NO BRAKES

High speed, incredible stunts, and a splash of adrenaline is what the audience saw and felt at the V1 Challenge Azerbaijan competitions held at the Crystal Hall in Baku by the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation (AAF).

It was a show and also a promotional event that targeted drivers involved in auto racing because driving a vehicle at high speed with different manoeuvres on a sport field leads to victory, not danger.

This is the first time V1 Challenge Azerbaijan has been presented and it has been the first major event held by the reorganized Azerbaijan Automobile Federation (AAF).

"The implementation of public policy that encompasses promotion of sport, and the creation and upgrading of sports infrastructure and educating the public have boosted the work of individual agencies, including the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation. The AAF has launched the implementation of new projects to promote auto racing, protect the rights of road users, ensure road safety, develop the automobile industry and transport infrastructure, and train drivers and speci-alists in auto racing. Our main goal is to promote road safety and driving culture, educate the youth and the elderly in this field, and protect the environment in the context of operation of vehicles," the president of AAF, Anar Alakbarov, said.

Fourteen pilots from 12 countries took part in the competitions in Baku. Azerbaijan was represented by three. The audience greeted with applause the race car drivers who performed unimaginable pirouettes in their vehicles at the Crystal Hall.

This competition was the first piece of evidence of the unity of lovers of auto racing and professionals around the new goals of the AAF.

The federation carries intensive work to develop auto racing, prepare projects to train professional race car drivers and build race tracks and other infrastructure for training and competitions.

"Young people mostly love high speed. We offer a new platform to the youth and also to all motorists. The AAF will soon put into operation a new track where both driving exercises and competitions will be held," Alakbarov said.

Incidentally, this track will be used for competitions involving Volkicar vehicles which came to the arena as part of V1 Challenge Azerbaijan.

In one word, the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation will support both professional sportsmen and motorists who are ready to implement their skills and potential not on the streets, putting themselves and others at risk, but on a special track, in various competitions.

The federation also plans to implement projects in the regions. The AAF has established close cooperation with Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), within the framework of which training of race car drivers in line with international standards has started.

The Automobile Federation will soon present to viewers a new big project. For several months now preparations have been under way for an exhibition of classic cars in Baku. In coming weeks, the exhibition will open at the Heydar Aliyev Centre in a completely new format both in terms of design and presentation of exhibits.

In addition, as an official partner the AAF will help organize Azerbaijan's first Formula One European Grand Prix in 2016.

Azerbaijani sportsmen have won repeatedly in European and world championships and Olympic Games in different sports. 

And if today we grieve deaths in road accidents caused by speeding, that very same high speed can give us unforgettable moments of joy. Vehicles can become not a black power in our lives but a means of movement to success. And through its educational projects the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation aspires to achieve this goal.