BMW opens Pit Lane Park

During the course of the European Grand Prix weekend, held at the Nürburgring, the BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park will celebrate its premiere. The opening of this unique them park is going to take place on 4th may (today) and will be attended by BMW Motorsport Director Mario theissen and the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park offers the chance of a hands-on Formula One experience. Here, the supporters have the opportunity to get very close to the pit-lane and the BMW Sauber F1 Team garages.

Mario Theissen says: "This theme park allows us to bring the fans right up close to the sport. That's why we've paid a great deal of attention to authenticity and interaction. You could call it a high-tech adventure park. The fans have told us that they wat to get closer to the action, find out more information and experience the sport for themselves. What they're after is an experience to tell their friends and family about, to take home a souvenir or a photo which they can show everybody. And we've come up with some totally new ideas to give the fans what they want. We are very much looking forward to the premiere of the BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park."

Spanning Admission is free. The theme park can accommodate a maximum of 16.000 visitors per day and measures 120 x 45 metres. A 90-metre-long stretch of track leads into a turning area, which is lined by grandstands. A BMW Sauber F1 Team Formula One race car and the smaller Formula BMW cars will take iit in turns to power down the track.

The doors of the garages along the edge of the pit lane are kept open, inviting visitors to come in and look around a reconstruction of the real thing. Inside are a selection of cars, some race-ready, others stripped down into individual parts. Here, the fans can compare the weight of a Formula One part with its series production equivalent, or slip into some race overalls and have photos taken in the cockpit. An interactive quiz both tests and improves the visitors' Formula One knowledge, while the Pit Stop Challenge is all about showing off your practical skills. In the driving simulator, meanwhile, it's you against the clock.

Elsewhere, BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica will be popping by at Speaker's Corner to answer fans' questions in person. And in the last garage is the Fan shop, packed with the team's merchandise collection.