Singapore At 300KMH
Even as the dust of ‘Crashgate’ scandal cast a shadow over the sport, the high-octane roar of the Formula 1 engines in Friday’s first practice session on the Marina Bay street circuit signalled the start of the 2009 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix.
By a stroke of luck, I won a pair of complimentary tickets in an online lucky draw to enjoy Friday’s practice session. While I’ve been catching every Grand Prix race via live TV telecast, this would be my first ever outing inside an F1 race circuit. This is all so exciting for me!
The Bay Grandstand offers spectators the full view of downtown Marina (where the Integrated Resort is being constructed) and the Central Business District skyline, the Benjamin Shears Bridge and the Singapore Flyer complete the spectacular skyline.
Deja Vu
Renault’s rookie driver Romain Grosjean lost control at Turn 17 just 40 mins into the first practice session. His car spun and crashed at the same spot where Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately rammed his car into the wall during last year’s race. Talk about deja vu.
Battle By The bay
Last year’s Battle By The Bay was fought out between Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Filipe Massa of Ferrai, but thanks to the ‘Crashgate’ scandal, which will forever tarnished the dazzling spectacle of the historic night race, Renault’s Fernado Alonso won the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix title. As a result, Massa did not score any point on that night, and Hamilton went on to eventually clinch the World Championship title.
This year’s Championship battle will be keenly contested between Brawn GP team-mates, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, both of whom were not even sure if they will be driving a couple of weeks before the start of the season. Chasing the Brawn GP dual will be dark horse Sebestian Vettel of Red Bull Racing, who is still with a shout of the world title.
Standing in the way of this trio will be the Singapore title holder, Fernado Alonso, who will be eager to restore his reputation with a performance that he hope will wipe the slate clean once and for all. Lewis Hamilton, although mathematically out of the race for the World title, will have the responsibility to help redeem the image of the sport as the reigning World Champion.
[...] Singapore at 300KMH by betshopboy.net [...]
[...] got to observe a different kind of race recently. He managed to score great grandstand seats to the 2009 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. The Formula One race cars were flying by at 300 kilometres an hour and betshopboy has some fun [...]