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Wild Buzz Agency <\/p>\nThere\u2019s nothing more tense than watching a Formula 1 race on a street circuit, holding your breath as the drivers push themselves to the very limit where there is zero margin for error.<\/p>\n
Circuit de Monaco, Baku City Circuit, and Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit are some iconic street circuits that come to mind from the F1 calendar – but imagine if there was a street track right in the middle of the French capital?<\/p>\n
Well, an imagination is no longer necessary as KitKat, the official chocolate partner of Formula 1\u00ae, brought the custom sim race track to the heart of Paris.<\/p>\n
As part of the first-ever \u201cParis GP,\u201d racers got the chance to battle it out in a sim-racing competition, virtually zooming under the Eiffel Tower and around the Arc de Triomphe.<\/p>\n
I was one of 30 racers competing to beat the record lap time set by Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson, which was 1:36.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a very hard track, it took me a lot longer than I expected,\u201d Lawson said, who was there to watch all the competitors. \u201cIf we raced Formula 1 on this track it would be very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
No pressure!<\/p>\n
Given my sim-racing experience is a few races on \u2018Rookie\u2019 level at the F1 Arcade, I was not optimistic in my chances. When I sat in the sim race seat, the experience felt fully immersive thanks to the KitKat F1 car design, and helped me get into race mode.<\/p>\n
When it came to giving tips (very much needed in my case), the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver advised, \u201cLook out for the walls, there\u2019s a lot of walls everywhere, that\u2019s really the main thing. There\u2019s a lot of big curves as well that bounces the car, otherwise just right foot down.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Lawson\u2019s words of wisdom in mind, I focused on making my way around the track.<\/p>\n
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Did I crash immediately? Yes. But if you\u2019re going to hit the walls, at least you can still take in the famous Parisian landmarks around the street circuit.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t kidding about the number of walls, which I was more than kissing at this rate – and then when I thought I had it, I would overdo it and lose the back end of the car and got familiar with reversing.<\/p>\n
All this sim racing can be tiring, but the KitKat pit crew were on stand by as they ran to a sim racer’s car giving them a well earned break and a KitKat bar to refuel.<\/p>\n
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At some point I eventually got the hang of it – sort of. <\/p>\n
Perhaps it was the pressure of my performance being on the big screen with an audience combined with the presence of an F1 driver watching on but I somehow didn\u2019t finish last – third place in my heats in fact!<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s not dwell on my time (2:14.514), which was around 38 seconds off of Lawson\u2019s time but in my defence he\u2019s been training and racing his whole life.<\/p>\n
My time wasn\u2019t good enough to make it into the final six, but overall I finished 10th which in F1 terms means I\u2019m in the points (a singular point but I will happily take it).<\/p>\n
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Although nobody could beat Lawson’s time, the racer who came closest was German YouTuber, social media star, and professional racing driver, Felix Von Der Laden with a time of 1:42.323.<\/p>\n
I definitely need more practice…<\/p>\n
Aside from the sim racing there were other fun F1 related activities that put our skills to the test like the Batak-style wall machine that tested how quick we could hit the light – apparently 60 is the average score and I got around that at 62.<\/p>\n
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Then there was the tire changing challenge, which let\u2019s just say I won\u2019t be recruited by any F1 teams, or even by a friend if they need a tire changing on their car.<\/p>\n
After taking in Parisian sights on the racing simulator, it was time to experience the city in real life – and what better way to do that than in a motorbike side car, channelling Wallace and Gromit? (Brits, if you know, you know).<\/p>\n
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It was a beautiful day as we made our way with Txango Tours past Statue de Marseille, down the Avenue des Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, taking in the Arc de Triomphe, Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower.<\/p>\n
Altogether, both sim racing around the custom-street map and the touring the Parisian streets in a motorbike side car were such cool and unique ways to take in the sights of such an iconic city.<\/p>\n
It’s your chance to win tickets to the celebration of the British GP at F1\u00ae Arcade in London or Birmingham hosted by KitKat on Sunday 5th of July, enter here.<\/a><\/p>\n