|
By Ruben D. Manahan IV, Reporter
A new twist on indoor karting will be
experienced on July 19 to 20, as the second edition of Manila 701:
The Crazy Race takes off at the country’s premier indoor karting
facility, City Kart Racing (CKR), in Bicutan, Parañaque.
Manila 701: The Crazy Race is an endurance
competition where teams consisting of four to nine drivers race to
complete 701 laps. The first team to do so wins the event.
CKR Managing Director Jean-Marc Freihuber,
who’s also a former youth karting champ in France, promises to
deliver an unusual racing environment with his out-of-the-box ideas.
According to Freihuber, the Manila 701 race would continue until the
race leader finishes the first 701 laps, making it very hard for the
teams to secure positions and strategize.
“This kind of race will test how flexible a
team is and how well the drivers react to the race conditions and
surprise activities,” Freihuber said. He added that CKR also
designed obstacles that emulate conditions usually found on public
roads and not in contained environments like racetracks.
“With cool and awesome special effects, we
will reproduce the extreme weather and road conditions in the
Philippines—from typhoons to volcanic eruptions, landslides,
strong rain and blackouts. To add more fun, we’re including
traffic jams, heavy ash fall, surprising detours and sleet showers.
Drivers will have to bear and deal with these challenges during the
race while keeping their focus to win,” Freihuber said.
“The fun is not just at the track but also at
the frenzied events at the pit,” he continued. “Endurance races
provide that certain adrenaline rush and excitement to drivers and
spectators. It enhances team spirit and reveals the best team
strategy,” Freihuber said, noting that this kind of race cannot be
found anywhere else in Asia.
Freihuber said that Manila 701 is not only for
the budding Michael Schumachers but also for the party animals and
persons who love to chill out because bands like SinoSiKat and
Cosmic Love will entertain the crowd, along with club DJs Darryl and
Stefan, who will perform while the race is ongoing. CKR assured that
although Manila 701 promises competitive racing, safety is also its
concern.
“All special effects that will be used will
not affect track conditions. They will be introduced to inject real
fun and excitement while guaranteeing safety,” said Freihuber.
|
