Another Trip To The Singapore GP Circuit

Tuesday here in Singapore started out a little cloudy and rainy, but in the late morning the rain went away, although the humidity did stick around.

What am I saying? The humidity always sticks around here! As I type this at a little after 1 p.m., the temperature is 90 and the heat index is sitting at 106. Oy.

But because I'm crazy and wanted to see the Singapore GP course again, I hopped in a cab and went over there with the intention of running back to my hotel. Unlike Sunday, I brought water with me, but you know, it just doesn't matter.

If you remember my post from Sunday, much of the circuit was barricaded for the half marathon that was going on. Today those barriers had been taken down so the track was wide open. I was a little hesitant to go out there because I thought maybe there was some unspoken thing that you weren't supposed to. And, if you believe the urban legends, the smallest of violations in places like Singapore lead to hard labor or something like that.

Not true, well, for the most part. I don't intend on breaking any laws while I'm here, but so far Singapore seems like any other city -- the people are just like us, they work and play and go about their lives. In fact, I'm on day four here and I have only seen one police car, and that was at the scene of a traffic accident.

Anyway, a moment or two later, a couple of guys came running by and they went right down the main straightaway, so I knew I was good. It was still really cool to be there a second time, and so I took some more pictures, which you can find at the bottom of this post.

I ended up running the last mile of the circuit -- I ran the opposite way the cars go -- beginning at the starting line. The photos are pretty self-explanatory, but I wanted to point out two of them. Because I am seriously dorky, I walked up to the P1 box on the grid and sat down to see what it looks like from a driver's perspective.

This is what it looked like. I tried to imagine what it is like to be a driver sitting there waiting for the race to start. I can only imagine.

Kind of cool, isn't it? It's a bit hard to believe that this desolate-looking place becomes a place where they hold a Grand Prix race!

Here is a photo I grabbed that shows an overhead shot of the start of a past race. A little different looking, isn't it?

I'm still amazed how easily it is to access the track, but I'm glad they are OK with it, because it's certainly a cool experience!

Finding The Singapore F1 Course

Happy Monday! Well, for some of us at least. I am in Singapore this week, traveling with my wife, Darcy, as she attends a trade show here.

Let me tell you, the trip here is an absolute haul. Our flight left Chicago at noon on Thursday, and the first leg of the trip was a 13 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo. We were only there a couple of hours but it gave me the chance to try sushi for the first time, as well as sake.

Both were really good, especially the sake. But man, it certainly doesn't take much to hit you pretty hard!

Next was a 6 1/2 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore, and we arrived at just after midnight, meaning we spent around 23 hours traveling and experienced a 13-hour time change.

I'm still adjusting to the jet lag, but it's getting better, I don't have the desire to sleep ALL the time, so I'm adjusting.

After spending Saturday getting accustomed to my surroundings, I was up at about 6:30 on Sunday morning and decided to go for a run.

Our hotel is just across the street from the Singapore River, which has a riverwalk that connects to the marina, a place with a ton of things to see and do, along with beautiful views of the skyline. That is also where much of the Formula 1 racecourse is located, so I decided to add finding as much as I could of the course.

Looking at it on Google maps before the trip, I thought it might be difficult to find, but it really wasn't. I actually stumbled across one section of it almost without even realizing it. Next to the marina is a large section of grandstands, which faces a floating soccer pitch, and it turns out the running path in front of it is part of the F1 course!

You can see the paint on the ground in front of the grandstands. All of the barricades that were up were for a half marathon that was going on that morning.

The course actually turns in and goes under the grandstand, then joins up with the street on the other side. At the intersection at the corner you can still see some of the paint from a DHL logo.

I hope that is the case throughout the course as tomorrow I may go out and try and walk the entire circuit.

I continued following the edge of the painted line of the edge of the pavement -- it was barricaded -- and on the other side of the Singapore Flyer, the large ferris wheel you can see

in the above photo were the garages. I made my way down behind them and was able to get around the barricades near pit out and the first couple of corners of the course.

In the background there are some luxury suites. After watching some highlights of the race, it's pretty amazing what it looks like on race weekend compared to what it looks like now.

Once on the other side of the barriers, I was able to move up for a closer look. It's pretty cool how each individual garage still has the driver's

names above them. I'll post all of those photos at the bottom.

Finding the start-finish line was pretty easy as it was the same starting line for the half marathon!

The finish line is a little further down, which I found a bit strange, but it is still there.

It's just an interesting setup, while the doors to the garage areas are locked, of course, there are no fenced-off areas or anything else that keeps people away. That and the course itself

is used for running, biking, etc all year round. Much like Monza, it's funny how accessible the circuit is to the public.

Below you'll find more photos from my adventures, as well as a few I took of the surroundings so you can see what the area looks like around the circuit.

Enjoy!

 

I Hate Alexander Rossi

Actually, I don't, I've never even met the guy!  The title of this post is more of a play on words to the ESPN 30-for-30 called "I Hate Christian Laettner". If you saw it, you might get the correlation: people hated Christian Laettner because they saw him as an elitist snob (and if you rooted for a team other than Duke back in the early 1900s, he probably kicked your team's ass, too) who looked down on everyone else because he was so good.

Turns out, most of the things people thought about him weren't true, they had merely based their perceptions on what they thought was true. Turns out Laettner is (and was) a nice guy who at the time happened to be super competitive and focused on his basketball.

Sound like someone the IndyCar community has been bashing the last couple of days? I'll admit, I don't think Alexander Rossi has done anything lately to win supporters, both in the paddock and out, but I really can't understand the vitriol being thrown his way after his announcement yesterday that he will be a back-up driver for the Manor Formula 1 team.

I've heard lots of negatives directed his way, and I truly don't understand why, other than the fact people are upset that Gabby Chaves lost his ride to Rossi when Bryan Herta and Michael Andretti combined forces.

Other than that, I think it comes down to the fact that people didn't want to like him from the jump, and now they have a real reason why.

To me, it all comes down to this: as long as they guy doesn't miss any testing or other seat time, and as long as he shows up to all of the races, what's the big deal? Yes, it would be super crappy if a seat at Manor came open and he left his team high and dry, and I wouldn't like the guy that much if that eventually goes down, which is a possibility.

But why are we getting upset about what a guy does in his personal time? Because he will lose "focus"? How different is it from Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon training for Ironman tris -- which is a major time commitment -- or Graham Rahal traveling with his wife to support her drag racing?

I think we have to give the benefit of the doubt to Rossi here...at least for now. He's spent the last several years driving in Europe with the dream of driving F1, and he has more than proven with his success there that he should be in consideration for a drive at that level.

He's also gotten a taste of the F1 lifestyle, which I'm sure to a 24-year-old single guy is quite the temptress. They race all over the world in exotic locales, they make a pile of money and they have models chasing after them because they are attracted to their witty personality. If I were 24, I'd have a hard time giving that up too, especially if I had been exposed to that lifestyle for as long as he has.

People wonder why he would want to be a backmarker on a bad F1 team, and the answer is easy -- it's the same reason why AJ Allmendinger drives stock cars, the prestige of the series, and a pile of cash. He could build a much bigger legacy in IndyCars, but he likes the challenge of Cup, and as best as I could find he's making somewhere north of $2-3 million this year.

It's still F1 and the money is really, good. Lewis Hamilton makes more in one race weekend than any IndyCar driver makes in a year, so I bet Rossi's salary with Manor is more than what he will be getting paid to race in the United States, and no matter how much we all hate it (I know I do), the F1 World Championship is still the most coveted and prestigious title in racing, right up there with being an Indy 500 winner.

He wants to drive F1, and I don't begrudge him that. He's invested enough time that he feels like he needs to see how far he can take things, and just because he isn't bowing down in reverence to IndyCar doesn't mean he isn't excited or looking forward to competing. And if he eventually leaves, he does. Then he will find out that no matter what he does, as an American he will never get a fair shake in F1, that's just how it works. His boss can tell him that.

And if he shows up this weekend (or any other) without the necessary "focus", he will get punched in the mouth, figuratively and possibly literally. If that continues, he will probably be sacked. We may not see it this way, but he is taking a big risk, if he can't cut it in IndyCar it will probably be the end of his F1 career. He has to perform, and maybe even overperform, to keep his career going in Europe.

What I'm saying is, let's give this guy some time. I'm not sure Juan Pablo Montoya was thrilled to be coming back to IndyCar two years ago, but he has come to love running the series. He seems happy and is having fun, and he finally "gets it". That was apparent after he won the 500 last May.

Whether it's NASCAR or F1, more than a few drivers have discovered the grass isn't greener -- although the money is -- than in IndyCar, and maybe Rossi will do the same. Maybe right now he is pursuing a dream, and I don't blame him for that, but in the end, let's give him a couple of race weekends to prove what he is made of, and use real facts to pass our judgements instead of just our perceptions.

 

I Have A Podcast!

Hi!

Sorry you haven't seen anything new in this space in a while. Lots of things have gotten in the way: school (I'm back in college!), work, family, etc. Oh yeah, and one other thing, back on Aug. 28 I crashed on a bicycle and broke my left humerus in three places!

I eventually had surgery on Sept. 8 where a doctor put a plate and 14 screws into my arm, so between that and my slings, splints and braces, I was left unable to type for several weeks, and by the time I was up for another blog post, the season was well over!

Here's what my arm looks like now, gnarly isn't it? Thankfully it has healed well, which was truly verified when I collided with someone while karting last weekend. I suffered some nerve damage in the accident and during surgery which has left me to hunt-and-peck typing with my left hand -- I can't open my hand all the way. But things are improving and I'm getting a little more function every day.

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, it means I have been thinking about the direction I want to go with the blog. I still enjoy doing this, but 15 Days In May celebrated its 6th birthday back in December and I was thinking I wanted to change things up a bit.

Back in November I stared a running podcast called "Let's Run Forever" (you can find it on SoundCloud and iTunes), and I've been having fun with it, and I decided that I was going to start a racing podcast too.

So say hello to the 15 Days In May podcast! I cut my first show this week, which you can hear on SoundCloud now and on iTunes sometime in the next day or two (I'm still awaiting approval). I really like how it turned out and I've gotten some positive feedback, so thanks for listening!

For right now, I'm only committing myself to doing a show after every other race weekend, and 2-3 additional shows in May -- of course -- but if popular demand deems it, I'd happily create some more. I'm still deciding on the format and possible guests and such, but I thought that hearing my thoughts about a race or whatever, instead of reading my shortened thoughts in a blog, might be more fun for everyone.

So give it a listen and let me know what you think. You can also email me at mikek0525@hotmail.com or shoot me a message on Twitter @15daysinmay. 

Thank You, Justin Wilson

I was on a flight back home from Denver tonight when I heard the word that Justin Wilson had passed away as a result of the head injuries he suffered during Sunday's race at Pocono. Like many of you, I was immediately numbed by the news. And still am.

I spent the rest of the flight thinking about lots of things, but I just kept coming back to how sad and how unfair all of this is. While we as human beings can achieve incredible things, we still can't figure out why people die and why the worst things happen to the best of people.

Because writing is how I deal with lots of things, I knew that this post would be forthcoming soon. But as I thought of the words I was going to use and how I was going to convey my feelings, the most simplest of tributes popped into my head.

And this tribute is just two words long: Thank You.

Thank you, Justin Wilson, for week after week thrilling us with your amazing driving talent and for entertaining us with your incredible skill. Thank you for show us that you can race hard while still racing fair and clean and still doing amazing things behind the wheel of a race car.

Thank you for showing that you can be an intensely competitive person (all professional athletes are the most competitive people on the planet) when the visor went down, but when the race was over you could treat people with love, compassion and kindness. Very few athletes are capable of doing that.

Thank you for representing IndyCar with class and dignity. While the ride of your lifetime may have unfortunately eluded you, you never complained, instead you made the most with what you had and still won anyway.

Thank you for loving the Indy 500 as much as we all do. You may have been born across the ocean, but you were one of us.

Thank you for your smile, for being great with the fans, and for knowing what kind of impact a minute of your time could have for someone.

Thank you for loving your family, for being a good husband and father. Though your time with them was short, they will carry you with them forever. Love never dies.

Thank you for choosing to donate your organs so that someone else could have life. Sometime tomorrow, a person will wake up with your heart beating in their chest, guaranteeing them more time with the people they love. Giving others life is one of the most selfless things any of us can do.

It's human nature to think about the legacy we are going to pass along when we leave this world. The older I get, the more I feel the best legacy you can leave is one where your love for others lasts forever. Justin Wilson had great success in his chosen profession, winning races and making a comfortable living for his family. But in the end, his legacy is his gentle nature, kind heart and compassionate spirit...not to mention being a total badass behind the wheel of a race car.

He leaves behind a lot of people that will grieve for him, but in the end I pray that everyone's hearts continue to stay full with the memories of who he was. Justin was the kind of man I aspire to be, and while I'm far from perfect, it's people like him who make me strive to do better.

Whether you are a spiritual person, say a prayer tonight for Justin's family, his wife and his two daughters. Also throw one up for Sage Karam, who while in his heart of hearts knows that what happened wasn't his fault, is still hurting as well.

Faith, hope, love...but the greatest of these is love. We will all miss Justin Wilson, but he will be in our hearts forever.

Godspeed, Justin, and thank you for making all of our lives a little bit better.

Road America...Finally!

Like many of you, I was thrilled to see that Road America will be part of the IndyCar schedule next season. The 4-mile, 14-turn circuit in east-central Wisconsin was a stalwart on the schedule for 25 years, and it is hard to believe the series hasn't run there since 2007.

I know I had played it off in recent posts, both here and on social media, mostly because I was a bit skeptical of it happening. But now that is has, I can't be more excited and look forward to heading up there next June.

My attitude about it was this: it would be nice if it happened, but it's not a make or break thing for me. Now that it is happening, though, it's kind of like when you haven't seen a friend in a long time: you talk about how having not seen them in a while is no big deal, but when you do finally see them you realize how much you missed them.

In my opinion (and I am biased towards all things Midwest, BTW), Road America is the best road course in the country, and for anyone who is a fan of natural road courses, it should be in their top five. What I like about the course is that even with 14 turns there are some sections on it that are very, very fast. Dario Franchitti's track record of one minute, 39.866 seconds translates out to 145 miles per hour. For a road course, that is super fast.

And to go that fast, you have to have a lot of technical skill, which means the course does what a race track is supposed to do, identify the best driver. If you go to Racing Reference and view the list of open wheel winners, it's a pretty impressive list. As a fan of the sport since they began racing there, I remember some pretty epic races, and with the series the way it stands now, it should be a really awesome race next year too.

Make no mistake, though, beyond the racing part of it, this is a huge step forward for IndyCar. There is no denying that at its core, IndyCar is a business, and the series has had to scratch and claw mightily to find good partners to do business with. It took a long time, but Road America has finally decided that IndyCar is now a good partner, and hopefully that gives confidence to other tracks (like, say, Phoenix, Michigan or even Chicagoland) to maybe open the lines of communication a little bit more.

I think this is also a big step forward for IndyCar management. I know the thought of this pains many of you, but credit here goes to Mark Miles, Derrick Walker and the rest of the series' staff for getting this done. I've never really understood the hatred for Miles, anyway. Every single metric you can think of shows that this series is on the rise, yet people still think the guy should be fired.

Is the series in better shape now than it was two years ago? You bet, and no matter where else you decide to deflect the credit, it points to having the right people in place to get the job done. Over the last couple of years, Mark Miles maybe hasn't done what you've wanted him to do, but that's not his job. His job is to grow the business of IndyCar, and he has done that. So even if you have to cross your fingers behind your back to do it, give him a tip of the cap for this one.

I'll end this post like I have many times in the past, IndyCar fans. You wanted it, you've got it. All I've heard for years and years is "Road America needs to be on the schedule!". Well, it's here, and with 10 1/2 months until race day (June 26), you have no excuses to not support this race. It's put up or shut up time...again! IndyCar gave you what you wanted, and now it's time to do your job. Show up, and not just next year as a one and done thing, make this, and other races, a part of your summer schedule.

Given the rise in attendance and TV viewership, a lot of you have been doing that, but we have to keep it going. I know I have said it before, but if you are looking back to the 1990s for the "glory days" of this series, you are missing out on what the future holds. IndyCar is as poised as ever to start working its way back to those days, we as fans just have to keep working hard and doing our part to help make it happen.