It was a great success on Sunday Kids & Carsand the Glyfada Traffic Training Park hosted, in wonderful weather, aspiring racing drivers, aged 5-9 years old, who surrendered with great satisfaction to the safe… vertigo of the speed of 2 kilometers per hour and the adventure of a clever skill that had them all: A “dangerous” bridge of Indiana Jones, (seesaw with hydraulic mechanism!) and the fairy-tale Yellow Brick Road, slalom between colored tires, around the square, stop at a train crossing, a bar that would not open unless the driver did not shout “open sesame” and parking with… haunted reverse (this turned out to be the main weakness of all but one) in a transparent tunnel, where at the touch of the magic cone, a deafening siren sounded.

The grand finale was an entire wall of inflatable beasts, dinosaurs and sharks that the drivers had to… run through to the sounds of tom-toms and jungle. The only accident happened off the track and the… carousel was taken over by the event’s volunteer pediatrician.

At the start and finish flag, Christina Myrto Stathakis, daughter of the legendary journalist who trained generations of Greek drivers with his advice, while to the surprise of Verstappen’s parents and youngsters was Takis Pournarakis, now an established meter of description for Formula 1, who made several (racing style) descriptions of the skill, much to the satisfaction of parents and children in all three groups he undertook.

Kids & Cars (which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports) started with the group of 9-year-old drivers, where some “pilots” had already distinguished themselves in speed races for children’s “karts” and while it was very interesting participating, the 5- and 6-year-olds stole hearts both with their driving skills and their cute mistakes, as did the siblings in the afternoon groups who proved that driving was… their family affair.

Because the event, for security reasons, had no spectators (only the parents were there) the television shots gave exciting results. Three cameras on each car, two drones (with “pilots” the aces Takis Giannetto and Simo Kokkino) and two other cameras… on the ground, illustrated every detail of the craftsmanship.

Each group of children, at the end of the test, was taken over by the PPC blue team for an enjoyable interactive game where the underage but very capable drivers learned the advantages of electric mobility for the better future of the planet.

At the end, the mayor of Glyfada Giorgos Papanikolaou and deputy mayors awarded DriveMaster diplomas (signed by the mayor) and commemorative medals with the honorary phrase “Good Driver.” And in the “grand finale,” by raffle, a brand new car was won by 6-year-old driver Nikolas Perrakis.

“I found the event exciting,” said the mayor of Glyfada, George Papanikolaou, himself a father of four children, “because the laughter of children and the joy of their parents are two irresistible components of a happy life. We gave this joy to dozens of families, we will transmit it with photos and videos to hundreds of thousands more and, together with the creator of Kids & Cars and our dear friend, Nikos Mastorakis, we laid the foundations for this event to become an institution that will deliver not only entertainment but also driving education, a modern imperative. I am sure that from tomorrow the Park will face an increased… demand and the best drivers of the future will emerge from this Park.” The mayor’s son, Pavlos, only three and a half years old, performed an impressive skill outside the program!

Nikos Mastorakis, with enormous experience both in children (he has two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren) and in cars (creator of the car page in the press of the 60’s as well as Rally Antika and Baby Rally) who was constantly on the microphone with instructions to the minors pilots, said: “Very pleased that everything went with laughter and joy, ecstatic with the incredible faces but also the impressive intelligence of all ages, I spent the most beautifully tiring 8 hours of my recent life, babysitting 65 children, who they amazed with their ingenuity and adaptability. It was an event that… we were pleasantly electrified by our beloved PPC blue, putting the children in a pleasant educational game and which would not have taken place without the wonderful Park of Glyfada, the passion of George Papanikolaou and the admirable talent of his collaborators, both from the municipality and from the creative team.”

Most of the children brought their own painting on the theme of “child and car” and received t-shirts and caps from the event. Many came in racing uniforms, while all wore helmets. The entire “ritual” seven hours of skill, with a total of 65 children, was magically dressed with the greatest graceful and rhythmic hits of the 60’s, Greek and international.

Photos: Stefanos Pappas, Nikos Mouratidis, Takis Giannetos, Simos Kokkinos.

Note: The photographic and audio-visual material of the event and of the children has been granted to the organizing company with the written consent of their parents-guardians and only for the promotion of the specific event.