The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship heads to Singapore for round fifteen where, for the second time this season, it will encounter an all-new race facility.

Bridgestone has a specific procedure for learning any new race destination and this procedure has been used once already this season, for the European Grand Prix on the Valencia street course in August.

“As a new track, Singapore is just as interesting for Bridgestone as it is for drivers and Formula One fans,” says Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development.

“There are two new circuits on the 2008 calendar, Valencia, where we have already raced, and Singapore where we are headed next, and the procedure for learning these circuits before we arrive at the track is very thorough.”

Bridgestone works closely with the sport’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), when a new circuit comes on to the schedule and receives track layout information at an early stage. This information is also shared with the teams who run sophisticated simulation programmes to calculate how their cars should perform on the new track.

“We work very closely with the teams before we visit a new race destination as their car data from existing circuits is invaluable for making predictions for a new track,” says Hamashima.

Tyre selection is, of course, crucial for a race weekend and Bridgestone’s engineers and technical centre has the difficult task of deciding which two compounds should be brought to these two new destinations.

“There are different factors we look at when deciding tyre allocation and in particular we look at the track layout, the track surface and the temperatures we are likely to encounter,” says Hamashima.

Whilst the track layout can be assessed remotely and analysing predicted weather conditions does not require anyone to be physically at the track, the track surface analysis does require a team of Bridgestone engineers to visit the location.

“In advance of a race at a new destination we send out a team of engineers to laser scan the surface,” says Hamashima. “Scans are taken all the way around a lap and this information is then analysed to give us a good idea of how the track surface should react with our tyres.”

Street courses also present another challenge, as they are used for purposes other than motor racing. General road traffic, ranging from lorries to scooters, use the road for 360 days of the year, meaning an accumulation of ground in dirt and grime of the sort not normally experienced at a race track.

For drivers too there can be a set of unique challenges as the road surface has not been designed with racing in mind. These considerations can range from things like road markings to drain covers.

“There are five tracks we visit this season that we would term as being street courses,” says Hamashima, “Albert Park, Monaco, Montreal, Valencia and Singapore, and at all of these, except Albert Park, we use the combination of the soft and super soft tyres.”

Unlike Valencia there will be no race meetings taking place before the Singapore Grand Prix, making this an even bigger step into the unknown.

“Of course, where there have been race meetings before at a facility, we can get an idea of how tyres react with the circuit, even if Bridgestone tyres were not used at the race,” says Hamashima. “Before the European Grand Prix in Valencia there was a race meeting so we could form a general picture of racing there, but in Singapore it will be all-new for everyone, so this could be an additional challenge.”

As well as the usual challenges of a new facility, the Singapore Grand Prix will take place at night.

“There is a lot of talk about Formula One’s first night race and this is good for the sport,” says Hamashima, “but from a tyre perspective I do not think we will have many particular issues.

“We do know that the temperature will be cooler than during the day, but Singapore at night is a lot warmer than other destinations we visit during the year, such as Spa and Silverstone.”

The 5.067km Singapore race track will be lit by artificial lights meaning the cars will not need to have lighting systems fitted to them, but Bridgestone has made the step of making the tyre markings which determine the softer of the two dry compounds and the extreme wet tyre more reflective than usual.

“We are using a special paint for Singapore,” says Hamashima. “We don’t believe this will make any difference to the racing but for the spectators and the media it should make it a little easier to tell which of our tyres are being used.”

The Singapore race running at night also presents an additional challenge for teams, working out the logistics of when to work.

“Perhaps the most difficult aspect for our staff will be their working day,” says Hamashima. “Because the race and the practice sessions are at night our people will have the added challenge of working a night shift.

“A lot of work takes place after the sessions so we will be working very late, and this will be an exciting aspect of the weekend. Because of this we will be starting our days a lot later than we would usually, so it will be the first time we have had official lie-ins on a Formula One weekend!”