Donuts, burnouts, aggressive acceleration and the characteristic Formula One screeching vroom reaching the crescendo just before the sharp braking… Lewis Hamilton did it all.
But for the chequered flag and the champagne to end the show, the ambience at NICE Road could have been out of a Grand Prix race with some 7,000 ecstatic enthusiasts here.
Complete with a McLaren crew ‘Pit Stop', Vodafone-flags, and ‘I love you Lewis' posters, the NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise) Road was all set up to welcome the 2008 F1World Champion as he flew in by a special helicopter.
Only, the MP4-23 didn't seem as ready as Hamilton was, for, the magic machine stalled for a few seconds before it taking off to give the audience the moment they had been waiting for.
To the ten-to-one countdown Hamilton, in his MP4-23, started from the pit at ‘zero' and zipped past the frenzied audience to the other end of the ‘track', backed-up, and zipped back, leaving the fans euphoric and crying for more.
The mere 400 metres stretch of a road on the outskirts of Bangalore became a full-fledged F1 racing track, paving the way for the man-behind-the-wheel to zip around effortlessly, and display some spine-tingling stunts.
“I think this is also like magic,” a little kid dressed for the occasion — in the Vodafone red — said.
“I don't care if I have to pay a lakh for the tickets I'm definitely going for the race in October,” said another.
After the standard but heartfelt ‘I am thrilled to be here' statements, Hamilton was back behind the wheel, but this time on his super-fast Mercedes AMG with few lucky ones who sat beside the 2008-champion as he drove down the track, waving to the audience or giving them the thumbs-up.
Then, just when the audience thought their day couldn't get better, it did. Hamilton obliged requests and the MP4-23 was out in the sun, with Hamilton burning the rubber all over again, before a ‘ seeya ' to the crowds. Yes, seeya , not a Goodbye… for, Hamilton will be back at Greater Noida in October-end.