Around 25,000 people lined the streets of Manchester in the UK this afternoon (Sunday) as six A1 GP race cars roared around the city centre, reaching speeds of up to 70mph.

A1 Teams Australia, China, Great Britain, Ireland, Lebanon and Malaysia thrilled the crowds along a purpose built 1.5km course as part of the Sky Festival, promoting the broadcast of the entire 2006/07 A1GP race season live on Sky Sports in the UK.

The hour-long demonstration, the highlight of the three-day Sky Festival event, was kicked off by British model Lady Isabella Hervey who waved the cars off on their high-speed parade. It was the first time that multiple A1GP race cars have run since the close of the first competitive season in Shanghai last April.

Before the parade, Lady Isabella got her hands dirty in a simulated pit stop, changing the tyre on a real A1 GP race car. Olympic athlete Ewan Thomas, tried his luck on the tyre change challenge on Saturday afternoon but it was two-local lads who set the fastest time over the weekend, changing the tyre in 14.71 seconds.

Over 200,000 people attended the Sky Festival event which included a real-life A1 GP race paddock display. Members of the public had the chance to get up close and personal with the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport series taking part in the tyre change challenge, dressing up in a race suit and getting in an A1 GP car and seeing the prestigious A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport trophy which sat alongside the FA cup and the Ashes in the Town Hall Trophy Room.

While the national A1 Teams prepare for the Series’ test session at Silverstone at the end of this month and the start of the 2006/07 race season in Zandvoort, Holland on 1 October, fans will have a little longer to wait to see the cars in action on British soil. The A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport will return to the historic Brands Hatch circuit in Kent for its season finale on 29 April 2007.