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Motor racing was banned in Singapore in 1973

Singapore Grand Prix SGPSingapore Grand Prix ended its 12-year run in 22nd April 1973. The race, which drew international drivers and spawned regional aces like Harvey Yap, Albert Poon and Anne Wong, was held on a street circuit in Upper Thomson. But after a series of fatalities, motor racing was banned after 1973 by the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. He said he could not understand the allure of such events, "driving around and then going into the pits; after that, changing the tyres and revving out again ... makes no sense to me."

Chong Boon Seng - Chevron B29There were a few street races which survived like Singapore’s Thomson Road, which hosted a regular "Grand Prix" right up to the early 1970s. This featured an unusual hazard for racers, sticky oil trails left on the roads from the local diesel buses. Singapore’s Anne Wong in her a red BMC Mini Cooper S, Albert Poon’s Alfa Romeo GTA and Harvey Yap in his Datsun 1600 SSS (before Datsun became Nissan) would raced against such formidable opposition as Vern Schuppan, Ricardo Patrese, Dieter Quester and the best Japanese drivers. Those were the days, my friend.

anne wong harvey yap albert poon

The old street circuit of the Singapore Grand Prix embraces the new Upper Thomson Road from its junction with old Thomson Road to Sembawang Hill Circus.


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Old Thomson Circuit

SGP
Street Circuit Map (1973)

The track was 3.023 miles with a fast undulating one-mile stretch called the Thomson Mile (actually the start of what was then Nee Soon Road) and a series of bends on the back section linked by hairpins at either end (what is still Old Upper Thomson Road today).

The start-finish line was laid on the main straight. The bend halfway down the straight after the start-finish line was known as The Hump. This had a false apex as it sat on the turn-in which may cause fast cars to lift off the ground. Immediately after The Hump came Sembawang Circus or The Hairpin. There are a number of sections heading uphill towards Pierce Reservoir following Circus Hairpin. The first, Snakes, consisted of a series of four bends. This was followed by Devil’s, a rounded-off V-bend impossible to pass yet offering a very good vantage for spectators. After Devil’s came the Long Loop, a right hander. Peak Bend followed Long Loop where TV and Radio teams positioned themselves here. The circuit then headed downhill right to Range Hairpin where one could see all that was taking place in the pits to good effect. This was followed by a hard right onto Thomson Mile past the pits known as Signal Pits. Pit entry was after Range Hairpin.

alfa
Australian Brian Foley won the last Singapore race in 1973 in his Alfa Romeo lightweight GTA. 15-lap (45-mile) touring car race.

vern F3
Another Australian from Whyalla, South Australia, Vern Schuppan in his March Hart 722 won the 50 laps (150 miles) F3 race.

Souvenir Programme
Thanks for the Memories!
By the way, most of the top drivers were sponsored by
Singapore Airlines as this was its first year of operations.

Updated On: 12.09.21