Anyone been to Singapore or Melbourne GPs?

Crimefighter · 2 Aug 2012 at 10:16

If yes, which would you recommend?

Thinking about going to one of these with my dad in 2013.

He is based in New Zealand, and is in a wheelchair if that makes any difference. I see that the Melbourne one seems to cater for disabled access quite well according to their website.

Thanks in adavance.

Gaijin · 2 Aug 2012 at 15:28

I've went to the Singapore GP in 2010 and it was amazing. Moreso for the atmosphere and the noise through probably my favourite city in the world.

I'd be surprised if any GP doesn't provide good facilities for disabled access but i'm afraid I have no idea regarding this, nor can I fairly compare Melbourne to Singapore as I haven't been to Melbourne.

Access is good for Singapore with multiple gates and spacious communal areas. I don't recall being cramped except for some of the subway sections and the viewing points. I'll try and dig out some pictures later.

Ben Cole · 2 Aug 2012 at 15:39

Been to the Aus GP in Melbourne. Can't compare to be honest as I haven't been to the Singapore GP but from what I remember of my 3 days at the GP it was pretty open and well organised.

Crimefighter · 3 Aug 2012 at 09:04

Thanks guys.

Have plenty of time to make the decision, and its good to know they are both decent.

Gaijin · 5 Aug 2012 at 21:16

The_Abyss · 5 Aug 2012 at 23:15

Crimefighter said:
If yes, which would you recommend?

Thinking about going to one of these with my dad in 2013.

He is based in New Zealand, and is in a wheelchair if that makes any difference. I see that the Melbourne one seems to cater for disabled access quite well according to their website.

Thanks in adavance.

Being completely honest, I would not choose the destination based on the race, I'd choose it based on the other things you want to do on the holiday. The race itself will be a small part of the trip no doubt, and aside from the Friday and Saturday, you're stuck in the same location for the race anyway and it is all done and dusted in a few hours.

As a wildcard - why not consider Malaysia? Same end of the season as Melbourne and much cheaper thereafter. Visiting Australia is silly money at the moment, pretty much just as expensive as Singapore. Malaysia has a lot more to offer at a fraction of the price.

FrankJH · 6 Aug 2012 at 13:16

The_Abyss said:
Being completely honest, I would not choose the destination based on the race, I'd choose it based on the other things you want to do on the holiday. The race itself will be a small part of the trip no doubt, and aside from the Friday and Saturday, you're stuck in the same location for the race anyway and it is all done and dusted in a few hours.

As a wildcard - why not consider Malaysia? Same end of the season as Melbourne and much cheaper thereafter. Visiting Australia is silly money at the moment, pretty much just as expensive as Singapore. Malaysia has a lot more to offer at a fraction of the price.

Probably correct in this

I have been to the Melbourne race, and it is fabulous

I dont know whether NZ is any hotter generally than Melbourne, but given the wheelchair, I found Melbourne absolutely swealtering - with little cover when I went, and also from my memory a lot of the public access is on grass - so a night race with a lot of paved access might be better?

(maybe not a major consideration, but thought it was worth pointing out)

I was exhausted just walking around every now and then due to the heat - taking a wheelchair into the equation would be truelly exhausting (due to the weather /terraine alone)

Its do-able,a nd you would both enjoy the race thoroughly - just be well prepared

(Cant comment on Singapore or Malaysia directly however)

Crimefighter · 7 Aug 2012 at 10:43

Good point about Malaysia, I had completely forgotten that there was a race there. Ill investigate that one as well.

FrankJH - The heat could indeed be a factor, was at the hungaroring a couple of weeks back and it was 40 degrees at the track - no shelter!

Foolishly we were flying out that day, and hadnt packed an extra change of clothes for the flight. Lesson learned.

Gaijin · 7 Aug 2012 at 11:55

To be honest, Abyss is bang on really - it'll be a small part of whatever trip it is.

It's also a win win situation, I'm sure any of them will be great experiences in their own right.

It's also worth mentioning that in Singapore, even at night - you'll be boiling with the humidity. I was wearing a sleeveless top pretty much all the weekend and was literally dripping for most of it. Malaysia will be worse as it is in the day and with the high humidity it is like being slowly suffocated - something I think is much worse than dry heat .

Really should do Malaysia as that's where my family is from, it's just at the wrong end of the year for when we usually go.

Guerrilla · 7 Aug 2012 at 21:44

Been to the Melbourne GP and thought it was great, Melbourne as a place seemed pretty nice too, was actually quite cold sometimes and being pommy Brits we took nothing but shorts an T shirts so had to buy some stuff

Been to Malaysia and passed by the track but unfortunately we were there before Australia, if it would have worked out better we might have gotten to see 2 GPs.

Unfortunately never been to Singapore, the race looks amazing on TV and ca imagine as a spectacle it'd be great to see live.

But i'm sure you will have a great time whichever you chose.