F-1 Night Race is on for 2008

[TrueBrit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6911269.stm

[NismoZ]

Good looking waterfront layout. I wanna go!:)

[RichK]

Maybe Friday practice will be hot dog night, and they'll invert the field on Sunday! :gomer:

[Methanolandbrats]

All street races suck, so two new ones is a disturbing trend. At least the Asian one will be on TV at a decent hour.....night there is noon here.....I think.

[stroker]

as long as the respective gummint is paying the bill, the cost is unimportant. That's the one thing NASCAR is trying to emulate from BE...

[Sean O'Gorman]

All street races suck, so two new ones is a disturbing trend. At least the Asian one will be on TV at a decent hour.....night there is noon here.....I think.

They said during ALCS game 3 that when the Indians and Red Sox were playing, fans in Japan were 13 hrs ahead, so a race that started at 8 here was like 9 AM there. So I guess in our case it would be late morning? I don't know, I'm confused.

[Ozarkian]

They said during ALCS game 3 that when the Indians and Red Sox were playing, fans in Japan were 13 hrs ahead, so a race that started at 8 here was like 9 AM there. So I guess in our case it would be late morning? I don't know, I'm confused.

That sounds correct for the US Eastern time zone. On the west coast, the difference is around 16 hours.

Good website for this: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

Much better than trying to learn it from the exchanges between Radar and Colonel Blake on MASH.

[RusH]

A check to Bernie...now we can welcome Singapore to the First World. :rofl:

:flog:

[nissan gtp]

I like it. Night racing is the bomb.

[ilferrari]

I wish they didn't run it at night. Night racing brings nothing except more danger, and it goes against the sport's heritage.

I was in Singapore a month ago, I took the opportunity to drive around the proposed track. Very tight and twisty course with little run-off, seemed dangerous to me. They will be crossing water twice over 2 bridges - one bridge is REALLY narrow, the other is a wide and busy intersection. The start/finish area is very undeveloped, lots of old trees. I think I could see what they had started on the pit complex behind the screens.

[ilferrari]

This @s$h0le Ecclestone is responsible:

"The only problem we have with going East is the television,'' Ecclestone, reputed to be worth £2.3 billion ($5.5 billion), was quoted as saying by Malaysian newspapers last month. "We lose so much television in Europe because of the time change. So, I've been urging people to floodlight the circuits in order to have the race at night.''

"The new clause in the contract requires us to be prepared for night racing,'' Mokhzani Mahathir, chairman of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), said this month. "We can be ready for night racing next year. But we will need ample notice from Formula One.''

Singapore, which will host its debut Grand Prix on a street circuit next year, could be the first in the world to hold a race after dark with Ecclestone indicating it was a done deal. "I think we can stop discussing the possibility of the race during the day,'' he said when announcing a five-year contract from 2008. Organisers insist a night race in the city-state will only go ahead if all safety concerns are met, including glare in dark conditions if it rains.

In typical Ecclestone style, he then drew Australia into the equation, putting it on the spot this week with an ultimatum - work on holding the Melbourne Grand Prix at night or risk the race being taken away. "Unless they (organisers) can come up with something satisfactory, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be able to continue there,'' the one-time motorcycle salesman was quoted as saying in local newspapers. "I would like to make sure we can watch (the race) in Europe and other parts of the world at a respectable time rather than having to get up at three or four in the morning.''

[Methanolandbrats]

Has Europe adopted the VCR, Tivo or some other form of recording device..........that kinda cancels out the time problem :shakehead

[Rogue Leader]

Has Europe adopted the VCR, Tivo or some other form of recording device..........that kinda cancels out the time problem :shakehead

While that makes sense for all of us and other true fans, the average person and the channel changer do not think to DVR a race. Hes thinking ratings and there is no way a sporting event held at 3 am is going to get the same ratings as 3 pm, no matter what it is.

[jonovision_man]

Has Europe adopted the VCR, Tivo or some other form of recording device..........that kinda cancels out the time problem :shakehead

No live timing? No OC chat? How would they survive?? :confused: :D

jono

[cameraman]

Of course that would put the races back into the middle of the night for us:irked:

[devilmaster]

Hey now guys, remember - Malta is a big market for them...... :\

[Jervis Tetch 1]

Interesting for sure.

[High Sided]

I like it. Night racing is the bomb.

and motogp under the lights in qatar next year ta'boot :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Dirk Diggler]

They're about 15 years too late.


http://www.f1-photo.com/Gallery/1993/Belgium/Alesi_1993_Belgium_01_PHC.jpg

[opinionated ow]

melbourne will never happen at night. nimbys will see to that.....