01 March 2005	Tuesday	19 Muharram 1426

LAHORE, Feb 28: Hundreds of motor racing enthusiasts thronged the Main Boulevard Gulberg, one of city's busiest roads, to witness the live run of the first racing car in action , which will represent Pakistan in the inaugural A1 Grand Prix motor race to be held in Brands Hatch in England on Sept 25.

Driven by the founder of the A1 Grand Prix, His Highness Shaikh Makhtoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai's ruling family, the car took seven rounds of 5km each of the Main Boulevard between Siddiq Trade Centre and Liberty Chowk amid tight security.

The car, driven at a speed of 300km per hour, enthralled the spectators gathered on both sides of the road by making a thunderous sound. "It is like a dream come true. It is fantastic to watch the car driven here in Lahore, a 20-year-old girl commented.

"I did not come here to see the car. I was just stuck there because the roads have been closed by the police. But I am glad I have seen this unique spectacle," said a businessman.

"It is unbelievable for me to see this kind of event in Pakistan, but a separate track should have been made to promote this game," a woman, who had come with her children to watch the live run, said.

The district administration had closed the road for traffic at 2.30pm, half an hour before the scheduled time. But the car run was delayed for about 25 minutes and finished at 3.55. Closure of the Main Boulevard, slowed down traffic on The Mall and the Ferozepur Road for a couple of hours.

A commuter said the public would have faced less problem had the organizers thought of holding this live run on Sunday. Chaudhry Salik Hussain, one of the organizers, told Dawn that the car touched the speed of 320km per hour and its speed could be increased upto 350km per hour.

The price of the car, he said, was $800,000. Nur Ali, a Pakistani settled in the United States, who will drive the car in the A1 Grand Prix, said that he would start practice in next two weeks.

Practice was not possible in Pakistan because of the absence of a racing car track here, he said. He said he would be preparing for the event in Italy, England and South Africa. There was no safe boundary along the road.

When the car was near completion of the first round, the organisers came to know that some government vehicles had been parked near the finishing point. The racing car had to be stopped and the vehicles removed. In the meantime, people had also occupied a portion of the road, but were later removed by the police.