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All torque, all action

Every September, barriers go up and our little island undergoes a massive makeover, as the city streets transform into a hotbed of activities and buzz to stage the coolest annual Night Race in the Formula One calendar ever (we’re biased).

Every September, barriers go up and our little island undergoes a massive makeover, as the city streets transform into a hotbed of activities and buzz to stage the coolest annual Night Race in the Formula One calendar ever (we’re biased).

But beyond the thrill of the race and watching the delicious-looking men — sorry we meant cars — whizz by, or the big-time celebrities who fly to town to party and perform at this mega glamorous event, others such as malls, restaurants and even museums are getting in on the action to celebrate the three-day street race.

Take the Mint Museum of Toys. It is holding a month-long exhibition, In Reverse: A Look Back at Toy Cars, that traces the evolution of toy race cars over 30 years from the 1930s to 1960s, with a look at changes to their shapes, designs and materials. Seventeen cars will be on display, such as the 1960s Jyesa Bolido Jyesa No 7 and the highly sought-after 1950s Indianapolis 500 Racer, worth an estimated US$8,000 (S$10,800).

The museum will also be reviving one of the most popular games of the 1960s — slot car racing. This racing track, which had already made an appearance at the Singapore Airlines Light Up The Night Carnival (an event that serves as a lead-up to the actual F1 event) on Aug 20, was a hit among the younger crowd who found the game to be both novel and entertaining, said the museum’s spokesman.

It hopes to not only encourage young visitors to discover one of many classic games from the past, but also encourage those who are more familiar with such pastimes to celebrate and revisit their favourite childhood toys and games, she added.

Over at Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore, the hotel has plonked a life-sized race car at its front doors. Not just any life-sized race car; it is completely covered with bottle caps — more than 20,000 of them, to be exact. Preparations for the car, which took 1,097 hours to complete, began with hotel staff collecting bottle caps since January.

This car is the latest in the hotel’s series of quirky ways to present a race car, and are usually the brainchild of the hotel’s executive chef, Darren Ong.

Last year, they created a life-sized race car decorated with recycled coffee capsules and ground coffee from the hotel, a nod to the in-room Nespresso coffee machines. The year before that, a race car was covered with 14,880 shells from various marine life, such as scallops, clams, mussels and oysters. There were cars that involved pasta (2013) and macarons (2011). The hotel’s general manager and chief experience officer Patrick Fiat says this adds excitement to the annual event. “We hope to encourage more tourists to come to Singapore to join in the excitement, and with the hotel’s location at the Orchard shopping belt, it is a good opportunity to encourage spending during this F1 season,” he added.

Response has been promising, with the hotel observing many tourists posing for photos with the car. “On average, there are close to 200 people who stop by to take photos every day, with more over the weekends. We have also received more than 1,200 social-media interactions so far.”

ION Orchard, too, is pulling out all the stops with a plethora of F1-related activities, ranging from celebrity appearances, musical performances, and a first-of-its-kind showcase of a full scale Formula One Team garage.

“Racing fever has arrived in Singapore once again, and we are excited to bring exclusive experiences to our shoppers. From full-sized replicas and simulators to a pop concert, fine watch and fashion displays, and the hosting of two great Formula One stars at ION Orchard, we present the season’s best lifestyle offerings under one roof, bringing the excitement of Formula One to Orchard Road, which will both surprise and thrill our shoppers and tourists,” said Chris Chong, chief executive of Orchard Turn Developments.

So what can you do to get up-close with the F1 action if you cannot get enough?

 

MEET THE STARS

Your favourite drivers are always hidden behind their helmets, zipping across the tracks at speeds of more than 300kmh, so you would be lucky to even catch a glimpse of them. ION Orchard will fix that. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo (above) will be making an appearance next Wednesday as part of TAG Heuer’s Formula One-themed event. The evening will also see an explosive performance by Chinese pop superstar G.E.M. that will involve water, drums, lights and cold pyrotechnics. You can meet Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, who will be at the IWC Schaffhausen’s Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team garage showcase next Thursday, and he will sit in at a question and answer session. If cars are more your thing, check out the full-scale replica of the garage. Ricciardo and G.E.M. will be at ION2, the ION Orchard outdoor event space, from 7pm to 10pm on Sept 14, while Rosberg will be at L1 Atrium, ION Orchard from 3pm to 5pm on Sept 15.

www.ionorchard.com

MEET (A VERSION OF) THE STARS

Opt to spend some time with F1 champs Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton — well, with their wax figures, that is. Madame Tussauds Singapore has constructed an F1 podium where visitors can, during the month of September, pose shoulder to shoulder with the two drivers while holding a trophy cup to celebrate their “win”.

www.madametussauds.com/singapore/en/

TAKE A PIECE OF F1 WITH YOU

As the sponsor of Singapore’s Formula One for the third year, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has produced an F1 Beary Ambassador plush toy clad in SIA pit-crew overalls and a nifty visor (S$39), a 3D Jigzle car model made of eco-friendly plywood (S$39), and a portable bluetooth-enabled wireless speaker shaped like an aircraft turbine engine (S$39), all available at its retail store KrisShop. For more official merchandise, head to the Singapore Grand Prix pop-up store in front of Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City from now until Sept 21.

www.krisshopair.com

www.singaporegp.sg

ADMIRE PINT-SIZED RACERS

Besides its special exhibition showcasing vintage racing cars In Reverse: A Look Back at Toy Cars. Mint Museum of Toys is offering a range of race-car related programmes tailored for kids from Sept 3 to 18, ranging from guided tours to craft projects such as building one’s own toy car. During the F1 weekend, visitors holding a race-pass can enjoy 10 per cent off museum admission. All visitors can also receive a complimentary slider (with a minimum spend of S$10) at 
Mr Punch Public House.

www.emint.com

WORK YOUR BRAIN

Take a guess at the total number of red bottle caps used to create Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore’s life-sized F1 race car and the person with the closest guess will stand a chance to win a two-day, one-night weekend stay in their executive suite. It also comes with a dinner for two at buffet restaurant Carousel. Contest ends Sept 18. Other deals offered by the hotel include a complimentary room upgrade and breakfast for two (for stays that are two nights or more during race dates).

www.royalplaza.com.sg

 

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