its latest model – the Formula 1 – for which Kimi is the official ambassador.

    The store is a testament to clean and unterstated design, with glass display cabinets encased in solid dark-wood walls, each containing a TAG Heuer timepiece. Above sits a mezzanine level, which has been converted into a reception area for today’s troupe of journalists and guests.

    Pictures of Kimi adorn the walls along with lively displays which illustrate the themes behind the Formula 1 watch’s inception – speed, control and precision.

    There ar numerous representatives from the British lifestyle media here today and all are eager to get some words from Formula 1’s Finnish superstar. The man himself, by now well used to dealing with the bustle that surrounds his every off-track move, sits down with each journalist in turn, giving considered and articulate answers to their questions, many of wihich he has no doubt been asked countless times before during his short but spectacular career.

    Outsite the store, meanwhile, a gaggle of photographers has gathered and Kimi heads out to give them the shots they want. Carrying a replica of the trophy he was awarded for winning the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix, he strolls across the narrow and busy road that separates the shop front from the precinct opposite al flashbulbs glow intermittently against the grey-blue sky, reflecting in the shop windows.

    This done, it is time for Kimi do say a few words for the assembled throng. He is asked to cover many subjects, including his recent visit to the TAG Heuer manufacturing facility in Switzerland (see Racing Line, December 2003).

    “It was really fascinating to see the effort and precision that goes into making every TAG Heuer watch,” he says. “ I actually tried to have a go myself, but the parts were so small I couldn’t really get the hang of it!” So, it’s official: making a TAG Heuer watch is trickier than driving a Formula 1 car – if you happen to be named Kimi Räikkönen, anyway!

    After popping downstairs to give an interview to the worldwide CNN sports network, Kimi says his goodbyes and rushes outsite to a gleaming black Mercedes-Benz saloon. With a wave and a smile he is gone and the London shoppers continue oblivious.

    The next day is even busier. It starts with an appearance at the Essen Motor Show, one of the major fixtures on the German automotive calendar. The event, a showcase for global manufacturers to unveil their latest models, is always well attended, with around 400.000 people passing through its doors, and this year proves no exception.

    As ever, the Mercedes-Benz stands are a prime focus for journalists reporting on the show as well as for the fans here for a more casual look. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren takes pride of place and elicits gasps of admiration from onlookers but, unsurprisingly, the arrival of a Formula 1 star sends a ripple of even more intense excitement through the crowd, and Kimi does his best to satisfy the demand for autographs.

    Kimi’s day is just starting. The main event – quite literally – will take place in Munich this evening. He has been invited to star in the German television spectacular Stars in der Manege – a fund-raising gala performance of the world famous Circus Krone that will be broadcast across the entire country on December 26.

    While Kimi jets from Essen to Munich, the other performers are doing a final run-through in preparation for the start at 19.00. The main rehearsal took place the evening before, but, as in Formula 1, honing and practice make for perfection.

    The acts range from musicians and entertainers trough lion tamers to acrobats and trapeze artists. Kimi’s part in the proceedings will be to assist performers Sonny Hayes and Galina in a display of knife-throwing. It’s an act with a dirfference, though, as Kimi is about to discover.

    When he arrives, Kimi is taken down to the circus ring to be shown his part in the proceedings. It’s a daunting arena for even a seasoned Formula 1 pro – used to being the centre of attention – to have to face a crowd. The ring itselfe seems smaller than in childhood memories, but the wooden “big top”, built in 1962, towers impressively above to allow trapeze troupes, such as The Flying Girls, to give full rein to their talents.

    Kimi is wide-eyed as he tries to take it all in, but there’s work to be done and he turns to listen intently as the assistant director starts to run him through the performance. His entrance will be made – in full racing kit – on a motocross bike, which he will use to power through the circus ring and jump over the barrier before coming back into the ring via a circuitous behind-the-scenes route and making his final entrance to a thunderflash of pyrotechnics.

    Kimi does a quick run-through to check he’s okay with the bike and knows the procedure. The pyrotechnics expert reminds him of the special effects a the end. “Are you okay with that?” he asks. Explosion? Well, they’re not normally part of a racing driver’s job description, but Kimi smiles and nods his approval. There’s little that can faze him after facing down his rivals at 320 kph.

    Then Sonny and Galina run through the main portion of the act. An assistant is used as the unwitting participant from the audience for the first run-through as Sonny and Galina explain the performance procedure. Kimi will be inveted to throw the knives, but will initially show a complete lack of skill and will miss the board entirely. On his first attempt at this, Kimi is a touch overzealous and reaches what will soon be the first row of the audience with his initial throw of the fake knife. It was meant to be scary, but not that scary. By his second go he’s got the technique sorted. You can imagine the look of surprise that will appear on the face of the “victim”, but Sonny is about to get his palms sweating even more. He picks up a blindfold and puts it on Kimi’s unwitting target. Now the crowd comes in on the joke. Kimi will not actually throw the fake knives, but Galina – standing beside the board – will use real knives to pop the ballons either side of the victim’s head, giving the impression that Kimi has suddenly developed a surfeit of circus skils.

    The blindfold is removed and Kimi nods approvingly as Galina points out the well-placed knives to either side of the subject’s head. For final comic effeckt, Galina points to the balloon between the victim’s legs. Kimi shrugs, as Sonny suggests the addition of a small bucket in cas of any “accidents” – whether this is in the form of a misplaced shot by Kimi, or a failure of bladder control on the part of the participant, remains to be seen. The final act is played out and Kimi laps up the response. Naturally, he feels a bit silly raising his arms to non-existent applause as television technicians to their jobs without paying a blind bit of notice, but he plays along with a smile.

    One more run-through and it’s Racing Line’s turn to get in on the act – we are picked to be unwilling particpant number two. It’s a nervewracking experience, even when you know what`s happening. With the blindfold on, shackled to a board with knives seemingly whizzing through the air, anything could happen. The victim “proper” is set to have a whale of a time, as are the crowd and Kimi.

    “Doing several events in such a short space f time can be tiring,” Kimi admits, “but it’s always nice to do something different – such as knife-throwing! The only circus I’ve ever seen is the Cirque du Soleil, so it’s interesting to see what happens backstage and what goes in to putting on this kind of performance.”

    Rehearsals over, it’s time for Kimi to go backstage and watch the rest of the show before returning for his act. He wants a first-hand look at the big cats’ backstage entrance for the lion-taming act that starts the second halt of the show, but make-up calling.

    When Kimi makes his entrance to the flash of an explosion, the crowd whoops with delight. The performance is met my laughs, gasps and cheers in all the appropriate places as Kimi plays his role to perfection. “He did an excellent job,” says Sonny with a smile, backstage. “We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, but he got everything right and seemed to enjoy it.”

    As the Flying Girls perform their closing act, the throng of artistes gathers backstage to prepare for the final bow and there are slaps on the back as they congratulate each other on a job well done. Kimi signs yet more autographs for the cast and, after disappearing briefly to wafe his goodbyes to the circus crowd with the rest of the troupe, his day is done.

    After two long days of meeting, greeting, signing and acting, it’s time for some well-deserved rest. Kimi’s winter vacation begins in an hour or so and he’s keen to start relaxing after a long, hard season of work. There may even be time for some Christmas shopping of his own…



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