F1 Lighting Plan All Set For Thumbs Up

Source : The Business Times, October 17, 2007

A 6.3km-long aluminium truss will be built along the length of the track

SINGAPORE is heading into the final lap of preparations for the 2008 Formula One Grand Prix, with the lighting plan for the street circuit set to get the thumbs up from the sport's governing body.

Bright spot: Tests were carried out at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track to ascertain the effectiveness of the lighting system in real racing conditions

The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and lighting contractor Valerio Maioli have said they are confident that Singapore's inaugural event will write a page in racing history as a night race.

Once FIA gives official approval, work on the lighting system will start straight away, Colin Syn, deputy chairman of Singapore GP, said yesterday.

Singapore GP said it has signed a letter of intent with Italian company Valerio Maioli to design and construct the system.

Challenges associated with a night race must be overcome - chiefly, ensuring the safety of drivers and marshals and illuminating the circuit uniformly to meet high definition television broadcast standards.

And Singapore's street circuit presents its own problems.

As the track is temporary, the lighting system will have to be assembled and dismantled annually.

But underground ducts cannot be used for cables. And on top of this, the trees along the road could obstruct the path of the lighting system and have to be worked around.

The solution to all this is a 6.282 km-long horizontal aluminium truss - supported by vertical steel pylons - built along the track.

Almost 1,500 lighting projectors will be installed on the truss, providing a combined 3.18 million watts that will make the track almost four times brighter than a stadium.

But that won't worry the drivers. The angle of the projectors will prevent light beams blinding them - even if there is heavy rain or puddles on the track.

No need to worry about a crash either. A special support on the truss will allow for a safety junction between truss and pylon, just in case a pylon is hit during the race.

The safety junction will break but the truss will stay up.

What about getting lost? Unlikely, as run-off ways will be lit with a different intensity from the track so drivers do not mistake one for the other.

OK, say there's a blackout? To guard against such an unexpected and unlikely event, electricity will be produced by 12 twin-power generators fitted in special protected areas.

Each generator has the capacity to produce enough energy for the entire system in its area, should one fail.

'I explained to them that we studied all the technical problems for the light, for the power systems, for the truss. At the end of the meeting they were happy,' said Mr Maioli of Valerio Maioli, saying he is sure FIA will give the go-ahead for a night race.

The cost of the lighting system is yet to be finalised, but it could be in the range of $3-6 million.

'We'll try to keep it low by using local contractors,' Mr Syn said.

Tests were carried out in July and September at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track in Le Castellet, France, to ascertain the effectiveness of the lighting system in real racing conditions - and they went off without a hitch.

The lights will be brought to Singapore for testing in a controlled environment in early January 2008.

Setting up the system, which is expected to take two or three months, should start in the second quarter of 2008.