Night race, no problems as far as Singapore authorities can see 

Singapore Grand Prix officials are confident driver safety concerns such as glare on the track for Formula One's first night race have been adequately addressed. The novelty value of a night race, as well as the first Grand Prix in Singapore, seems to have caught the imagination of F1 fans, with tickets selling quickly and the circuit expected to be full to its 100,000-plus capacity for the Sept. 28 event.

There has been more reticence among teams and drivers, though, due to understandable worries about the visibility of night driving and the potential danger posed by glare off a wet track under floodlighting. Singapore is subject to regular, at times drenching, rain.

Just how the combination of very powerful floodlighting and a wet track will be handled in the wheel-to-wheel action of cars travelling at 300 kph can not possibly be tested until the event itself – there will be one practice session and qualifying at night before the race – but organizers feel all precautions have been taken.

"Safety is of utmost concern to us, thus great care has been taken to develop a lighting system that is bright enough for night race conditions, and at the same time will not cause any glare for the drivers," race communications director Jonathan Hallett told The Associated Press.

"The lighting projectors have their internal reflectors positioned to specifically light the driver's path on the track.

"In the event of heavy rain, the reflected light from the wet road surface will not cause glare as it will not be reflected into the driver's eyes."

Using 2000-watt lamps, the lighting will generate a sum of 3,180,000 watts and 4200 kelvin degrees – that is four times brighter than normal floodlighting for an outdoor sports event.

The circuit will be fitted with 27 kilometers of optic cable and 110 kilometers of power cables.

The lighting engineers – Italian company Valerio Maioli – tested the system at the Paul Ricard circuit in France in 2007 prior to installing it around Singapore's track, in the Marina Bay area adjacent to downtown. More at AP article