The City Challenge was run in Azerbaijani capital, Baku over the weekend.  It featured four GT3 races, featruing many cars from the GT1 World Championship; Classic F1; Drifting and more.  After a race around the Romanian streets as part of the FIA GT Championship a few years back, the former Eastern Bloc are breaking out and using motorsport as a way to show the world what they are today.

There is a mix of classic and contemporary buildings which make for a stunning landscape.  The stands were packed and the on track action was great.  To see the races and learn more about the Baku City Challenge, please visit www.citychallenge.com

For the record, the Hexis McLarens and Vita4One BMW Z4s were the strongest entries.

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The Baku Street Challenge drew a large crowd with few seats remaining  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The Vita4One team were a key driver for the series with four cars (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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 The City Challenge drew a lot of interest from GT1 World teams  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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 The racing between the Heico Mercedes and RBIT Corvette was tight on the streets  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The new sits in contrast to the old as Azerbaijan moves away from its communist past  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The buildings of the former communist state make for a grand backdrop  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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It was celebration for Hexis, Vita4One and Heico in Azerbaijan  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The mechanics will be finding confetti for months  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The classic F1 demonstations at Baku featured machinery including the 2894 Toleman and 1990 Lotus (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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It was not all smooth running for the classic F1 car, though the driver of this March (who suffered brake failure) escaped serious injury (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The Benetton B192 was a crowd favourtie  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The classic F1 cars echoed fantastically in the concrete.  Here we see the Benetton B197 and McLaren M26  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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The McLaren M26 was a popular addition to the classic F1 grid  (Photo – Baku City Challenge)

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Photos: Baku City Challenge

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