Monaco aan de Maas (Monaco at the Maas) is a Formula One demonstration and a parade of international racecars and racing drivers, held on the streets of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2006 the event was renamed to Bavaria City Racing, also sometimes referred to as Bavaria City Racing Festival.

First edition - Monaco aan de Maas 2005

On 7 August 2005, the first edition of Monaco aan de Maas saw top Dutch racing drivers from classes as Formula One,

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

and the Paris-Dakar rally, such as Formula One drivers

Christijan Albers Christijan Albers () (born 16 April 1979) is a Dutch former professional racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by the Spyker F1 team. In 20 ...

and

Robert Doornbos Robert Michael Doornbos (; born 23 September 1981) is a Dutch former racing driver who also competed with a Monégasque licence. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Mina ...

, who comes from Rotterdam. The Dutch Chinese driver

Ho-Pin Tung Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Chinese-Dutch racing driver who races with a Chinese license. Career Born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, Tung started kart racing in the Netherlands in 1997 before graduating to single-seaters. I ...

had to retire after a few minutes due to problems on his car. In the centre of Rotterdam, the track found its way along the ''Mariniersweg'', the ''Blaak'', the ''Coolsingel'' and the ''Hofplein''. Though it was not possible to have a real race, it was a great opportunity to show the cars to the public. Access to the event was mainly free. Only for the stands at the Coolsingel, and entrance to the

paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small ...

and the VIP-village, a fee was required. The first edition was a big success. While the founders of the event, Robert Heilbron and Herman Vaanholt, expected 300,000 visitors, half a million race fans found their way to this unique event.

Second edition - Bavaria City Racing 2006

In 2006 500.000 visitors again found their way to the event on 20 August. For the second edition, the event has gotten a name change because of a new sponsor; the evenement is now called Bavaria City Racing. The track has also been changed: the

Willemsbrug The Willemsbrug (English: "Williams Bridge") is a bridge next to the Erasmusbrug in the centre of Rotterdam, Netherlands, spanning the Nieuwe Maas. It links the northern part of the city with the ''Noordereiland'' and (in combination with the ...

across the river Maas is now also added to the course. The piers of the bridge at the ''Noordereiland''-side will be the start/finish. Via the ''Verlengde Willemsbrug'', the ''Blaak'' and ''Coolsingel'', the 2 kilometer long track will lead to ''Hofplein'' and back. The event was once more mainly free to access. The stands this year are found at the ''Verlengde Willemsbrug''. On the ''Willemsbrug'' and a small part before city hall on the ''Coolsingel'', will be VIP stands. Formula One driver

returned this year, and showed off his Midland Formula One car with his teammate

Tiago Monteiro Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup, driving a Honda Civic TCR for Engstler Motorsport. He competed in Formula One between 2005 a ...

Williams F1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...

also attended the event with their driver

Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fin ...

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most f ...

was there with former Formula One drivers

Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a former (Formula One) racing driver. Verstappen was the German Formula Three champion and Masters of Formula Three winner in 1993. In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different t ...

in the A1GP Team The Netherlands car and

Jan Lammers Jan Lammers (Johannes Antonius Lammers, Zandvoort, 2 June 1956) is a racing driver from the Netherlands whose most notable claim to fame is victory in the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours for Silk Cut Jaguar/ TWR, next to a four-season spell in Formula One ...

in the black multi-flagged A1GP World Cup of Motorsports car. Besides Formula One and A1 Grand Prix, there were also shows from Formula Three,

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

, a parade of Historic Grand Prix race cars and demos from the

Nuna 3 The Nuna 3 is a solar car developed by Nuon Solar Team form the Delft University of Technology in 2004-2005 for the 2005 World Solar Challenge. It succeeded the Nuna2, the solar car that scored a second consecutive win for this solar team by wi ...

and Formula Zero. Dutch Formula 1 reporter Olav Mol and pitreporter Jack Plooij provided commentary for the public. The pre-show once again featured the ''Drive for Kids'', with

and

Nicky Pastorelli Nicky Pastorelli (born 11 April 1983) is a Dutch professional racing driver. Motorsports career Euro Formula 3000 Born in The Hague, Pastorelli participated in Euro Formula 3000 for Scuderia Fama in 2003. He finished on the podium twice and pl ...

. In this parade the seats next to the drivers were sold, all proceeds went to KidsRights. Dutch Formula One driver

did not attend this year's event.

Third edition - Bavaria City Racing 2007

On 19 August 2007, the third edition of the event took place, attracting more than 500,000 people. For the first time since its organization, the weather stayed clear and without rain. The track remained the same as in 2006, but because of changing city plans the next event will have a different parcours. The ING Renault F1 Team participated and brought their drivers

Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (born July 25, 1985), also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 seaso ...

and

Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham a ...

, while

Minardi Team USA Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

driver

drove the old Lola

ChampCar Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

-chassis with 2007 Minardi Team USA livery. The charity ride Drive for Kids also returned in 2007, once more with all proceeds for KidsRights. New in 2007 was the RaceSalon, an interactive exhibition which was organised on the two days preceding Bavaria City Racing. This exhibition took place in

Rotterdam Ahoy Rotterdam Ahoy (formerly known as Ahoy Rotterdam or simply as Ahoy) is a convention centre and multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened originally in 1950, the current complex consists of three main venues: a fair ...

on 17 and 18 August.

External links

Bavaria City Racing

KidsRights

RaceSalon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaco Aan De Maas 2005 establishments in the Netherlands 2007 disestablishments in the Netherlands Sport in Rotterdam Formula One Motorsport in the Netherlands