Night race lighting?

[woohoo]

...This will most likely lead to an increase in ignorant and unknowledgeable so-called fans of Formula One, who will pollute many forums and discussions around the globe with their single-tracked minds filled with fanatic rants and statements about their 'idolized' driver or team, while having little or no understanding of the past, present, and future of this sport (much less of the technical aspect which we all admire so much here at F1T)....

Tifosi! You speak the truth!
More is not better!
Ive had more than enough of people who do not understand the sport, and believe that all cars should be equal etc. etc.
Not much we can do about it though...

On topic:
I have seen the reflected light in action on a city street, and it does work better than normal top-down lamps.
The light is much softer and less reflective when the street is wet.
But it looks funny, shadowless, like a lab or a metro station.

Here are some photos; obviously much weaker than in Singapore, but the idea is there:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=254610

[WhiteBlue]

http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=h ... e%26sa%3DN

The solution is a number of 10 meter high steel pylons with a continual aluminum truss that will run the entire 5km distance of the circuit. Mounted on the truss are all power, communications and fiber optic cables.



There are also 1,600 special lighting projectors manufactured by Valerio Maioli S.p.a. of Ravenna, Italy using metal halide lamps spaced every 4 meters. These projectors are removable for quick replacement and will have a focusable reflector so that each section of track can be precisely lit.



Interestingly, SingaporeGP have opted for a lamp that is lower in colour temperature (4,200 Kelvin degrees) than used in stadiums (which use a brighter, whiter light of 5,500 Kelvin degrees). The logic behind such a move is sensible as the lower temperature will allow people and television to observe a more natural setting – especially since the route is lined with beautifully maintained trees. However the disadvantage is that Singapore is a tropical climate and – especially during inclement weather – the lower temperature lights may not work as well.

Notwithstanding, one of the excellent aspects of this lighting option is that the entire track will be evenly lit! Gone are the days of missing the action as a camera quickly pans from bright daylight to a shadowy part of the track.

But best of all is that the photography and video will be superb! Watch out for this race being broadcast in high definition – we tip this race to have some of the best images from the entire 2008 race schedule!

apparently the actual lamps are supplied by Philips. I wonder if the FOM will really go to HDTV standard for this race. to my knowledge they have never supplied HDTV so far.

FAST FACTS : FORMULA 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix Lighting System

Lighting System Horizontal aluminium truss (10m high) supported by vertical steel pylons (32m apart) supported by a footing system with steel plates
Truss to carry power cables, fibre optic cables, light projectors and DigiColor units
Centrally controlled by DigiLux System

Light projectors Placed 4m apart on the truss
2,000 Watt metal Halide lamp
4,200 Kelvin degrees

Luminosity 3,000lux levels (four times brighter than the lights at sports stadiums)
Power supply 12 sets of twin generators
One generator can produce the energy required for the entire system in the assigned area
Each generator can take the load of both generators should its twin generator fail

Total power required 3,180,000 Watts
Total length of aluminium truss Approx. 6,300m
No. of Steel Pylons Approx. 230
No. of Light Projectors Approx. 1,500
Total length of power cables Approx. 110,000m
Total length of optic cables Approx. 27,000m
Lighting consultant Valerio Maioli S.p.A

3.2 MW is a lot of power, wow

[Chaparral]

I'm not sure how I feel about a race under lights having watched MotoGP under similar circumstances earlier in the year - it didnt add to the spectacle one iota in fact probably detracted from the overall show. Having said that Singapore looks like a wonderful venue for a race and having been there a number of times I know quite well the route of the track and under lights it could work well however the one unknown is weather - if it rains its no race - a number of drivers said this up front 18 months ago Webber & Alonso being two of them - you just cannot see under lights in a wet situation that's the facts. I hope it works for the organisers as its a venue that could become the 'Monaco' of the Far East.

[flynfrog]

I dont see what the big deal is we have been racing under the lights here since my grandpa raced

back when guys worked all week to scrape enough to go to the track that weekend most races were at night

[WhiteBlue]

It looks like a well specified and designed system to me. I do like variety in race venues and so I look forward to the experience of Singapore at night.

The questions of racing by night in the rain must have been adressed before the whole thing was decided. So I would think that there must have been a test or some other experience that will allow them to go ahead with it. Actually in the rain the difference between daylight and artificial lighting should be smaller. The question of reflections must have been studied prior to mnaking a decision for the lighting system. The projectors/reflectors seem to be designed to provide a diffuse light with very consistent light intesity along the track. The low distance of 4 m betreen projectors is probably caused by such considerations.

[Patriiick]

I live in Singapore (i m a french expat) so i can maybe shed some...err. light on the subject.
The progress on the track lighting has been fast in the past 3 weeks and the overall setup is tighter than it seems.

First the track is setup in a part of the city that is already very well lit. It is one of the most happening and busy parts of the city. That s one good point: you wont get the industrial-area cold looking feeling of valencia.. you are looking at a real city track.... and tight at some points..
And the venue is much much more spectacular than Valencia.. there is a grandstand area called "marine Parade" with 3 large screens, 7000 seats, and the cars coming just in front of the grandstand..and disappear just UNDER... really cool and super narrow.. Think maximum steering Loewe's-like (cannot call it anything else ) Think "la piscine" in monaco..but much much bigger.

Visually, when you are "there", the amount of lights setup is massive. I have seen the actual test done here at night and it does not "feel" like night. It s more like a race run at night while having day-like visibility. It s much much brighter than any Lemans pitlane by a factor of 10.

The only issue i see, with my limited racing experience (emphasis on "limited") is that finding out braking points will be a little tougher to find.

The tarmac in singapore is very matte, like monaco, and does not have a greasy or shiny aspect. Hence reflections should be limited.

Rain happens, actually the past three weeks have been miserable..at least we ll have our quota for the month i hope but spray with regular cars is inexistant. Mostly because road drainage is very very good.. It s not worse than a monaco wet race.. Once rain stops, the road dries VERY quickly.. i d say no more than 7 laps before a very dry line appears.. i m not exaggerating.. !

As a side note, there is a very serious racing aficionado crowd in singapore. Malaysia has had a "halo effect" here since Sepang is about 140km away. The GP is sold out and i expect the crowd to be no less knowledgeable than a Monaco crowd. Maybe not the "harbour glamour" but more the "asian class".

Dont expect any issues with Marshalls and volunteers, they ve all been trained by their australian counterparts..

Let me know if you want to know more... I hope i ll have good photos to share a month from now

[Patriiick]

[quote="Ciro Pabón"]Well, some photos were released to "catch the imagination":




just as a side note, that drawing (still being presented in many many brochures) is totally inexact.. that perspective is backwards.. the cars will be coming in the other way around... the pitlane straight is a preceded by a left hander and ends with another left hander..

The city is litterally covered with F1 stuff... really struck me today.

[donskar]

mx_tifosi, you're among friends, so just tell us how you really feel :

This will most likely lead to an increase in ignorant and unknowledgeable so-called fans of Formula One, who will pollute many forums and discussions around the globe with their single-tracked minds filled with fanatic rants and statements about their 'idolized' driver or team, while having little or no understanding of the past, present, and future of this sport (much less of the technical aspect which we all admire so much here at F1T).

Probably true overall, but unless F1 undergoes massive, almost unimagineable changes (back to my beloved 1960s and 70s ) the sport will suffer without massive sponsorship. And those sponsors want lots of eyeballs. Those eyeballs can be in front of brains with all the intellectual depth of a bowl of oatmeal, just so long as they are staring at the endless adverts that will continue to pepper F1 broadcasts and line the tracks around the world.

[Ray]

Those eyeballs can be in front of brains with all the intellectual depth of a bowl of oatmeal....

Hey hey hey there Donskar! Those of us (really just me) who have oatmeal for brains don't appreciate that!

[modbaraban]

http://www.motorauthority.com/wp-conten ... 08_1_c.jpg
just as a side note, that drawing (still being presented in many many brochures) is totally inexact..

According to the picture all F1 cars have head and taillights