1f in F1 (One Female in F1)

Being sports-oriented is something I share with my husband Richard. I guess the influence of having three brothers, as well as parents who were interested in various sports, instilled this in me. I found that watching live athletic events was even more exciting than viewing them over the television, providing an entirely different kind of rush. Over the years, I had opportunities to personally view American baseball (MLB), football (NFL), ice hockey (NHL) games, and even the NBA All-Stars, which I thought was the highlight of my “sports-watching” career.

Formula 1 car racing? Well, that’s a different story. Since I got married, our television would be tuned in to ESPN on weekends during Formula 1 season. My husband would be glued to the TV with our two youngest kids who, because of the PSP, have become F1 followers as well. On the other hand, I would use this time to read my books and stash of magazines. Needless to say, my husband is an F1 fanatic, but I was never interested in this particular sport. Frankly, I didn’t have the drive nor the motivation to learn more about it.

Men and cars. I guess that’s like saying “women and jewelry.” A while back, someone told me, “you can tell the men from the boys from the size of their toys.” How true! I have always asked myself: what is it about BMW that made it my husband’s passion for more than two decades? Why is it that a trip to the USA will never be complete without passing by a BMW parts and accessories store? Despite being married to a BMW die-hard for 21 years, it wasn’t until the weekend of F1’s first night race (recently held in Singapore) that I finally got it.

I have to thank my good friend Lito German, corporate communications director for BMW Philippines, for opening my eyes to the fact that a wife can actually enjoy this sport with her better half. When he broached the idea of going to Singapore to watch the first night race in Formula1 history, I challenged myself to be ready for this event. Richard is not an F1 neophyte, having watched the race with his friends in Melbourne a few years ago. Taking a leap of faith, I accepted Lito’s invitation and left it to his able hands to ensure that my husband and I would have a truly memorable weekend.

Research. That’s what I did for three weeks, but up until the night before we left for Singapore, I was still mixing up the car and driver tandems. Our two youngest kids (girls at that) were instrumental in ensuring I knew who “Massa” and “Hamilton” were. Of course, the BMW drivers were my top priority, and watching the F1 races on ESPN for next few weekends actually revved me up! Soon, I couldn’t wait to set foot in Singapore to watch it live and in person.

Race weekend finally came, and it was a whirlwind of activity. On the first day of watching the practice runs, I appreciated what Lito was saying all along — turn 3 was indeed the best location to watch the race from, providing a different perspective from the pit grandstand.

On day two, Lito promised a Saturday afternoon full of activities, and it truly was. It didn’t bother me that I was the only female among a group comprised mostly of Filipinos, which BMW hosted a “behind-the-scenes” tour of Formula 1 for. We were a fun group, and everyone made me feel at ease: Louie Ysmael, Raul Romulo, Ginno Rufino, Ronnie Trinidad and Jochen Scheil. All of us were delighted to watch the Formula BMW Pacific Race from the pit lane, attend the press conference of the BMW F1 drivers, take a tour of the paddocks and enjoy a sumptuous dinner. And to think, this was all prior to the qualifying race for pole position!

It was also on this day that I found out that one of the drivers for this race was Marlon Stökinger, the 16-year-old half-Filipino, half-German prodigy who has been training with the BMW camp. Can you imagine the pride our group had that there was a Pinoy competing in the race we were about to watch?

Once we got to the pit, I felt like a child let loose in Disneyland. I could just imagine how the guys felt. After all, this was their nirvana, their Shangri-La. I was the newbie to the sport, and nobody seemed to mind at all. And like I said earlier... this wasn’t even Formula 1 yet! I was in awe by the engineering precision and meticulousness of the teams’ preparations... man and machine... speed and performance... agility and safety. Here was an operation that everyone took seriously, and the true essence of teamwork was unfolding before my eyes.

By the end of the day, we had walked for approximately five hours in different sections of the track. Richard and I both agreed that we needed to conserve our energies for the main race the next day, Sunday. In my mind, I was wondering how much more exciting this could possibly be, given that the two-day build up was already hard to beat. When the moment finally arrived, it exceeded all my expectations by a mile.

So much has already been written about that historic first night race and its dramatic highlights. Literally and figuratively, it was a series of twists and turns that will beat any Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis or Will Smith action movie hands down. Much like what happens in real life, focus, discipline and taking on calculated risks eventually determined the day’s winner.

Experiencing a Formula 1 race gave me a different kind of thrill and high, which up until today I cannot find the words for. I may not fully understand the rules of the game yet, but I am eager to learn all about this sport. As of this writing, there are two more F1 races left for the season — Fuji, Japan and Shanghai, China. As expected, Richard will be watching it on ESPN, and there’s no doubt that he will find his (over)enthusiastic wife by his side this time.