Singapore night race concerns

Posted by Nick Smith | 01:00 | 0 comments »

During the build up to the 2008 season there were muffled discussions regarding one of the new venues to debut this season, Singapore. With Bernie Ecclestone pushing for a night race in Austrailia, and the possibility of this becoming a regular Formula One feature, several members of the F1 paddock have begun to speak out regarding their fears of running sch a dangerous sport in low-light conditions. The most notable in the last few days has been Torro Rosso team manager Massimo Rivola, who yesterday expressed his concerns regarding the lack of practice available to drivers in the run up to the Grand Prix later this year.
Nico Rosberg shares his view that 90 minutes of practice in the dark is nowhere near enough to acclimatise drivers to the impending challenge. "Either we change the programme so that a greater amount of practice takes place at night, or we have to think seriously about re-introducing the Thursday tests" Rivola is quoted as saying.
Having been thoroughly entertained by all the sliding and crashes in the Australian Grand Prix, it pains me to say that these guys may be right. The level of focus required to maintain control of an F1 car is staggering, and I fear that without time to acclimatise to the night racing, we could have a big accident on our hands. I've heard that the track layout will be quite fast and flowing too, which only adds to the worry - imagine coming round a corner at 150mph and seeing a shadowy shape which may or may not be a stricken car in your path - the concequences of not reacting could be disastrous.
Let's pray that al the drivers are as professional and sharp as we know they can be and that they get on with it with the minimum of fuss.

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