AFP - Singapore set to join F1 family

LazerLordz SG

Singapore set to join F1 family

From correspondents in Singapore
January 12, 2007

AFP - FORMULA One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is in talks with at least two Singaporean groups to host a grand prix around the streets of the city-state as early as next year, a report said today.

In preparation, Hermann Tilke, the German architect who designed the circuits at Sepang in Malaysia, Manama in Bahrain, Istanbul and Shanghai, has designed one for Singapore, the Today newspaper said.

It said the talks with Ecclestone, the powerful commercial rights holder of Formula One, were spearheaded by a prominent, but reclusive, local business czar who was prepared to back the venture.

"Yes, we have been talking to various parties about a race in Singapore but as it is, nothing has been firmed up yet," Ecclestone was quoted as saying.

"When we have something, you will definitely know about it."

The cost of hosting a race in Singapore would be at least $50 million , but the returns have proven to be vastly more in tourism receipts.

Singapore's wide streets are seen as ideal for hosting a race and it would mean no expense on building a circuit.

Last year Max Mosley, president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, said Singapore would be a welcome addition to the calendar.

"Singapore is a vibrant business region with a huge motor sport fan base and it would be a welcome addition to the sport," Mosley said.

A source told the newspaper that talks between the unnamed business czar and Ecclestone were at an advanced stage, but another party has since come into the picture.

"We were close, 99 per cent there with Ecclestone," the source said. "We can't afford to miss the boat again because Singapore may not be given another chance to host Formula One."

Mosley and Ecclestone have been working to move more grand prix around the world and away from their traditional European roots, and Asia is in their sights.

China is now on the calendar, as is Malaysia, Japan and Australia, while South Korea last year signed a contract to stage a race in Yeongam county for a seven-year period starting in 2010.

Agence France-Presse

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21048414-23770,00.html

CM06 SG

If it comes here i hope we attract more people..and more $$$

BUt it would also mean alot of traffic jams / trasnport screw-ups.

If they make use of the proceeds to lower transport cost,,,i'm all for it!

Other wise it would just make more people to zhng their subaru and speed around and crash/hit and run/night noise pollution.

LazerLordz SG

I’d love to see more BTCC , Formula Holden series kinda races here too..

red_amoeba SG

You can forget about lowering tpt costs, thats the last thing the gahmen will do. But i believe since its usually held over the weekend, we can do something like Monte Carlo track, past Esplande down Marina like how the route for Big Walk. You have the waterfront track (along Esplande). But I doubt the track will go into Orchard due to weekend traffic. Maybe can go into housing estate, racing along the straight stretch of Lim Chu Kang road will be fun, like the home stretch like that....

wow, exciting - hopefully they don't price the tickets higher than Sepang...

LazerLordz SG

How feasible would it be for them to race on the Sheares bridge, Keppel viaduct? That'll be a cool sight. Mr. Green

red_amoeba SG

actually Shears bridge & Keppel viaduct too high, cannot be seen & no place to erect spectator stand - affect viewership.

South Bouna Vista road will be good, lots of twists and turns....

LazerLordz SG

yeah, a dream, for helicopter pov.

SBV is nice, but might need some widening.

borgkilla SG

hmmm looks like maybe malaysia will not renew their F1 racing rights after it expires ...
a race in singapore + malaysia would canibalize one another

oxford mushroom SG

Racing on public roads will cause massive jams and adversely effects the economy. Giving car racing such a big public forum may also encourage youngsters to conduct illegal racing. It is better to construct a proper race track dedicated to the sport. However, I am not convinced that it will contribute that much to the economy.

LazerLordz SG

That's just an alarmist pov. Illegal racing has been part of our landscape since the Peirce circuits of the 70s. At least, if there is an avenue for professional racing here, there is another path open for those who might end up expressing their hobby and passion on a grey path.

pinkish purple papayas SG

economy this econnmy that... putting money into everything u see.

U are the people that kill the spirit of sports.

U support bullshi.ts like 7% GST increases, Temasek holdings, casinos, bettings, FT policies, but dun support sporting events. People like u are going to ruin the country. But thank god u have left Singapore.

isn't the govt expanding this possibility?

dude, u are suppose to blindly support whatever the govt implements...go post something that supports this plan ok?

Why go against the plan? have ur political masters bit ur tail or something?

oxford mushroom SG

Just because we have drug addicts since the 60s does not mean we should glamorize the drug culture.

The government has yet to convince me that the economic gains will outweigh the social ill effects of bringing the F1 here. There is no need to bend over backwards for the minority who want to take up motor racing as a hobby at the expense of the nation. As I said, I am prepared to support it if it nakes economic sense, like the casino, but the case has not been made.

oxford mushroom SG

I am a free agent. Just because I support most government policies does not mean I agree with all o0f them, unlike the brainless supporters of the Opposition who oppose every government policies regardless of merit.

Singapore has limited land and our roads are already congested as it is. One must make a very good case to disrupt the traffic flow for a sports event like the F1. In any case, our roads are not designed for motor racing. Go build a racing track in St John's Island or Ubin Island if there is economic merit instead.

pinkish purple papayas SG

Wow...u are comparing Racing sports with drugs...

How about comparing football Matches and Murder cases? since they both start with the letter M too?

Again...why money money money? If its sports we are talking about...doesnt money spoil the goodness of sportsmanship?

Ok, lets talk about economic sense, surely

- we can see a boom and automotive industry, (automotive spare pairs and services don't come cheap).
- Sponsership are bound to have, e.g car decals,banners, TV viewership
- we may even have to growth to develop ourself as an automotive hub. aside from being an aviation hub,medical hub,transport hub, petrochem hub, starhub, etc.
- Tourism industry. Enough said. U probably know what they bring in.
- Jobs generated. Education courses created to cater automotive hub.
- Investors.

In regards to people,
- Morale of Singaporean is bound to rise, like how countries host WC and the olympics, u got to realise this is an international event, SEA games doesnt even count as an international event.
- Something good to talk about.

And its not about SG building a stadium and using it only once or twice a year. We are just gonna close down a section of the road once or twice a year only.

pinkish purple papayas SG

Look...think about it.

Singapore closes its roads for Ching-gay marches, NDP marches, BIG-walk marathons, IMF meetings, Christmas celebrations, CNY celebrations at Chinatown, USA president arrivals, State funerals, Tree-prunning and road works every year.

So if we were to close our roads for joyous occasions like motor events, it is surely gonna dampen our economy, thus, we were be punged into a depression.

why build a racing track when we can race on existing road? Racing track causes money and its a white elephant eventually. Isn't what economy the word u are preaching?

U say u are a free agent but yet u post mostly 148th media. U are kinda narrow minded ain'nt u?

pinkish purple papayas SG

Even China, branded as a bureaucratic, communist country had also welcomed the idea of hosting racing games. They have constructed a racetrack in Shanghai, which was hailed as the most challenging racecourse ever.(correct me of i am wrong) So far it has been a success i think.

And yes, theres Malaysia, South Africa, most european and american countries.

So what is holding us back? If u wanna talk economy sense, Racing sports and automotive industry is a multi-trillion economy. Isn't it refreshing that Singapore could maybe have a small pie of it? perhaps just a few millions?

Please don't give me the unneccassary whine that youngsters are gonna get crazy over motor sports and drive to crash their cars around SG. If thats the case, all countries with motor events would have humans as roadkill liao rite?

I refer to http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=230989 can i would say SG govt should'nt waste time thinking thinking thinking...after all, all their "well planned" programs turned out to be failures.

Please, lets not be so kiasi, kiasu and so money-faced.

pinkish purple papayas SG

I do not want to brand everything as money money money...many things in life are more important than economy and govt taxes etc.

Ask any self respecting athletic,

being a champion or getting a million. although most ended up getting both,but if theres only 1 choice, i am sure most would want to be a Champion then a million dollar loser.

oxford mushroom SG

As I said, I am not convinced that there is a business case for holding F1 motor racing in Singapore and certainly I haven't seen a detailed impact analysis on the adverse effects on traffic and ordinary economic activity. Get some proper economists to put up facts and figures to show the economic gains of such a venture. As I said, I am prepared to support it if the government can build up a proper case for it.

Want to encourage sports? There are plenty of sports stadiums for kids to play badminton and volleyball. Motor racing is hardly the kind of activity we want to introduce to young people. There are safer and healthier sports. Driving like a devil from hell does not make you any more fit physically.

Chingay procession is along a road...F1 motor racing will require many roads to be closed for the race and access roads to be blocked for the spectators. A large part of F1 racing proceeds come from ticket sales. How are you going to charge if the race is on public roads? What about the noise it generates? Public roads run through residential areas in land-scarce Singapore. Why should ordinary citizens be subject to unnecessary noise pollution? You do not just close the road once for the big race. There are various tests and practice runs to be conducted before the race itself. The disruption to traffic and economic activities will be considerable. And have you considered the logistic costs, police security and army boys to build grandstands like for NDP?

In fact, I have previously suggested in this forum to allow commercial concerns to build a racing track for F1 and other motor sports if there is a business case for it. It would be easier to control the crowd, charge admission and prevent young people from entering the venue. However, I do not think it is justifiable commercially.

Therefore it is likely that a street track will be the more economical option, but it also poses greater disruption. I do not know the proposed plan as it is in the consultation stage. I will register my objection to the plan unless there is overriding economical benefits to the nation. If so, the number of such races should be limited to just once a year.

In my view, there is only one possible justification for holding F1 races and it's economics. Prove to me with hard facts and figures that it is worth the bother and I will support it.

pinkish purple papayas SG

I hope TS's source rebutts ur money faced explaination.

Again, why must u weigh everything in terms of economy and obedience? Is a yes-man, sexless, lifeless, rich life a fulfilling life to you?

What is it about noise pollution? the venue is held downtown Singapore, where no one lives there. People go there to see and do stuffs. And if its noise pollution u are afraid, why not ban 7th month festivals, airports and construction and road works?

U say things like driving like a devil and these are negative influence to young people. And then compared driving skills like drug activities. Dude, u are paranoid conservative. Btw, racing sports may also bring in race queens, are u gonna freak out when u see woman on TV? oh...isn't showing woman on TV and racing sports a taboo on ur world?

Revenue like ticket sales, tourism, hospitality and service industries, insurance covers, advertising and endorsements would surely outweigh cost like logistic, policing, and setting up specator stands.

Not to mention its long term benefits like international exposure and opportunity costs.

After so many failures SG govt had done in being too cautious and too pragmatic, isn't it time that SG open up absorb new concepts. E.g. SIP,marina bay,IMF etc.

U keep saying economy,economy. But ur contingency plan seems to be "shut-up-peasants-and-listen-to-our-high-and-mighty-and conservative-govt". Thats not gonna work if u keep shutting out fresh ideas.

If its economy u are looking at, why not u suggest we kill all retarded and old people in SG since they are of no impact to ur PRECIOUS economy? yes? Lets put a stop on volunteering, donating and constructive handicapped friendly places.

If we talk about well-being of a country, lets talk about Military, Civil, Economic , Social and Psychological. Obviously a mega sporting event would bring ups to SG's Economic, Social and Psychological factors.

But u just choose to have a very negative view on economy. Rolling Eyes

pinkish purple papayas SG

Lets talk about what happened yesterday. Football.

Singapore won over Laos. 11-0

Every Singaporean is happy. Theres a feel-good mood around SG's atmosphere. Happy people do things better.

These are the things that "economy" will not give us. Money, after all is given to the govt for monopoly.

This is the kind of Social and Psychological boost that SG needs!! Not another plan to increase her economy and other nonsensical rubbish plans!

Obviously u did not see that coming because u left Singapore.

Btw, if u compare motor racing with drugs and negative influence, i guess football to you would be like prostitution and vice? What are u gonna talk about? football hooligans running amok the country?