Singapore to name 3 Corners for next GP

THREE turns on the Singapore Grand Prix� 5.067km Marina Bay Circuit will be named next month, and the three racers Today spoke to yesterday are hoping to see history honoured.
Singapore GP and Today launched It�s Your Turn at the Singapore Grand Prix yesterday, inviting readers to email in suggestions with names for Turns 1, 7 and 10 on the circuit.

�I hope we find appropriate names that make you understand what the nature of the turn is when you hear them,� said former motorcycle racer Looi Beng Hoe, 62, who rode in the original Singapore Grand Prix from 1959 to 1973.
�Like �Devil�s Bend� � when you hear that name, you know it�s to be feared and respected. It was a treacherous corner in the race, and even now, I still think.�
Devil�s Bend was an iconic turn on the original Singapore Grand Prix circuit at Old Upper Thomson Road.

Motorcyclist Alfred Armstrong, who raced alongside Looi in the 1960s and 70s, agreed.
Said the 66-year-old: �The names of corners at the Old Singapore GP werevery appropriate, like The Snakes and Devil�s Bend.
�They are the kind of names you can tell your grandchildren and they�ll know what you�re talking about. They�ve got history.�

Hafiz Koh, Singapore�s youngest professional racecar driver at 25 years of age, may not be familiar with the twists and turns of Old Upper Thomson, but he�d like to see Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew mentioned.
�We shouldn�t name the track after drivers who come and go,� said Koh, who had three Formula V6 Asia driver podium finishes last year.
�Turn 10 is near the old Supreme Court, and I�d like to see it named after the Minister Mentor, for what he�s done to bring Singapore to where it is today.�
Shamir Osman - TODAY Paper

Will we See a Singapore F1 Team ?

Hey That's me with future Singapore F1 team driver Hafiz Koh ( on my right)

S'pore could field F1 team
SingaPride Racing to field local team for night race

IN A stunning boost for Singapore, we have learnt that a local team could well line up on the grid for the Formula 1 season next year.
Timing the announcement for today, a Singapore consortium led by shipping businessman Helmi Koh announced they had secured a five-year sponsorship deal worth US$400 million ($550 million) per season.
SingaPride Racing has also gotten dispensation from the F�d�ration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to field a non-championship team for the inaugural night race here on Sept 28 � a gesture of goodwill for the country's efforts to stage the first Grand Prix under lights.
This will be the first time in 32 years the FIA is allowing such an entry.

In 1976, Kojima Engineering-registered Masahiro Hasemi was allowed to compete in the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Motor Speedway.
Said Mr Koh: "We are getting offers to invest in F1 teams and felt it would be better to run our own team instead. With our connections in racing, we know a lot of people with professional credentials in Europe and Asia who can form a well-oiled team."
FIA regulations allow for up to 12 teams on the grid and after ProDrive's aborted attempt to start the 2008 season, one slot has been made available for a team to apply to compete next year.
Mr Koh, 53, said a decision will be made when the World Motor Sports Council meets in September to confirm the teams and race calendar for 2009.
Mr Koh already runs a successful outfit, Tara-DTM, which competed in the Formula V6 Asian championship and came in second in their inaugural season last year.
With Toyota fuelled annually by US$500 million and Ferrari the second richest team on the grid at US$420 million, SingaPride Racing will become the third most expensive outfit in the paddock if they get the green light.

They have appointed Pesce d'Aprile as team principal and the Italian has been charged with putting together an estimated staff of 500. Mr Koh's son Hafiz, 24, who pilots a car in Formula V6 Asia for Tara-DTM, is expected to step up to lock horns with the big boys.
His team-mate at SingaPride Racing will be rising Singapore star Mohd Nasri Naufal, the 2006 Asian kart champion. But both will be understudies in the team's rookie year.
"In the long term, our target is to get Singaporeans to drive for us, but for us to make any impact, we need to recruit experienced drivers first," said Mr Koh.

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AS YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THIS WAS PUBLISHED ON 1ST APRIL, AND AFTER CONSULTATION IT PROVED THAT THIS STORY WAS ACTUALLY A WELL FORMULATED APRIL'S FOOL JOKE.
WELL DONE YOU GOT ME THERE, AND PROBABLY MANY OTHERS TOO.

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