Singapore revs up for first F1 grand prix

By Erika Tapalla
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:43:00 03/22/2008

Editor’s note: Re-posts to attribute all quotes to race organizers.

SINGAPORE -- Six months and 13 grand prix races separate this island-state from its inaugural Formula One hosting duties, and preparations are in full swing as Singapore expects to finish its first-ever city circuit by June.

From September 26 to 28, Singapore will play host country to the Formula One Singtel Singapore Grand Prix, the first fully lit night race in FIA Formula One World Championship history. Thus, heavy construction must be done in order to accommodate the needs of the participating constructors, drivers and spectators.

The main challenge Singapore faces is illuminating the night race on a street circuit. The lighting system needs to be powerful enough to simulate daytime conditions and for drivers to see the road clearly. At the same time, good lighting is needed by the spectators and cameras.

According to the race organizers, an Italian lighting expert by the name of Valerio Maioli, aided them in devising a state-of-the-art lighting system capable of delivering optimal visibility with brightness equal to almost four times that of a typical stadium. This system will also enable both the racecar drivers and spectators to witness a spectacular backdrop of the city's famous skyline since all the buildings will be lit.

The Singapore GP will take place counter-clockwise on public roads around the Marina Bay area. INQUIRER.net was given an exclusive guided tour of the circuit which was being prepared at that time.

The circuit is 5.067 kilometers long, and referring to the circuit map, it was indicated that there would be 24 turns. A lap should ideally take a minute and 30 seconds to complete, with drivers speeding upwards of 300 kilometers per hour. The drivers will race for 61 laps for a total race distance of 309.087 kilometers.

There are many long stretches in the circuit where drivers can have the opportunity to overtake each other but one of the most difficult parts of the circuit would be the Anderson Bridge.

The Anderson Bridge, a 70-meter-long vehicular bridge that crosses the Singapore river overlooking the Fullerton Hotel, is the narrowest part of the circuit, but since it is almost as wide as the widest sections of the circuit in Monaco, road width on the circuit in Singapore would not be an issue.

Singapore is preparing for 90,000 spectators for the inaugural 2008 Formula One Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. As of March 19, 180 corporate hospitality suites accommodating 50 people each have been released, including 3,000 paddock club passes and a total of 80,000 three-day grandstand and walkabout passes. These were all given in two phases: 70,000 on February 14, Valentine's Day; and 10,000 on March 10.

Construction work on the Pit Building, roads and other parts of the circuit was started last year and is scheduled to be completed by the end of June. Singapore is only the second country in Southeast Asia to host an F1 race, next only to Malaysia which has the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang on March 23. The Sepang GP is the second race of the season, after the inaugural Australian GP held in Melbourne on March 16. The Singapore GP will be the 15th race of the season, preceding the October 12 Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway, the only other Asian race in the championship aside from the ones in Singapore and Malaysia.

Video below...

Singa-poh. La.

I am more than thrilled to announce, I SURVIVED MY FIRST OVERSEAS COVERAGE!

I was sent to Singapore to cover Hewlett-Packard's data centers...alone. I was scared and anxious. I never traveled alone, I wasn't confident about the little knowledge I had on data centers, I didn't want to screw up and disappoint my bosses who have put a lot of faith in me, and the list of my worries went on until I finally got there.

Upon arrival, I had to check myself in at the Marina Mandarin (it slipped my mind to take pictures of the hotel and my room) and went straight to dinner with the PR of Bursons-Marsteller and three other journalists from Thailand and Malaysia at a Japanese restaurant near our hotel.Generally, everyone was nice...but there were times, of course, no one really had much to say since we were all complete strangers leading very different lives. Emilyn and Sam, the PR agents, were great hosts and very warm people anyone could talk to.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and to our respective rooms. I was exhausted from the bumpy flight and the getting-to-know-you-dinner, yet I kept waking up every hour thinking I was late for my interview with MWg. I hated that feeling. That moment when you open your eyes, feel for your mobile phone to take a look at the time and discover it's only 2:10 AM. So you turn your back away from the side drawer, snuggle deeply into the covers and shut your eyes. An hour or so later, you feel for your phone and look at the time, but again, you discover it's way too early to get ready. Thus, when it was finally time to wake up, I found myself mighty tired and still needing more z's.

I zoned out for a bit, switched on the TV and flipped through their local channels and finally got out of bed and out of my jammies to shower. Made my own coffee, read my notes, and took a cab to MWg to meet Sanjay Sabnani (who I corresponded with and alloted an interview with CEO Mark Billington. It took about an hour and a half, since they were kind enough to show me their ppt presentations of their company and products. Cabbed back to the hotel and wrote the story on an upcoming smartphone that could be charged wirelessly.

I then went down for lunch at the Aquamarine with the rest of the journalists who have just arrived from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia. I was late, and the group was now bigger and everyone seemed to carry their own mini conversations; but luckily I was seated next to Emilyn who made me feel comfortable.

You know after eating such a great meal, I tend to feel really sluggish and sleepy...being in another country and working, did not stop that feeling. SO, i slept on the way to HP Cooltown. But when we arrived, I felt so scared once again. That was it. That was why I was there. To cover presentations on new and improved data centers. To represent INQUIRER.net. I was scared and constantly typing that I was scared will not even suffice or describe how nervous and antsy I really was.

I listened, I took down notes, I asked questions. Then we were broken up into groups and we toured HP Cooltown briefly while the other group had their one-on-one interviews. Cooltown was really cool, no kidding. It really felt like actually being in a futuristic sci-fi movie; only this time, every single technological device TRULY EXISTS. How COOL is that. I think, okay, I'm sure I was the only one who couldn't contain my excitement as "Dr. Cool" demonstrated the devices.

The tour was cut short and I had to go back to conduct my video interview of Uday Kumaraswami, Vice President of Consulting & Integration, HP Services Asia Pacific & Japan; and Aman Dokania, Director and General Manager of Infrastructure Software, HP Asia Pacific & Japan. In hindsight, I am relieved that the tour took my anxiety away. I got too excited and amused that my fears of conducting that interview with these HP powerpeeps dissolved into a mist. Excellent.

It was time to leave Cooltown so I went back to the hotel to write my article on the HP data centers and the article on HP Cooltown as well.

Then I met up with Alex and John Michael, after 2 years and I was psyched to see them!

They took me to Timbre, a very chill dive bar, perfect for unwinding after a long day.We played name that song and artistAnd saw a fat and albino-looking lizard...And met up with Alex's cool Singaporean friend, Lynette, who knew some useless Filipino phrases (thanks to Alex)...We then moved to Arab street, corner Bussorah St. where it actually smelled like basura, or garbage...We stayed at this Indian place where we had to remove our shoes out on the front (kinda sick, initially) and sit on a carpeted floor...With comfortable pillows and beautiful interiors...And ordered fat lychee shakes with strawberry syrup...And had shisha...As I made the three laugh their heads off while impersonating Janina San Miguel and the famous Ken Lee singer...And after a long time, felt again, how much I missed that bizatch and refreshed me on why we've been friends for over a decade...'Til May.

Went back to the hotel that evening and wrote my final story for the trip. I was a dead beat but had one more day for an exclusive interview with F1 Grand Prix to be held in Singapore in September. Look out for it :)

I conquered a lot of my fears in a short span of 3 days and have gained more perceptive. Nothing beats firsthand experience.

Techfest for dummies

I covered my first IT story yesterday and I was experiencing, what locals would call in a colloquial sense, a "nosebleed". Nosebleeds are moments wherein one experiences great confusion in terms of language, topic of conversation, or in this case, topic of coverage.

I'm not a very techy person (many can attest to that) so this really was a great challenge. I'm one of those people whose brains kinda just shut when they hear any tech jargon -- whether it be as "simple" as html, css, or processors. It's daunting...it's like learning how to speak a new language; only this time while surrounded by native speakers.

Filtering out all sorts of data is one thing, making sense of the information is another, and of course, writing it is another. There were moments when I heard crickets, but had to ignore that and tune back in and keep picking it up as they proceeded in fear I might miss something. And it didn't help that my colds would lock my ears up and had to keep blowing my nose to prevent this.

I had to absorb whatever I learned and while Erwin was asking me what angle I'd be working on -- so we wouldn't produce the same story -- I really didn't know. I was too busy feeling scared and nervous for the video interview I had to shoot. Who should I speak to? Should I place the two speakers together? What do I ask? My heart was racing and I could feel my cheeks warming up as I felt that the video interview was getting closer. These people had to leave and I had to ask soon or lose that chance of getting a video.

Then I'd snap out of it then think random things like...the beach......or that Mexican drama I saw two nights ago.

Then I'd snap back and feel all scared again! SEE THE DILEMMA PEOPLE. And moments like these, I tend to giggle my fears away...and I mean really giggle and smile around. But in the end, to cut the story short, you just end up doing what you have to do. You just have to -- no excuses. I'm actually very thankful I was sent here; otherwise, I would never learn, never expand my horizons. Plus, I'd rather make my mistakes here, and freak out here, than in Singapore, or wherever other country I may be sent to. If there's one thing I should really be working on, it's self-confidence: owning the fact that I can be sent anywhere and still pull through. And with this, I present the link to my first IT story.

Down with the sickness

After weeks of being completely preoccupied with university's final requirements, I AM DONE.

But now, I am down with the flu and have been trying to sweat out the fever all day, to no success. I'd rather be busy than lie here all day; but merely getting up or watching television, already gives me migraines. I wonder, does being ill automatically equate to loneliness?

I need to get better SOON to stay on top of the game. Plus, I'm being sent to Singapore March 17-19 to cover the HP event so I will really need to get better.

Was in Singapore 2-3 years ago and spent Halloween with my friends.We rented out costumes and dressed up as nuns and came out at their local newspaper, The Straits TimesWe went barhopping and got caught up in a party bus, which took us to some clandestine club with awesome interiorsHope to see one of my best buds for over a decade, Alex, even for dinner. John, i'll be seeing you too. Finally, not just via SMS or Chat.
My head feels so heavy and I'm so restless... Damn this flu.