Another F1 street circuit, at night.

[kranzx]

Nothing official at the moment but the Singaporean is getting excited about this. For your information, Singapore is just south of Malaysia (Sepang circuit). Street circuit, night race, what do you think?

 

[Omnis]

Needs more vagueness, please.

 

[Pupik]

While I'm not familiar with the terrain of Singapore, if the roads are mostly flat, and the terrain is featureless, I can't see the drivers having much interest in this point-and-squirt type of track.

Tilke's name on this project doesn't exactly raise my blood pressure.

 

[Pebb]

If they want a really good night race, then they could maybe go to either Brands Hatch or Thruxton (Would need to be an, extra 50-100 laps, but would make for great racing). However another good spot for night racing could be LeMans.

 

[wfooshee]

Let's not forget that for night racing, the ENTIRE circuit will have to be illuminated, BRIGHTLY. Regular city street lights won't cut it. That's EXPENSIVE, and most places aren't interested in the expense. Daytona and Charlotte can afford it because 138 quajillion people show up every race weekend.

From the drivers' point of view, distance perception is very different at night under artificial lighting. (Have you ever played one of those lighted pitch-and-putt golf courses, or been to a driving range at night?) I wouldn't want to go blazing into a braking zone at 180 mph not being able to find my markers.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Interesting...very interesting. Not good, but interesting...

For it to be good it has to work well and as wfooshee said, it would need to be brightly illumiunated.

I can see Ralf Schumacher having a whine about this..

 

[Roo]

The circuit looks dull, and hard to illuminate. Even in daylight it's be a boring race.

On the magazine scan, north is out the right side of the map. +>N

Start/finish line would be here, the paddock built on the field.

Nice as it would be to see night F1 races at Thruxton or Brands, it would never happen - Thruxton doesn't have the facilities, and you'd only get the Indy circuit lit at Brands. Champ Cars, or whatever they're called nowadays, showed exactly how bad an idea powerful single seaters are on the Indy circuit - there's nowhere to overtake without loosing a wheel.

 

[Sportscar_Rob]

Another F1 street circuit is planned at Abu Dhabi, details here

 

[McLaren]

If they want a really good night race, then they could maybe go to either Brands Hatch or Thruxton (Would need to be an, extra 50-100 laps, but would make for great racing). However another good spot for night racing could be LeMans.

The only way that would be mostly interesting is if it took place on the Bugatti circuit.

 

[Sharky.]

Idea of F1 night race: 👍 Good concept.
That track: 👎 Boring as.

The best bet would to use an existing circuit that has masses of lighting in place, not making a street circuit (boring! track would be all flat...) and sticking light poles wherever they can :|

My 2 cents.

edit: And whoever wrote that article can't spell McLaren. Two Cs? Come on...

 

[Omnis]

They couldn't do races at night. The people would be furious at the noise.

 

[Law93]

i don't really thing that track wouldn't have much excitement....and the lights, and racing at night? that would cause lots of people to go crazy just as what Omnis said. maybe setting up here in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada? we used to have a champ car track here, but it was moved somewhere else. but really, lots of people would always come out and watch the action around the false creek area, which has an awesome view of the city.

http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/racing/tracks/vancouver.htm



(ignore the yellow tents you see, they aren't always there)

 

[Philly]

The best bet would to use an existing circuit that has masses of lighting in place, not making a street circuit (boring! track would be all flat...) and sticking light poles wherever they can.

Try a non-flat city. Seattle would do.

Another F1 street circuit is planned at Abu Dhabi, details here

Without a doubt, they will be planning their streets to host a race. So, yes, it would be a purpose built track. Dubai is already building a track, but probably not to F1 quality. I can really see F1 making a stop in Dubai or Ubbudubbi.

They couldn't do races at night. The people would be furious at the noise.

True, for miles around people wouldn't be sleeping. In addition, imagine on track. I wouldn't be suprised if the number of crashes doubles because of the different levels of visibility, even with the red lights. It would just be so different to the guys. TV would be horrible. Cars would be blurry, splotches, or invisible (imagine trying to see a red bull of TR car.

I would hope the drivers practise at night as well.

While I'm not familiar with the terrain of Singapore, if the roads are mostly flat, and the terrain is featureless, I can't see the drivers having much interest in this point-and-squirt type of track.

Tilke's name on this project doesn't exactly raise my blood pressure.

Tilke didn't design the streets, he picked them out. You can only do so good when the streets suck. I never have liked this type of track, especially those with only sharp corners and straights (New York in GT4.) They just look boring to watch and drive. The race certainly wouldn't be as good.

 

[niky]

Well, has anyone actually seen and confirmed that all those streets are level? Despite concerns over whether the layout will make for a good race per se, I do believe it will be spectacularly scenic (particularly over those bridges and around the Merlion) and will do a lot for boosting F1's profile on the world stage.

 

[SagarisGTB]

I think it could make a great track, maybe. Its hard to tell with street circuits until you drive them. Maybe it might be a little bit like... dare i say it... SSR11!

I really like Singapore and the city would be a great venue. Lets see how this plays out. I doubt it will happen in all honesty.

 

[Casio]

The best bet would to use an existing circuit that has masses of lighting in place, not making a street circuit (boring! track would be all flat...) and sticking light poles wherever they can :|

The Melbourne GP is technically a street circuit, as such, I'd assume it would have some form of lighting most of the year. I would go check how good it is at night, but I can't bebothered to be honest....

 

[Mt. Lynx]

Try a non-flat city. Seattle would do.

Or singapore...IIRC it is not flat.

True, for miles around people wouldn't be sleeping. In addition, imagine on track. I wouldn't be suprised if the number of crashes doubles because of the different levels of visibility, even with the red lights. It would just be so different to the guys. TV would be horrible. Cars would be blurry, splotches, or invisible (imagine trying to see a red bull of TR car.

I would hope the drivers practise at night as well.

Not a huge problem in in middle-east though, since it´s dark as night pretty early in the evening. They could most likely be done with the race by nine o´clock.

I really don´t see the point in having a "nightrace" though, since the track is going to have to be lit so much that the differences between night/day, would be insignificant.

Pretty much all that jumped at me when I read the article was that Sepang will most likely be out as of 2010.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I really don´t see the point in having a "nightrace" though, since the track is going to have to be lit so much that the differences between night/day, would be insignificant.

Well, I think it's been prototyped in other formulae quite well. The trick is not to hold the whole thing in darkness, but to have day/night conditions. Looking at the way the cars react to the changing track & air temperature is fascinating. Plus, with Singapore's tropical location you're pretty much guaranteed some interesting weather, even if it's just confined to beautiful sunsets.

The identification of cars can be handled by the selective application of reflective stickering, which the teams will do anyway because they don't want to have a race where their sponsors can't see their logos. The trick is to get the street lighting just right so that you can see the cars, the drivers can see the track, but the visuals of the cars (flaring brakes, flameouts etc) are amplified.

Did you see the ChampCar race at Houston? I thought the lighting for that was bang-on.

Sadly, I think F1 is too conservative, and F1 governance is too damping to let a night race happen.

 

[Mt. Lynx]

.

Did you see the ChampCar race at Houston? I thought the lighting for that was bang-on.

Sadly, I think F1 is too conservative, and F1 governance is too damping to let a night race happen.

Sadly I did not see that race.

I think you nailed it there! The FIA would never allow for such a thing, unless it is lit beyond any darkness whatsoever. And then the whole point in having such a venue is lost.

 

[Dougboy]

Instead of lighting up the whole circuit, why not mount lights to the cars. So they drive around with their own light sources, kinda like in leman

 

[Roo]

Instead of lighting up the whole circuit, why not mount lights to the cars. So they drive around with their own light sources, kinda like in leman

Le Mans cars have bodywork around the wheels and such, so you can put lights on the corners of the car. F1 cars have lots of extremities, so the lights wouldn't be anywhere near the wheels. Then everyone would crash becasue they can't see where the wheels are, which might prove to be a titsy bit dangerous.

 

[Jim Prower]

If they need lights, they should add a few chicanes to Daytona and run the road course... (nah, too fast even with chicanes, and the infield's not lit...but the tri-oval is lit up like Christmas.)

I think, though, It'll be interesting to see how these formula guys do under the lights. Consider that a few of these guys have never run a night race, as most Formula-type cars never run at night.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I think companies like Oakley have developed a kind of lens for sunglasses that nullifies glare, particularly for skiiers and snowboarders. Given that the track would be so bright it might as well be day time, such glasses could work for the visors of the helmets, thus removing some of the danger.

 

[niky]

Have any of you guys been to Singapore? The place is lit wonderfully. Lighting isn't going to be a major problem. Also, having it done as a night race means that they're not going to unduly hold up traffic in the business district (depending on how quickly they can set up) as that area is almost completely devoid of vehicular traffic after office hours.

 

[F1GTR]

Please let there be a London GP...

'Cause I'll be there every year.

 

[wfooshee]

Have any of you guys been to Singapore? The place is lit wonderfully. Lighting isn't going to be a major problem. Also, having it done as a night race means that they're not going to unduly hold up traffic in the business district (depending on how quickly they can set up) as that area is almost completely devoid of vehicular traffic after office hours.

City lights are NOT enough light to race by. If it's not lit like a football stadium, it's not enough.

 

[Casio]

The Melbourne GP is technically a street circuit, as such, I'd assume it would have some form of lighting most of the year. I would go check how good it is at night, but I can't bebothered to be honest....

I said it first.

Autosport

Melbourne considering night race option

Australian Grand Prix boss Ron Walker has confirmed he will hold further talks with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone at Albert Park this weekend to discuss the possibility of turning the event into a night race next year.
Ecclestone revealed earlier this week that he wants F1 to hold 'a number' of night races in 2008 - most likely in Japan, China, Australia and possibly Singapore because of the time zone differences.
Walker has said that he is considering the possibility, although said that plans were far from definite.
"We are looking at it and when Bernie gets here, we'll talk to him about it again," Walker told Australian newspaper The Age. "He hasn't said to me that we have to do it. It's an option.
"It's not a fait accompli by any means. There are problems with the power grid in Albert Park. It will take a massive amount of kilowatts to light up the track for the drivers, plus there are also environmental issues."
Walker said that a Singapore night race could be used as a test bed to see whether such events are a success. A delegation from the country is due to attend this weekend's Australian GP to further their plans for an F1 event.