Ecclestone leads night race applause

The Straits Times, October 26, 2007
by Leonard Lim


HE WAS the first to propose night racing for Formula One. Yesterday, Bernie Ecclestone could not contain his delight.

The F1 supremo told The Straits Times he was 'happy' that Singapore's bid to stage its inaugural Grand Prix on Sept 28 under the stars had been given the green light.

'There's been a lot of work put into this, and now we've finally got the approval,' Ecclestone said in a telephone interview from his London office.

'There was no drama about it, and no problems at all.'

The International Automobile Federation (FIA), motorsport's world governing body, granted approval for the Republic to hold the sport's first night race early yesterday.

Ecclestone added that although it was in-principle approval, he was '100 per cent confident' of a night race.

He said: 'This is good for everybody. It's good for F1 and for Singapore, and there'll be an awful lot of attention on Singapore now.

'A night race will add extra glamour too, and is good for restaurants and the like.'

The Briton proposed having night races, especially in Asia, late last year.

The idea was mooted so that European fans, F1's main target audience, would not have to wake up in the middle of the night to watch the race.

The approval comes about two weeks after Singapore GP lighting consultant Valerio Maioli presented his idea of fitting nearly 1,500 light projectors around the 5.067km Marina Bay street circuit to the FIA Safety Commission.

Maioli said yesterday: 'The approval shows that what we found is a good solution.'

Apart from the novelty of a night race, the targeted 8pm start-time would also showcase the beauty of Singapore at night, according to Colin Syn, deputy chairman of race organisers Singapore GP.

'The stunning city skyline backdrop will be an added bonus,' he said.

Some drivers were initially sceptical of Ecclestone's proposal because of safety considerations - race cars, which can hit speeds of over 300kmh, cannot be fitted with headlights as they affect aerodynamics.

But teams like Ferrari welcomed the news yesterday.

Said Luca Colajanni, press officer for the Italian team's motorsport division: 'It's good for F1 and Ferrari too, as Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Having it at night will increase the interest for the race.'

Among those cheering were hotels and nightspot owners, who stand to gain most from the boost in tourism and the glamourous parties associated with the sport.

Michael Ma, the group founder and chief executive of the IndoChine chain of restaurants and bars, said a night race would be 'much better' as spectators would be eager to party on after the event.

Swissotel The Stamford spokesman Janice Ong noted that the Republic's tourism numbers would definitely be boosted as a result of the historic occasion.

She said: 'We are very heartened by the good news and should be expecting an influx of tourists, spectators, international media and race teams.'

For some, the news was also a boost because of the cooler temperatures at night.

Said former Porsche Club president Chris Chan, who has travelled to Kuala Lumpur several times for the Malaysian race: 'It beats getting sunburnt in Sepang.'