3 days, 20 cars, 10 teams and 1028 photos. I am tired. So is my Canon 30D. Here’s just a teaser of what I managed to shoot over the last few days. Check back soon.
What can I say. The SingTel Singapore GP is one hell of a show. The first two days of practice runs were just a teaser of what was to become an amazing race of attrition and smart pit tactics. Coming through all the various crashes and safety car delays, Fernando Alonso emerged triumphant despite coming in from a lowly 15th position.
Me and GQ were sitting at the Marina Bay Grandstand and though it was at a relative slow area of the track, that short straight between Turn 17 and Turn 18 turned up to be the crucial section that changed the fortunes of Felipe Messa and the eventual winner Alonso. You can read the race report at Planet F1 or an abridged version by the wifey.
Besides the successful holding of the race, I am also impressed by the infrastructure work done for the race. The lights for the race were really bright but more impressive was how evenly lit through out the whole track. We were able to walk down the whole track after the race and experienced how it was for the drivers.
One other crucial aspect which I felt was quite well done was the control of the human traffic. Thankfully, the 100,000+ crowd was spread across various grandstands and free standing areas across the whole track, making it more manageable for the police and ushers to control those who enter and leave the track area. There were some obvious bottlenecks which were much better managed on the final night. But they do need to put up more directional signs to direct traffic, especially when people are leaving the track. Many, especially the tourists were not sure how to reach the CityHall MRT station.
At trackside, the ushers had quite a torrid time trying to get people to their right seats as apparently there were some tickets that were printed with the same seat numbers. They also had to managed enthusiastic crowd (like me) who tried to get to vantage positions to snap the race cars. But kudos to the ushers, from the students to working adults who helped made the race enjoyable to watch.
Prior to the race, we also had quite some fun walking around the F1 villages. We managed to catch some performances by Brazilian samba dancers (sexy, real sexy), Zouk DJs (party time), some Austin-Power look-alikes plus lots and lots of eye-candy. We also managed to catch some close views of Mika Heikkinen at the Johnny Walker Lounge while we waited for the qualifying on the second night.
One thing which was not surprising was the heavily marked up prices of the food and drinks. Our dinner (mixed vegetable rice) today cost us between S$12-$15, while a cup of drink cost S$3. But thankfully, it was quite edible and wasn’t a waste of money.
All in all, we really had a blast at the SingTel Singapore GP and we are definitely returning for the 2009 race. And this time, the wifey is definitely coming along!
Do come back here again when the photos are uploaded. I have 1028 photos to go through, but at least half or more will be ignored or deleted. This was my first time shooting racing, and made more challenging when its done at night. Thankfully, the lights are bright and allow faster shuttle speed. The 70-200mm 2.8 L lens I rented definitely came in handy. After 3 days of shooting, I think my 2-eyes-open-and-pan technique definitely improved as I shoot from the top of the Bay Grandstand. Next step is to filter, then tag, then touch-up before uploading. Watch out for them in the next few days.
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Hurry with the pics already!
thumbs up!
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