I was excited in June when I received the news that I had been accepted to flag marshal for the Singapore Grand Prix. It was to be my first event to officiate overseas. During those months, I got to know the other people I was to work with on my flag point and we shared knowledge with each other in preparation for the event. So, September rolled around and I met up with my fellow Singapore marshals a few days before the event. Trying out some local specialities in the hawker centres.
As we got to Friday I was very excited to be trackside. Each point consisted of about a dozen marshals for various roles. My lead flag marshal Serene was very professional with her briefings for us flag marshals. The flag point was something completely different to what I was used to back home, as you were basically put into a cage to flag from, barely able to put 2 arms through the gaps! The cars looked amazing under the bright lights of the Marina Bay street circuit. Sometimes you could be mistaken for thinking it was actually daylight which shows how good the lights really are! Another tough thing to battle with was the weather! During the week, Singapore was inundated with haze from neighbouring Indonesia which had to be closely monitored during the race weekend. It was also tough wearing the overalls in 30+ degrees plus humidity! Luckily, we had generous amounts of ice-cold water to keep us well hydrated.
As we finally got to Sunday all of us officials came together for a big group photo and doing a touching tribute to Charlie Whiting by singing his favourite song “Summer of 69.” All up I thoroughly enjoyed the Singapore Grand Prix. It’s an amazing circuit and the Singaporeans were some of the most professional marshals I have worked with. Their attention to detail was amazing and something that should be admired worldwide. I highly encourage all members to try and go along to officiate at Singapore or any other international event. The lifelong friends you make from this experience is something that is absolutely priceless!
Patrick Harding
