WEBBER BACKS FIA

[davewilson]

Mark Webber is confident the FIA will do their homework ahead of a night street grand prix in Singapore.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed the country will hold a race for five years from 2008, with the likelihood of it being held in September or October.

"This will be the first fully-lit street race in Formula One, and as a night race we anticipate it will quickly establish itself as one of the most dramatic and atmospheric in our calendar," stated Ecclestone.

"I know the Formula One drivers, teams and fans are all looking forward to coming to Singapore next year."

The over-riding concern from a drivers' perspective, however, are the safety issues surrounding a night event.

Unlike Le Mans cars, their Formula One counterparts do not have lights, which means the circuit would have to be brilliantly lit for visibility purposes.

At the end of March Red Bull Racing star Webber toured the circuit proposed for the race, however, that was during broad daylight.

A night event is a different matter, and now it is incumbent upon the FIA they guarantee the safety of all who attend.

"We have always said you need to do the homework. You never say never, but something can be done," said Webber speaking ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

"There are other categories that race at night, but there is not much artificial lighting at places like Le Mans, and obviously we don't have lights on the car.

"The power of the lights you would need to artificially light the place for visibility for the drivers, flag marshalling and other things that go with it would be enormous.

"I think you could do it, but then there is a question of the rain or a blackout that could embarrass you if don't do your homework.

"I am sure the FIA will do that because we all know there will be repercussions of having so much egg on their face if it doesn't work.

"I have also done a few laps of a track in Singapore and there were a few places that needed to be made safer."

BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld also expressed his concerns as he said: "I like the idea of night racing and street circuits.

"But as Mark mentioned I see some issues about safety. If that is sorted, I am fine with it because normally street tracks are more dangerous as there is no run-off area.

"The light system also has to work perfectly. It is not like a soccer game where if the light turns off nothing happens.

"If you are doing 300kph then it is a bit more of a problem, so I hope they manage to sort everything for it."

[cosworth151]

NASCAR has run night races for seveeral years. There is one this Sat. at Darlington. But all of their night races are on ovals. I wonder if a street circuit will be easier or harder to light than an normal track. Everything would be temparary.

One thing NASCAR does for its night races is use special metalic paint jobs that really shine under the artificial light.