As the Formula One World Championship descended upon Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit for its seventh edition of the night race last weekend, six lucky Thai fans were at the heart of the action, witnessing the ultimate motorsport experience of the world’s most exciting and prestigious auto racing series.
The trio, accompanied by friends and family member, were winners of Singha Corporation’s Singha World of Speed campaign which began last week with the Singapore’s F1 night race.They won through sending essays explaining their love for the sport.
The campaign will have three more stops, beginning with the GT Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, in Japan in two weeks’ time, followed by a MotoGP race in Spain in November and Ferrari Challenge in the United Arab Emirates in December.
Before the race day, the group also had a chance to visit Red Bull Racing’s paddock, to catch a glimpse of how chaotic things can be behind the scenes.
The race was won by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton who picked up his seventh win of the season, 29th of his career. Mercedes have now won 11 of 14 races. Hamilton, the 2008 world champion while with McLaren, started from pole position and led for much of the race. The Briton also set the fastest lap on his way to victory — for the second race in a row.
Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg was forced to start from pit-lane after problems with the steering wheel. He did 14 laps at the back of the field on the troubled car before calling it a day. The German now trails Hamilton by three points in the world drivers’ championship standings, with five races remaining.
The advantage is thin but Hamilton must be in confident mood following back-to-back victories while Rosberg’s hopes of his first F1 title are diminishing.
Four-time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing returned to his favourite track and delivered the goods by finishing second. It was his best result of the year at a circuit where he has won for the past three seasons.
His younger teammate Daniel Ricciardo came third while Ferrari’s two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Williams’ Felipe Massa rounded off the top five.
After the entertaining race which saw Rosberg’s early retirement, the likes in Singapore’s hot and humid conditions, the three lucky Thai winners were clearly impressed with the sight and sound of Formula One from their grandstand seats.
“That was such a fun race,” said Wararat Teerasak, a diehard Vettel and Red Bull Racing fan, who was visibly happy with the performance of her favourite driver. “This was a great experience so if any Thai motorsport fans want to experience something like this you should join this Singha campaign.
Kasem Ruengkongkiat, another campaign winner (third place) added: “It was so incredible today. Usually I would watch these guys on TV at home but today I managed to get very close to the podium after the race.
“It was unbelievable... something money can’t buy. I also met [Daniel] Ricciardo but unfortunately I was too excited and forgot to get him to autograph anything!”
“I felt very lucky today. First I got to sit in the grandstand, then the day before the race day, we got to see the paddock, how they set up the car, how they test the car, all the technical sides of things which not many people get to see. Thanks to Singha for this opportunity!,” said Akara Jittanupong, the campaign’s runner-up.
Singha World of Speed is a campaign by Singha Corporation in partner with four world-class motorsport organisations — Red Bull Racing, MotoGP, Ferrari Challenge and AF Corse Team (GT Championship) — to bring motorsport enthusiasts from Thailand to attend some of the world’s most prestigious events around the world.
Singha World of Speed campaign continues with its second edition next month where lucky winners will travel to Japan to attend the GT Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, on Oct 9-13 followed by the MotoGP World Championship in Spain on Nov 7-11 and the World Finals, the final leg of Ferrari Challenge in United Arab Emirates on Dec 3-7.
For more information and how to join the campaign, go to singhaworldofspeed.com