Trump waves green flag to start Freedom 250 IndyCar race through Washington
US President Donald Trump waved the green flag to start the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race through Washington DC on Sunday. He was among hundreds of people gathered to watch the event.
The race was presented as the culmination of a series of summer events celebrating the country's 250th birthday. Ahead of the racing, the president and First Lady Melania Trump took a ceremonial lap of the 1.7-mile track in his presidential limousine, The Beast, and Melania Trump waved to fans from the track as the president's new Air Force One completed a flyover above the capital.
Organisers set a 250-mile course comprising 147 laps with seven crucial turns, a layout intended as a nod to the anniversary, and 25 professional drivers entered the event. Competitors raced past the Washington Monument and the museums on the National Mall before crossing a finish line framed by the US Capitol building, reaching top speeds reported at up to 190mph (306kmh) despite Washington DC's usual maximum road speed limit of 55mph (89kmh).
The IndyCar series was described in the coverage as a road race for open-wheel, single-seater cars similar to Formula 1, but with engines supplied exclusively by Chevrolet or Honda rather than being designed in-house by teams. The BBC's Helena Humphrey took a test drive of the track earlier in the week.
Organisers said about 140,000 people were expected to attend, with many given free general admission tickets through a lottery while premium packages sold for $5,000 for a pair. The event required extensive logistical and security preparations across the city.
Those preparations included widespread road closures, manholes being bolted down and road resurfacing, and a three-hour airspace closure at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to accommodate a US military flyover. The National Gallery of Art carried out vibration tests to ensure its collection could withstand the engines' rumble.
On race day the roar of engines appeared to largely drown out any irritation among spectators; many lining the circuit had won tickets through the public lottery, some wore Uncle Sam hats and one woman came dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and families travelled from across the country. American driver Josef Newgarden said: "It's super unique. You might never see this again, and as an American driver, it's very special celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country," he said. "It's a beautiful city, and it's very surreal." Photographs showed David Malukas' car being carried out after crashing and a pit stop for Felix Rosenqvist.
Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, earning his seventh career IndyCar win and concluding the event on Sunday.