Shorter F1 road closure period to minimise disruptions

Organisers of this year's Singapore Grand Prix hope a shorter period of road closure will minimise disruptions to traffic and businesses. Roads will be closed for seven days instead of the 12 days last year. Race organisers will also be beefing up public transport services during the road closure period from September 23 to 29. During the race weekend, up to 650 more train trips will be added, which will run until 1.15am. But what is significant this year is that all taxis will be allowed to enter restricted areas, without the need for special F1 decals.

Restricted areas include Temasek Boulevard via Rochor Road, as well as the single-lane road along Raffles Boulevard. But the new allowance does not apply to race hours, when only vehicles with F1 decals will be allowed in. Race hours are from 9pm to 11pm on September 25 and 26, and from 7pm to 10pm on September 27. Organisers hope the new taxi access will attract more people to visit retail and food and beverage outlets affected by the road closures. Justin Chew, director of F1 project, Singapore Tourism Board, said: "We are a lot more efficient this year, and we are a lot better. All the safety considerations have been addressed. So there is no need to avoid the area."

For race ticket holders, free shuttle services will take them to the race venue from Lavander, Kallang, Outram Park and Clarke Quay MRT stations. Those who will be heading to the affected area are also advised to plan their journey in advance to avoid unnecessary confusion over the road closures. The public can pick up an information leaflet on the road closures at petrol stations, shopping centres and hotels.

Despite the new measures to ease traffic congestion, some feel that more can be done. Michael Ma, CEO, IndoChine Group, said: "I feel that a lot of the roads do not even need to be closed at all, like in Monaco. I keep hearing the same story that Singapore is different from Monaco but to me, the car is the same - the same driver, the same organisation, the same speed. Why do we have to go through such hardship with road closures, and disrupt the whole city�s lifeline? And for seven days, that is ridiculous."

Race organisers stress that public transport is still the best way to travel into the Marina Bay area during the Singapore GP season, and it is also a speedier alternative for fans going to the F1 Rocks concert at Fort Canning Park.

SHOCKED DEATH IN F1 WORLD

The son of Max Mosley, president of Formula One's governing body, has been found dead at his home in London, a police source said on Wednesday.

Alexander Mosley, 39, a respected economist, was discovered by a relative on Tuesday at his house in the Notting Hill area of west London, the Sun newspaper said on its website.
"I can confirm that a man in his late 30s was found dead yesterday at an address in W11," a London police spokeswoman said. "He was pronounced dead at the scene. We are not treating this as suspicious." A police source confirmed the dead man was Mosley's son.

Max Mosley, 69, is the son of the 1930s British fascist leader Oswald Mosley.
"The FIA extends sincere condolences to the Mosley family on the sad news of the death of Alexander Mosley," the International Automobile Federation said in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with Alexander's family and friends, and we would request that the media respect the Mosley family's privacy at this difficult time."

A post mortem to confirm the cause of death was taking place.
Eddie Jordan, a former Formula One team boss, said he was "devastated" by the news.

"Max and Alexander particularly were very close," the founder and former owner of the Jordan team told Sky News.

He said the father and son shared "a great intellect," describing Alexander as a "hugely clever and talented computer expert."

"It's totally tragic, he was such a bright boy. I'm devastated for them."

Last year Mosley, the FIA president, won 60,000 pounds in damages from a newspaper which breached his privacy by publishing details of his part in a sado-masochistic orgy. During the court case, Mosley revealed that neither his wife of almost 50 years nor his sons knew about his interest in sado-masochism until the newspaper article.

Hunt for the best F1 photo From Singapore

The tourism board and Singapore GP are looking for the best picture that captured the buzz and suspense of the Republic's first Formula One race last year.
Photographers are invited to submit their shots for a chance to win passes or pit grandstand tickets. There is no limit to the number of shots that can be entered for the competition, which ends on March 20.

Entries will be assessed by a panel of judges from the Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore GP, on criteria such as relevancy to the race, composition, creativity and artistic expression.

Go to www.visitsingapore.com/mysgp for more details.

Winners will also be announced on this website on April 15.

Insider Pictures - The Marshalls story

It has been a tremendous long week-end for all of us Volunteer Race Marshalls at the Inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. Almost a 1000 of us including Medics and fire Marshall.

We were divided in 26 posts - 1 for each turn plus a couple in between.

Each section would comprise

• Track marshalls : The one you see helping clearing the Track or moving accident cars - Usually about 6-8 pers.)
  
• Communications : in direct comms with race control, reporting everything from spinning cars to accidents... - about 3 on each post
  
• Flaggies, the one who would come up with all the different couloured flags - to maintain race safety - around 4 to 6 per post


• Fire Marshall - to help with accidents - there would be at least 3 to 5 at a section


• Medics : to help with the first aid - both to driver and staff


• 1 Deputy Sector marshall ( Singaporean)


• 1 Sector Marshall - From CAMS Australia- Volunteers as well brought in from Australia to train us all for the past 6 month
  

I think pictures speak louder than words so here are some of the highlights of the week-end form our perspective.

See you all in 2008....

Exclusive! First Day at the Track!

First Day at the track was in a word awesome! A full dress rehearsal for about 900 marshals, medics and training officials. Here are some photos from last night. Oh and during our last briefing at around 9 plus in the evening, I was distracted with the sight of several F1 drivers walking out of their garage together. There was Kubica, Bourdais, Rosberg, Kovaleinen ( I said a hello earlier in the day).. and... Raikonnen and Massa fooling around on bicycles. It was quite a sight. But as we were still being briefed, it wouldn't be proper for me to snap a pic of that moment. Anyway, the experience is thrilling. Have a great race weekend!

Body-clock problems for F1 Drivers

Lewis Hamilton isn't eating breakfast before early afternoon while McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen has blacked out his hotel windows and taken his phone off the hook.
There is more than meets the eye to preparing for Formula One's inaugural night race.
Qualifying on Saturday for the historic event will not take place until 10:00 pm while the race itself on Sunday begins at 8:00 pm, hours later than the mid-afternoon starts the drivers are used to.

None of the top names getting ready for the Singapore Grand Prix has raced an F1 car after dark, or so late, and to be at their peak new regimes have been put in place by team bosses.
Essentially, it boils down to the drivers remaining on European time rather than acclimatising to Singapore's seven-hour time difference.
"Singapore is going to be a unique challenge for every member of the team," said Britain's championship leader Hamilton.

"Our doctor has prepared a very precise schedule for the drivers to stick to because all the sessions are so late in the day. Essentially we must not acclimatise to the local time which is totally different to how we normally operate."

"Our training programmes ensure that over a race weekend we are at peak performance during the afternoons and as a result we are going to be staying in European time so this doesn't get disrupted."

For Hamilton it will mean getting up early in the afternoon for breakfast, having dinner at 1:00 am and going to bed around 3:00 am -- not easy when your body naturally wants to adjust to the local conditions.

"It will be very different preparation to any other race but we'll try and do the best job we can," he added.

Kovalainen is adopting similar tactics. "For example, the hotel rooms will be blacked out so we can sleep late into the day," he said. "Special arrangements will be put in place to make sure the cleaners don't come into the room as they would not expect people to be sleeping until early afternoon. "The telephones will not ring, all those kind of things. We will essentially be isolated from the normal workings of the hotel."

Toyota driver Timo Glock's regime is rather less elaborate. "I won't do anything special -- just go and race. I will set the alarm when I have to get into the car," he said. "That's it. I don't philosophise about what I'm going to do to stay in whatever time zone. I will get up when I have to get up, I will sleep when I have to sleep and I will drive when I have to drive."

Red Bull nightowl David Coulthard can see the benefits of staying on European time and is looking forward to it. "I am staying up late at night, I am going out to nightclubs, and I'm eating a lot of carrots because they apparently help you to see better in the dark," he joked.

McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said getting into the swing of the different night-time routine was one of the toughest challenges facing every team in Singapore. "Inevitably, ensuring all the team personnel have the opportunity to get enough sleep will be the main challenge over the course of the weekend," he said. "For example, the mechanics won't be going to bed until 4:00-5:00 am, because we finish running late in the evening and there is a programme of work to complete prior to the next day.

"The reality is, it will be hard work for the mechanics, engineers, support crew, marketing operation and we will take measures to support this. But I don't believe it will have a massive impact on the cars and the drivers."

Singapore technical preview

Here is another technical preview ahead of this week-end GP

The 5.1km Singapore street circuit looks like being one of the slowest of the season, with teams likely to run with high downforce and projected lap times in the 1m45s region.

As a step into the unknown, the teams have been running computer simulations to get a rough idea of the ideal set-up required. In reality, though, it won't be until the cars take to the track on Friday morning that the teams will get a proper understanding of the demands of the track.

Tyres

Much like Monaco, grip levels are likely to be low at the new Singapore street circuit. Therefore Bridgestone will supply the soft and super-soft compounds from its 2008 range, the very same compounds that were taken to Monaco, Budapest and Valencia.

This will offer good grip on what is expected to be a very green track surface at the beginning of the weekend. However, like any temporary circuit, grip levels will ramp up as the track evolves across the weekend and rubber is laid down.

Aerodynamics

After Monaco, Singapore looks like being the second slowest circuit of the season. The teams will therefore run with a high downforce package to give the car good stability under braking and to push the car into the ground in the corner exits to maximise traction and ensure good acceleration.

Brakes

Initial simulations suggest that the circuit will be quite demanding on the brakes with wear rates being similar to somewhere like Melbourne. It is not the severity of the braking but rather the regularity that makes it so demanding as the brakes will get little respite. Efficient brake cooling is therefore a must.

Suspension

Suspension set-up is one of the most difficult things to predict when planning for a new circuit. However, for any street circuit with a high percentage of low-speed corners, mechanical grip is always valuable and the team will work hard to ensure they give the drivers a supple enough suspension to get good clean exits out of the slow corners and a car that can ride the bumps and any changes of camber.

Engine and gearbox

Street circuits tend to be less severe on the engine due to the low percentage of the lap spent at full throttle, but the engine can still be under stress as it will be used in a very stop-start fashion. Closely-spaced gears ratios will be used at this circuit in order to optimise acceleration, and get the most from the engine at low speeds, while the engine teams will work on the mapping to ensure the engine delivers good torque from low revs, allowing early throttle application.

A last minute Run Down of the Singapore GP Circuit

Turns 1-3

The first of Singapore�s 13 left-handers, Turn 1 also represents the first overtaking opportunity on a circuit which, refreshingly, seems to offer several. A Grand Prix car will be travelling at over 280 km/h when it�s time to brake for Turn 1, downshifting to 2nd and slowing to around half that speed in the short right-hand sprint that follows, snatching 3rd through Turn 2 before dropping back to 2nd for Turn 3. Look for cornering speeds around 90-95 through there.

Turns 4-5

Leaving the new, permanent section of the track at the apex of Turn 3, the cars will accelerate up to 4th and touch 200 km/h and above through the left-hand kink of Turn 4. The right-hander at Turn 5 will be 3rd-gear, around the 130 mark, but the key point here is that the corner doesn�t tighten up � getting back on the throttle and up to speed for the long straight shouldn�t pose too many problems.

Turn 6

Speed is the essence of racing, of course � and the need for speed will be well and truly answered in this section! The cars should rocket all the way up to 7th as they go through the right-hand �kink� halfway along the straight, meaning they will hit 300+ before the sharp left-hander at
Turn 7. And this, remember, is a street circuit�

Turns 7-8-9

Deceleration from those speeds means the approach to Turn 7 offers another clear overtaking opening. They need to get down to around 110k km/h to get round Turn 7, the 2nd-gear corner onto Nicholl Highway, and the ones who leave the braking late are the ones who will have a chance to make up places. As long as they don�t leave it too late�It�s a dab on the throttle and back to around 200 approaching Turn 8, the 2nd-gear right-hander where the circuit�s �waist� is tightly pinched opposite Turn 14. Same for Turn 9: on the throttle, 200 or so then hit the anchors for the left-hand 3rd-gear corner which brings us to the historic heart of the track and the city.

Turns 9-10-11

Next comes the short straight that carries them past the Padang and towards the Singapore River. Getting the power down well out of Turn 9 will set a driver up for an attack on the way into the intriguing section at the end of it. Speeds here should be around 250 km/h, and a pass under braking into the left-hand sequence starting at Turn 10 is a distinct possibility. Snaking their way through 10 and 11, the drivers are likely to be reminded very firmly that this IS a street circuit: space is at a premium, so getting the lines right here will make all the difference. With its absorbing backdrop, it could be a photographer�s paradise.

Turns 12-13

This is potentially one of the most intriguing sections of the new track. Where else can you see Grand Prix cars arrowing across a 100-year-old bridge, turning sharp left and crossing the wide mouth of a river on a much more modern bridge? They should be in 2nd, then 3rd and building to 150 through Turn 12, jockeying for position on the narrow bridge and lining up the acute left-hander at Turn 13, taken in 2nd gear.

Turn 14

This is one of four places � Turn 13 to Turn 14 � where the cars can really stretch their legs: look for top speeds around 280 once more as they cross Esplanade Bridge before braking hard into 14. Sound familiar? It is � and it means another overtaking chance under braking for the right-hander that makes up the other side of the circuit�s �waist�.

Turns 15-20

We have to take this sequence all together as that�s what the drivers will be trying to do: minimizing the loss of speed through a challenging stretch that begins at around 230 km/h through the left-hand kink at Turn 15, then slows dramatically for another unique section of Singaporean track. This bayside section is the slowest on the track, not much faster than 100 or so in 2nd with a run of right-left-left-right-right changes of direction from Turns 16 to 20. Getting into corners well under braking, and getting back out of them well at relatively slow speed, will be the key.

Turns 20-21

Picking up speed, the cars will shift up to 3rd through Turn 20, accelerating through 120 km/h and faster through 21 as the drivers look for the best possible momentum into and out of the final corners.

Turns 22-23

That�s the double left-hander, Turns 22 and 23, swinging back onto the main straight. Through 22 the speed should climb above 150, then quickly up to 200 through the final corner as they get ready to pass the Start-Finish line on the way to 280 km/h. Only another 60 laps to go!

Courtesy of www.paddocktalk.com

Here at the Launch of Ian De Cotta's Book

Yesterday saw the launch of one of the greatest book to be written in Singapore Motorsport History - The author : Ian De Cotta - The Title : The Singapore Grand Prix ( 50 years in the making) with a foreword by none other than Sir Stirling Moss...

Mr Robert Wong, former Racer on Thomson Circuit.

Held at one of Singapore's biggest retail center for Audio Products, motorsports fans, young and old got a chance to meet with Mr De Cotta personally and get their copies of the book autographed.

The Book itself is a recollection of a great part of Singapore Motoring History in the 60's and 70's, when drivers and riders would zoom past around the famous Thomson Street Circuit, comprising of the Devil's Bend, the Snakes amongst others.

" Long before Formula 1 Fever swept Singapore's shores, Speed demons reigned at the fabled Upper Thomson Road Circuit.

This is their story "

sums up what the book is really about.

Go and get yourself a copy quick before it runs out, this surely is a must have in your library for everyone remotely or passionately interested in Motorsport Racing History.

Glenn Ong (Class 95 ) & Myself