Renault wows Lyon crowds

The team's demonstration on Sunday in Lyon met with public acclaim: the large crowd left the city suitably impressed!

The Renault F1 Team's plans for Sunday's demonstration looked impressive on paper alone. The Lyon public clearly agreed, and came out in force to take a look. More than 100,000 people came to see the Renault F1 Team demonstrate its R24 in the streets of France's second city.

Fernando Alonso and Franck Montagny pose with the Renault F1 R24.

Photo by LAT Photographic.

The show more than lived up to expectations, under cloudless skies and in temperatures of more than 30°C, leaving young and old open-mouthed in wonder as the F1 cars roared by. The icing on the cake was that Franck Montagny and Fernando Alonso didn't need asking twice to smoke the tyres with a few spectactular burnouts!

After this unique event, Franck Montagny was seriously impressed. "An hour before we drove the car, we went out in a M?gane to greet the crowds," he explained. "The welcome was amazing! I spent the day among the fans, taking photos and signing autographs. One of our aims was to give these real passionate fans something to remember, and I kept that in mind when I got in the car."

"I was doing spin turns, changing gear at full revs... I tried to put on a good show! I think it went down well -- as the third driver, you are sometimes a little bit in the background at the race weekends. But this weekend showed that people in France know who I am -- that was a great feeling."

Fernando Alonso was all smiles as well before heading out to Monza. "At the tracks, we have to concentrate on the race, on practice or technical briefings: we are cut off from our fans most of the time," he explained. "Yesterday, we could just enjoy ourselves. When I got in the car, I just wanted to have some fun and impress the spectators. I waved to the crowd and did some burnouts."

"The supports in Lyon were incredible. Throughout the day, from the press conference to the football match which pitched us against the Olympique Lyonnais football team, from the promotional activities to the runs on the track, we had a really warm welcome and support from everybody. Thanks to the City of Lyon for this great day. I can't wait for the next one!"

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