F1 night race to light up with 1,500 Philips projectors

Juniper Foo | Aug 18, 2008

Night will turn into day for the first-ever Formula One night race in Singapore. When the Grand Prix gets into gear on September 28, the Marina Bay Street Circuit will be outfitted with close to 1,500 lighting projectors designed to illuminate the 5.067km tracks with four times the brightness of a football stadium at night.

Dutch company Philips's dedicated reflector, developed by Valerio Maioli engineers, was designed to avoid glare by projecting the light beams at different angles rather than vertically. This effectively ensures that the drivers, speeding at up to 300kmh, won't be distracted by glare in wet weather conditions or, touch wood, if the car spins. The lights at 3,000 lux are so bright, they achieve near-daylight conditions at night. Just to compare, a football stadium sports 800 lux, while street lighting is about 30 lux.

Singaporeans driving along the Marina Bay area would have noticed the pylons and lighting system being set up in place since May. The full contingent of 1,500 light projectors will be ready by August 31. As this is a street circuit, the lighting system is temporary and lines just one side of the track, at 10m above ground level and 4m apart.

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