Singapore Grand Prix
The home of the very first night race in Formula 1 history, 2008 marks the
return of the Singapore Grand Prix to auto racing and the inauguration of the
race to the Formula 1 championship series. Before its inclusion into the F1
calendar, the Singapore Grand Prix existed as a Formula Libre event, held at the
Thomson Road circuit from 1966 to the 1973.
The first grand prix in Singapore was technically the Orient Year Grand Prix in
1961, which was renamed as the Malaysian Grand Prix a year after. In 1966, with
Singapore already by then an independent country, the Singapore Grand Prix would
begin its 9 year run. Amongst the reasons for the discontinuation of the
Singapore GP in 1973 were the fatalities that occurred in its last two years,
the horrendous traffic that piled up on grand prix weekend and the general
hassle of setting up and taking down the circuit, therefore closing off the
streets, every year.
From Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit, the Singapore Grand Prix began its
reincarnation at the Singapore Street Circuit. Located by the harbour, obviously
patterned after the circuit at Monaco, as was the Valencia circuit in Spain,
which also raced for the first time in 2008, the Singapore Street Circuit passes
through Republic Boulevard, Raffles Boulevard, Nicoll Highway, Stamford Road,
St. Andrews Road, Anderson Bridge, Esplanade Drive, Raffles Avenue, and a
temporary road. An elaboration on Hermann Tilke’s original design, one of the
challenges of the circuit is visibility, as a night race will definitely become
more interesting during a downpour. And as the Singapore Grand Prix occurs in
late September, which is rainy season in Singapore, the racing gets even more
interesting.
Two Singapore drivers won the first two Singapore Grands Prix at Thomson Road,
the first being Lee Han Seng in 1966 and Rodney Seow in 1967. Australian and New
Zealand drivers would dominate the succeeding races, with Graeme Lawrence
winning three times consecutively from 1969, racing for a different team each
year.
Changi Airport is a good 20 minutes from the main action of Singapore. Taking
the Modern Mass Rapid Transit or the MRT is the most recommended means of
travel, not only from the airport to the city proper, but even when traveling
around the city itself. There is plenty of accommodation in Singapore, from the
very high class hotels to the less costly budget hotels and hostels all over the
city. Book your hotels way in advance – Singapore is the smallest country in
Southeast Asia and everything will be booked solid come F1 season.
|
