“IT WAS EXCITING!“
Said with multiple exclamation points was the feedback that I received from my husband and his friend who attended the first F1 Singapore Grand Prix that had just ended spectacularly last weekend.
And this was their verdict for the Qualifying Night on Saturday as they missed out on the sold-out Race Night tickets.
The Qualifying Night ticket which came in a very informative box
Even the Qualifying Night ticket was already so keepsake worthy!
I could just imagine how much more exhilarating the Race Night atmosphere was when the Qualifying Night could already trigger such reactions from men who are more contented to catch the race from the comfort of the sofa. Qualifying Night is is basically the time when each car will attempt to record their fastest time which determines their grid position during the actual race.
For the 40,000 visitors who reportedly arrived in Singapore to catch this historic night time street race, I’m sure it was a trip well worth the money with unpredicted suspense such as what was perhaps the most dramatic split-second error :
Everything started smoothly for Massa, the pole-sitter quickly building a lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton. But at his first pit stop disaster struck. He was given the green light too early and left with the fuel hose still attached to his car. (Read in full)
Which not only robbed the likely winner his podium but fans could witness how the immense advances in technology and safety used in this kind of motor sports could avert even worse disaster when you have 20+ super cars racing at the speed of up to 360 km/h on narrow lanes!
Of course, the problem with watching a race where the standard speed is triple a normal car’s fastest speed is that unless you’re at certain location where the cars either stop (pit lane) or slows down, what you’ll get is blink-an-eye-and-it’s-gone kind of moment.
This was even though the spectators’ area is a mere few metres away from the circuit.
See how close you can get to the track?
So unless you have one of those super cameras, don’t dream of getting a sharp shot of a moving car.
The only shot my husband got with a speeding car
And while the cars will pass by in blurs, what you can count on is the revving engine noise which could be heard even a few kilometres away. I can vouch for the loudness as my husband recorded the sound when he was one kilometer away and it was still LOUD (F1 cars are as loud as 130 decibels or 10,000 times normal conversations or a jumbo jet taking off!).
I now wonder if the noise could penetrate the few hotels (Swissotel The Stamford, Marina Mandarin, Pan Pacific, Mandarin Oriental and Ritz Carlton) which are just besides the Marina Bay circuit because I would like to experience the excitement from the comfort of a hotel room next year.
Those of you who attended this event, how was your experience?
As I looked through the picture collection at my sister’s site, I noticed two predominant theme : batik and lilac!
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