May 11

Singapore will host its debut Formula One Grand Prix on a street circuit next year and the race may be the first held at night, officials announced Friday.

The tiny but affluent city-state will host the event for five years starting from September or early October 2008, with an option to extend to 2017, minister of state for trade and industry S. Iswaran told a briefing.

F1 press conf	S Iswaran, Minister of State, Trade and Industry
Ong Beng Seng on F1	STB Chairman Lim Neo Chian

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he was confident safety issues would be resolved to allow night-racing, a move designed to boost global TV ratings.

"Yes," he said via videolink from Barcelona, when asked if the Singapore Grand Prix would be a night event.

"I think we can stop discussing the possibility of the race during the day."

Iswaran said hosting an F1 race will bring Singapore closer to its ambition of becoming a "vibrant, global city," adding that the race is estimated to generate about 100 million Singapore dollars (66 million US) a year in incremental tourism receipts.

The regional financial centre with a somewhat staid reputation is set to open its first casino being built by Las Vegas Sands in 2009.

Iswaran said the Grand Prix, around the downtown Marina Bay district, could "potentially" be held at night if safety can be assured.

"Safety is of paramount importance to all of us. Therefore we will proceed with a night race only if the safety and operational requirements of all parties... are fully met," he said.

"If not we will revert to a day race format."

Formula One driver Mark Webber praised the proposed Singapore street circuit after testing it in March, but said more research was needed into night racing.

The Australian said organisers would have to look into lighting and the effect of rain, which could create glare in dark conditions.

Iswaran said Singapore GP Pte Ltd, a company controlled by hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng, had secured the hosting rights.

He said the Singapore Tourism Board had evaluated the event and deemed it "worthy" of the government's suppport.

The F1 race will be on a 4.8 kilometre (three-mile) street route proposed by designer Hermann Tilke.

Monaco already hosts a street race and Spain's Valencia will also hold Grand Prix on an urban circuit from next year.

Neighbouring Malaysia denied that its long-standing Grand Prix, held earlier in the season, would be affected by Singapore's race.

"I congratulate Singapore on joining the club of Formula One hosts. Next year will be their first year and it will be our 10th," said Sepang International Circuit chairman Mokhzani Mahathir.

"The people in Southeast Asia will have a chance to see both now, a city street circuit and ours, which is a race circuit, so it will be interesting."

Ecclestone also played down the potential fallout of having two races in neighbouring countries.

"I don't know what Singapore's got to do with Malaysia," he said.

Malaysia's sports minister Azalina Othman Said last month said there should only be one F1 race in Southeast Asia, but Mokhzani said the new development would promote the sport.

"It will not affect F1 in Malaysia, instead it will promote F1 in the region," said Mokhzani.

"Theirs... will be towards the end of the year and ours will be at the beginning, so we will get to see how the season starts and ends," he added.

Last month Mokhzani announced that Malaysia had won the right to host Formula One races until 2015.