So that was that – the second-ever F1 night race in Singapore has come and gone.

I survived last year’s race. I paid the parking charges for the three days and I trudged along with the crowd to get to my corner of the track. Even though I was in a suite complete with refreshments, I came home on Sunday night tired and unsure who actually won the race*.

(I’m not making a dig at the results in the wake of the unfortunate Nelson affair / Crashgate / whatever you want to call it. I really can’t keep up with the race as well as watching it on TV and F1 live timing on the computer).

I remember thinking to myself, wet with sweat in the most uncomfortable places, “That’s it, I have done the deed. Next year, I’m staying home, with a beer and my TV remote”.

And then 2009 came and lucky me had a good friend sent me tickets I could not refuse.

So I did the whole sweating and walking routine again but new for 2009, I took the train too, instead of parking the car a long way away and walking to the track like in 2008.

Saturday was qualifying and it was fun watching it on the roof of the suite, seeing how the teams busy themselves in the pits.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from last year, other than trusting public transport, is that the actual race on our Marina Circuit isn’t much fun unless someone crashes (not making any digs here either!)

Backtrack to 2008. I did the pit walk, I snooped around the paddock and made faces at the engineers before getting shooed off before the race started.

This year, I was just behind the pits (and not across the track at my seat) when it was time for the cars to go for their warm up. One by one, the engines fired up.

The sound of the V8s coming to life sent the hairs on my back standing on ends.

I was grinning like an idiot. I didn’t care to put on my earplugs. Walking the long way back to the seat, sweaty and looking like a porcupine with a ringing ear. This is what Sing GP is about: noise in high fidelity.

**Oh, and I heard the guy who won at last year’s race didn’t do badly this year too. All’s fair and good then. Alonso is an okay driver, no?

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