Best seat in the (Hofbrau)haus

Friday, May 26, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

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Soeren Joensson had a fine view at his first Formula One race. About 10 years ago, he stood on the balcony of a $7,500-a-night Hotel de Paris suite to watch the Monaco Grand Prix unfold below him.

He will enjoy the race even more Sunday, when he watches it on one of two large plasma screens inside the cool and spacious beer garden at the Hofbrauhaus.

"At the race, it's really loud," Joensson said. "Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz! I'm used to rock 'n' roll from the front row, where it's loud. But (F1 racing) is really loud. You cannot imagine."

And if, all of a sudden, Fernando Alonso is no longer in sight after trailing Michael Schumacher by a heart beat, Joensson will know why - television replays. Mix in good food and great friends, and he believes he has created the perfect racing environment.

For two years, Joensson has been hosting Formula One get-togethers at the Hofbrauhaus at 2 p.m. on race-day Sundays.

A few dozen fans usually attend. Once, about 75 showed up. He brought friend Herman Rarebell, the former drummer for the rock group Scorpions, to the beer garden for the recent Spanish Grand Prix.

Rarebell, dubbed "Herman Ze German" years ago, couldn't believe his good fortune. He got to watch an F1 race without dealing with the crowds, and he got gravy with his chicken and potato salad.

"You don't get gravy in Munich," said the man who wrote the lyrics to the Scorpions' most famous song, "Rock You Like a Hurricane."

Rarebell, 56, has lived in Munich for the past three years after living in Monte Carlo for nearly two decades. While in Monte Carlo, he started Monaco Records with Prince Albert. Rarebell's mother-in-law lives in Monaco but leaves the principality during race week.

"She visits relatives in Spain," he said. "She can't take the noise. They start practicing Thursday at 6 a.m., and she said it feels like the cars are driving through her living room."

Joensson, who turned 43 on Thursday, is known as "Z" to friends like the Rolling Stones and Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he has designed leather clothing. He's also an interior designer.

Because the F1 races often take place much earlier on Sundays in Europe, Joensson tapes them for his Las Vegas crowd. The race in Barcelona ran on Mother's Day, which delayed a certain phone call by Ferrari and Porsche driving instructor John Illes.

"My mother-in-law is German," said Illes, 44, who moved to Las Vegas from New Jersey a year ago. "I wanted to call her and wish her happy Mother's Day, but I knew if I called her she'd tell me who won the race. I didn't want to know."

Monaco is the jewel of the world's most prestigious racing circuit. The only true F1 street race is as dangerous as it is demanding. It is surrounded by luxury and celebrity.

During most of the time he lived in Monte Carlo, Rarebell watched the Grand Prix from the balcony of his home. A few times, he sat in the outdoor cafe at the famous Rascasse Corner.

That's where drivers shift from 170-mph speeds to a near dead stop to negotiate a hairpin turn. Rarebell pointed to a faux tree about 15 feet away in the beer garden. "You literally see their eyes, that's how near they are, from here to there."

Rarebell was in Las Vegas to promote his new album, "Herman Ze German & Friends." He counts Mika Hakkinen, who won Monaco in 1998, as a friend. And he met Schumacher in the early 1990s.

"He told me, 'I'm a big Scorpions fan.' I said, 'Don't (kid) me, Michael,' " Rarebell said. "He said, 'No, you guys are great.' "

Z is the picture of contentment in the beer garden.

"F1 races had never been shown in Las Vegas before," Joensson said. "It's kind of a family thing. We all know each other and try to make it every race, and I always make new, cool friends. It's just a fun atmosphere."