Friday, September 30, 2011

2011 Singapore Grand Prix - Recap of my first F1 race adventure

I'd to a NASCAR race before, but in September I went to my first Formula 1 (F1) race in Singapore.  The Singapore Grand Prix is unique because it's a night race, and basically an entire weekend of parties (i.e. concerts and racing events) and was a lot of fun.  I ended up purchasing Premier Walkabout tickets for all 3 days. 

These tickets were ideal for me, since I don't like having restrictions as to where I can go and I wanted to be able to travel from Zones 1-4 easily.  As an added bonus, these tickets also gave me the opportunity to ride the Singapore Flyer for free. 


How could I pass up the opportunity to see the track and the views of Singapore at night, when the trip was gratis?  I couldn't.


As for the highlights of the weekend here goes:
  • Sebastian Vettel won the race.  For those of you that have no idea, here are some details about him:
    • He's German
    • Races for Red Bull Racing
    • Current World Champion
  • I saw Rick Astley perform in concert.  Here are my 3 cents on this experience.  ****  Why 3 cents, you ask?  Because I have more sense than the average person and I'm louder.
    • If you are a man and you're not there with your significant other, you shouldn't be in a pavilion taking up space watching Rick Astley perform.  You need to listen outside the pavilion and give your "seat" to a female.  It's just the right thing to do.
    • Rick talked to the crowd about the humidity in Singapore.   ****  Tell us something we don't know.  He performed all of his hits and a few covers and I must say, I enjoyed the performance.
      • Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I like Rick Astley.
  • When given the choice between watching Shakira or Boy George, I chose Boy George.  ****  In the interest of full disclosure, I'd already seen Shakira perform in 2010 at the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.
  • Boy George looked great!  He's on the heavier side these days, but he looks healthy.  His eye make-up looked fantastic and he sang all of his hits.  Not sure how many other opportunities I'd have going forward to see him perform so I'm happy I seized the moment.

  • Shaggy in concert was cool.  A guy gave me his wristband so I went to the front of the stage.  I'm not a huge Shaggy fan, but he did his hits.  I was hoping I'd hear "Freaky Girl", but I didn't.  Either I missed it or he didn't perform the track.
  • Linkin Park was the final show on Sunday night and the people were out in droves.  I'm not a huge Linkin Park fan, but I enjoyed their set.  I left it early (i.e. ironically, I think they were playing "Encore") to walk on the race track.


As for the races...
  • I watched the F1 qualifying on Saturday night from Zone 1 near the pit.
  • I watched the Porsche races from Zone 4 on Sunday.

  • I watched the final F1 race from Zone 4 as well. 
  • Don't try to be a hero, bring and wear your earplugs!!!!  Thank goodness I had my iPhone earbuds on me or I would've had to buy earplugs.  Those F1 cars are loud!!!

Food:
  • Go to the races hungry.  Since this is Singapore, plenty of good food is available and relatively inexpensive.  Even if you don't like racing, go there and eat!

THEWIRK

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