Renault plays to 100,000 crowd in Moscow.
Renault F1 stars Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella acquired a new army of fans at the weekend as they took the spectacle of the regie's F1 roadshow to the heart of Russian capital Moscow.
Crowds estimated at more than 100,000 gathered beneath the walls of the Kremlin to see the world championship leader and his Italian team-mate cap a powersports demonstration with runs in one of last year's R24s.
The 'Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Grand Prix' began with an aquabike display by the Russian champion on the Moskva river, before attention turned to the track specially laid out to encompass as many city centre landmarks as possible before ending up on the banks of the river. Legendary French rally driver Jean Ragnotti wowed the crowds with the MÈgane Trophy and Clio RS, before the F1 drivers took to the track to race specially-prepared MÈgane Trophy cars and then rounded out the afternoon with what most people had turned out to see - an F1 demonstration which saw Alonso and Fisichella each complete five laps each of the circuit
"I loved coming back to Moscow - it is a great city, and it was amazing to see so many people along the side of the circuit," the Spaniard noted, "The people here have an amazing passion for Formula One, and this was a mega show for them!"
Fisichella was equally impressed by his first visit to the city, which played host to Renault's second large-scale F1 show in Russia. The first, in October 2003, was staged at Vorobjevy Gory, near Moscow State University, and attracted more than 50 000 people.