 Motorsport ain't really Pretension's thang, but the whole town has been so focused on Singapore's first Grand Prix night race, that she felt she should really blog about it a little.
It is the first Formula One race to be held in Singapore since 1973 and the first night race in Formula One history ever (prohibitively expensive at ~$150 million ). Like Monaco, the Singapore race is being held on a street circuit in the downtown Marina Bay area, which has meant LOTS of rather inconvenient road closures, traffic jams and parking nightmares. P had dinner in the Orchard Road area on Friday night and all the  trains and buses were absolutely packed to the gills; and there was no parking to be had for love or money. You can view an animated route map here. As it is the first night race, there has been a lot of concern over safety (poorer visibility, important when driving at 300km an hour) and environmental friendliness (1500 metal halide light units using 3.18 million watts of electricity). Bernie Ecclestone, F1 president, stated quite baldly to the press that the intention of having a night race was to cater to the sport's main fanbase in Europe. The timing of the race means that it will be broadcast in Europe in the late afternoon to early evening, prime-time viewing hours for fans.  About 60% of the sponsorship for the race has been provided by the Singapore Tourism Board and the remaining 40% by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, a private company owned by local hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
Last night, P tuned in with everyone else to watch the qualifiers, as Ferrari's Felipe Massa swept into pole position, finishing 3/10 of a second faster overall than his closest rival, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. P refused to pay S$168 for a general walkabout ticket, much less the S$248-1388 for Grandstand tickets, but understands that her colleague's husband is going today (he's a motorsport fan) and will try to get a secondhand report from him next week. P was far more interested in the F1 fringe events including the numerous racing parties around town last week. Sadly they also assumed very well-padded wallets, but would probably have been more fun. Here's a list and short description. | Name | Where? | When? | What? | How much? | | Race Red Party | St James Power Station | Fri 19-Sat20 Sep | Clubbing | ??? | | RedBull F1 Party | Cafe Del Mar, Sentosa | Thurs 25 Sep | Beach Rave Party | By invitation | | Stylo Mercedes-Benz Singapore F1 Party | Scarlet Mansion | Fri 26 Sep | Fashion Show/ Cocktail Party | By invitation only | | Megadance Singapore | Suntec Convention Centre | Sat 27 Sep | Dance Party | $100-800 | | Zouk Very Racey Party | Zouk | Sat 27 Sep | Dance Party | $38 | | Grand Prix D'Horlogerie de Geneve - Asia Edition 2008 | Daum Boutique - Paragon | 27-29 Sep | Exhibition of top 70 watches | NA | | Amber Lounge Race Party | Temasek Reflection | 27-28 Sep | Celeb/ Glitterati Party | $8,600 and up for a table | | Indochine Festival F1 closing | Indochine Empress Place | Sun 28 Sep | Dance Party | $350 for a table of 4 |
 | Redbull F1 party pic from Dennis Lau's blog |  | Fashion Show at Stylo Mercedes Benz event |  | Amber Lounge Party |  | Vacheron Constantin Watch from Grand Prix D'Horlogerie de Geneve show |
The Stylo party has been in the news for the local celebs who attended and for the big messup with valet parking, where 50 car keys got mixed or went missing, resulting in local comedianne Patricia Mok waiting more than 1 1/2 hours to go home. There are 2 R.age videos on the parties which P spent some time trying to embed unsuccessfully. Those interested can click through to them here and here.
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