First nighttime F1 race gears up
On September 28, 2008 at 8 pm, the first Formula 1 race ever held at night will begin in Singapore. Sixty-eight miles of power cable will provide juice to 1,500 light projectors mounted on 240 pylons around the track. What does that mean? It means three billion watts of power -- about four times brighter than a sports stadium. And that might make it the only night time race that requires sunglasses.
Recent developments in Melbourne, Australia, however, mean that Singapore might not be so special for long. Hella has created a special night lighting system for the Australian Grand Prix, and is waiting on a response from the FIA to move forward with it.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jons 10:33AM (12/15/2007)
Take that bali climate conference
Reply
Richard 10:48AM (12/15/2007)
LOL!
Carlos 11:25AM (12/15/2007)
whats the point of a night race if you're lighting up the track?
what happened to mounting a huge mess of headlights to the front of the otherwise perfect aerodynamic body.
I suggest lighting up just a light strip along each side of the track - kinda like the emergency exist in a movie theater.... that way drivers know where the track is but still have to drive in the dark.
Guenther 11:32AM (12/15/2007)
Carlos- the point of a night race in Singapore is better viewing times for live coverage in the key European viewing market.
mikomi 10:53AM (12/15/2007)
Don't forget the sunscreen.
Reply
Guenther 11:28AM (12/15/2007)
Um, think you have a slight problem with your order of magnitude- 3 billion Watt is a little more than twice the power Doc Brown needed to send the DeLorean through time. If applied to 1500 lights, that would be 2 MW per light. Not possible. Never mind the size the conductors would need to be. Pretty sure you're looking for 3 million wats- which would be an appropriate 2kW per light.
Reply
J 5:03PM (12/15/2007)
right, 3GW is twice a large nuclear power plant. unless the rest of the country completely shuts down, thats not gonna happen.
tex 8:52PM (12/15/2007)
Nice fact checking Autoblog. Please correct.
It's 3 million watts, not billion. Duh.
Stadium lights are typically 1500 watts each, so if you're generous and round up 1500 bulbs x 1500 watts = 2.25 million watts you get around 3 million watts.
se30chris 11:31AM (12/15/2007)
Uh, that picture you posted is KL, Malaysia. Not Singapore. Just my 2 cents..
Reply
john p 12:05PM (12/15/2007)
nah, that's singapore.
Luis 12:06PM (12/15/2007)
Don't you just love autoblog?!
why not the LS2/LS7? 2:04PM (12/15/2007)
They don't often fly the Singaporean flag over official buildings in KL.
Clinton Sosnoski 11:47AM (12/15/2007)
wow
That's not a colossal waste of energy, let me tell you.
Reply
MikeW 12:12PM (12/15/2007)
Where is that chrome car?
or how about a car covered entirely with retroreflective material.
Reply
Luis 12:05PM (12/15/2007)
I'm looking forward to this race. It will be interesting. The '08 season's looking good with all the changes happenning...
Reply
john p 12:06PM (12/15/2007)
the gimmick of a dying sport.
Reply
Luis 12:08PM (12/15/2007)
What?! Sorry but there are still plenty of F1 fans...if you don't like it, don't watch...
Reply
Brian Butcher 12:16PM (12/15/2007)
should be awesome
Reply
fm 12:35PM (12/15/2007)
I still don't get it. You'll ALWAYS have some markets that won't get it live. I've seen plenty of races with a few hours if not a few days (not necessarily F1) between the race and them airing. Doesn't really detract from the race I think.
And if FIA and F1 want to keep their "green" status with this race they're going to have to plant a ton of trees more then usual lol
Just plain ridiculous
Reply
Nicko 4:01PM (12/16/2007)
Cool, but I'm more excited for the 1st round of 08' MotoGP season under the lights in Qatar. Should be a surreal experience for fans and riders alike.
Reply