The FIA
carried out its first test into the feasibility of night racing
at Indianapolis on Thursday evening.
Formula 1’s commercial boss Bernie
Ecclestone has made clear his desire to see far-flung races held
at night to boost TV audiences in the sport’s core European
market.
Next year's inaugural Singapore
GP has been pencilled in as a night race, but several drivers –
most notably Fernando Alonso – have expressed reservations about
whether floodlights will be effective enough to ensure safe
racing conditions.
The FIA conducted its evaluation
at around 9.30pm after darkness had fallen on the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
The
lighting units were supplied by Musco Lighting, an Iowa-based
company which has successfully handled night races for Champ
Car, the IRL and NASCAR.
Bernd Maylander in the official
FIA safety car and medical cars drove around the IMS road course
for around half an hour, and TV cameras were also pressed into
service to get an idea of the requirements of filming F1 cars
under artificial lighting.
