F1 Racing In Singapore
This is exciting! F1 racing is coming to Singapore! The roar of the F1 engines in Singapore's downtown can definitely be heard far, far away. Wonder if it can be heard in Changi and Tuas. People at East Coast park should have no problem hearing it since the sounds can travel unblocked over the seawater.
-----------------------------------
TODAY, Monday, 15th January, 2007
AND ALONSO'S FIRST PAST THE MERLION!
Proposal for F1 street race at night past familiar landmarks
Ian De Cotta
ian@mediacorp.com.sg
IT IS 7pm on a Sunday in September next year. They have lined up in
formation - the magnificent scarlet Ferraris, the gleaming silver
McClaren-Mercedes, the playful blue and yellow Renaults - all straining at
the leash in front off Marina Bay. One by one, the five red starter lights
go off and those powerful engines roar to life.
At 300kmh, led by world champion Fernando Alonso, they fly in a blur past
the Esplanade and City Hall, around Swissotel The Stamford and into Suntec
City. Before you know it, they are back beneath the Benjamin Sheares
Bridge and on their next lap.
If all goes to plan and Formula 1 (F1) supremo Bernie Ecclestone reaches
an understanding with one of the Singaporean groups that have offered to
host a Grand Prix here in 2008, something akin to this scenario could come
alive on our roads.
This newspaper revealed last week that Formula One Management company's
talks with hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and ONE°15 luxury
marina club developer Arthur Tay are at an advanced stage.
Today has now managed to obtain details of the street circuit proposed by
world-famous designer Hermann Tilke - and it promises to advertise
Singapore in the most flattering light possible.
The circuit takes in the most seductive stretch of Singapore's skyline,
including a slew of skyscrapers, the Victoria Memorial Hall, the Raffles
Hotel and the Singapore Flyer. The start-finish line of the 4.8-km track
could be in front of the grandstand being built for National Day.
The novelty factor goes up several notches as the race will be a night
race - perhaps the first in the world for a street circuit.
Some night races are held in the United States, but they take place on
oval stadium tracks. Street tracks, themselves, are a rarity with Monaco
providing the only other one on the Formula 1 calendar. A night race on a
street circuit is almost unheard of and it will provide drivers a unique
technical challenge.
The timing could also help viewers in Europe and the US tune in at a more
comfortable hour.
While a final decision is still pending, the Ministry of Trade and
Industry has confirmed that talks are in progress.
"We are constantly on the lookout for investors and event organisers who
wish to bring major events, such as the F1 Grand Prix, to Singapore.
Several parties have expressed an interest in bringing F1 to Singapore and
discussions are ongoing," a ministry spokesperson said in an email reply
to Today.
Be prepared for some inconveniences, though.
While the proposed circuit could come as a windfall to hotels along the
route - including Marina Mandarin, Conrad, Ritz-Carlton, Pan Pacific,
Raffles and Swissotel, where guests could check in for the race - public
roads to the heart of the city may have to be closed for the event.
In Monaco, for example, the circuit closes to general traffic three hours
before the race and opens 30 minutes after it is over.
The closures may be limited to two one-hour practice sessions on Friday,
another practice session and the qualifiers on Saturday, and race day on
Sunday.
Many areas along the route will still be accessible by MRT, or via the
underground link from City Hall station.
Weighed against that is a global audience of 350 million catching a
glimpse of the Singapore skyline and revenues that could touch US$100
million ($154 million).
Let's hear those engines roar.
When my colleague first read the above headline, he wrongly thought that the speed limit for motorists here will be raised to 300km/h! Ha, ha, ha...! :D Still not as good as Germany's Autobahn
where there's no speed limit on certain stretches, heh?
-----------------------------------
TODAY, Monday, 15th January, 2007
AND ALONSO'S FIRST PAST THE MERLION!
Proposal for F1 street race at night past familiar landmarks
Ian De Cotta
ian@mediacorp.com.sg
IT IS 7pm on a Sunday in September next year. They have lined up in
formation - the magnificent scarlet Ferraris, the gleaming silver
McClaren-Mercedes, the playful blue and yellow Renaults - all straining at
the leash in front off Marina Bay. One by one, the five red starter lights
go off and those powerful engines roar to life.
At 300kmh, led by world champion Fernando Alonso, they fly in a blur past
the Esplanade and City Hall, around Swissotel The Stamford and into Suntec
City. Before you know it, they are back beneath the Benjamin Sheares
Bridge and on their next lap.
If all goes to plan and Formula 1 (F1) supremo Bernie Ecclestone reaches
an understanding with one of the Singaporean groups that have offered to
host a Grand Prix here in 2008, something akin to this scenario could come
alive on our roads.
This newspaper revealed last week that Formula One Management company's
talks with hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and ONE°15 luxury
marina club developer Arthur Tay are at an advanced stage.
Today has now managed to obtain details of the street circuit proposed by
world-famous designer Hermann Tilke - and it promises to advertise
Singapore in the most flattering light possible.
The circuit takes in the most seductive stretch of Singapore's skyline,
including a slew of skyscrapers, the Victoria Memorial Hall, the Raffles
Hotel and the Singapore Flyer. The start-finish line of the 4.8-km track
could be in front of the grandstand being built for National Day.
The novelty factor goes up several notches as the race will be a night
race - perhaps the first in the world for a street circuit.
Some night races are held in the United States, but they take place on
oval stadium tracks. Street tracks, themselves, are a rarity with Monaco
providing the only other one on the Formula 1 calendar. A night race on a
street circuit is almost unheard of and it will provide drivers a unique
technical challenge.
The timing could also help viewers in Europe and the US tune in at a more
comfortable hour.
While a final decision is still pending, the Ministry of Trade and
Industry has confirmed that talks are in progress.
"We are constantly on the lookout for investors and event organisers who
wish to bring major events, such as the F1 Grand Prix, to Singapore.
Several parties have expressed an interest in bringing F1 to Singapore and
discussions are ongoing," a ministry spokesperson said in an email reply
to Today.
Be prepared for some inconveniences, though.
While the proposed circuit could come as a windfall to hotels along the
route - including Marina Mandarin, Conrad, Ritz-Carlton, Pan Pacific,
Raffles and Swissotel, where guests could check in for the race - public
roads to the heart of the city may have to be closed for the event.
In Monaco, for example, the circuit closes to general traffic three hours
before the race and opens 30 minutes after it is over.
The closures may be limited to two one-hour practice sessions on Friday,
another practice session and the qualifiers on Saturday, and race day on
Sunday.
Many areas along the route will still be accessible by MRT, or via the
underground link from City Hall station.
Weighed against that is a global audience of 350 million catching a
glimpse of the Singapore skyline and revenues that could touch US$100
million ($154 million).
Let's hear those engines roar.
When my colleague first read the above headline, he wrongly thought that the speed limit for motorists here will be raised to 300km/h! Ha, ha, ha...! :D Still not as good as Germany's Autobahn
where there's no speed limit on certain stretches, heh?
posted by Mockingbird at
10:22 AM
6 Comments:
It is dangerous to allow racing events in Singapore. No one doubts the danger of car hitting the crowds after losing controls. Our roads are narrow, short and lots of sharp turns. Who wants a 2 tons machine to flung on their faces?
But then, the amount of revenue is pretty attractive (S$154 million!). We need such major event to earn money. So I support this F1 racing event in Singapore.
F1 will compliment our two IRs in wooing tourists to this scarlet dot.
To Lao Xing Zhou: F1 cars are built to provide maximum protection to the driver. This is why most F1 drivers are able to walk away even from a crash when their car moves from 200km/h to 0km/h in a split second.
To Joepsc: Amen.
i tot A1 will clinch it. guess pragmatism & prestige won the day!!
To See Fei: Looks like the Singapore A1 team is left high and dry without a sponsor again.
looks like we're going to be fighting over the tickets mickell...
apparently A1 lost out because they wanted F1 all along. poor old A1.
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