WHEN property tycoon Ong Beng Seng wanted to bring Formula One racing to Singapore, he put together a team of 'die-hard amateurs'.

Of the quartet, one had zero interest in the speed machines, while another won the Singapore Grand Prix from 1969-1971 in his souped-up BMW 2002.

Two others spent their university days in London catching races at the Brands Hatch tracks.

But, while they may have high-level octane in their blood stream, their professional knowledge of the multi-billion dollar FI industry was practically zero.

That is why they deserve much credit for bringing F1 racing to Singapore, a year after expressing their interest to Bernie Ecclestone, chief executive of the Formula One Management.

The challenge was simple: Bring this coveted race to Singapore without breaking the bank.

Yes, five other cities were also bidding, but do remind all that we are Uniquely Singapore.

Night racing in the heart of a vibrant city is a win-win deal for all.

There were three basic parties in the negotiations: Ecclestone's FOM, Ong's team and the Government, led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Although it was a private-sector initiative, Government funding was imperative. The Tourism Development Fund will contribute 60 per cent of the cost of the event.

Given this support, and the close personal relationship between Ong and Ecclestone, one would have thought the negotiations would be smooth.

Not true. One micro-issue after another kept cropping up - with enough regularity to scuttle the talks.

Just who are the members of this quartet? There is the entrepreneur Ong, very much hands-on during the discussions.

Team members credit his meeting with Ecclestone in London some three weeks ago with saving the negotiations.

Not surprisingly, the media-shy tycoon has left himself out of Singapore GP Pte Ltd, which will manage the race here.

Chairing the new company is Teo Hock Seng, with Colin Syn as deputy chairman and Michael Roche as executive director.

Football fans know Teo as the chairman of the S-League club Tampines Rovers.

The 61-year-old is also managing director of Komoco Motors, which brings in the popular Hyundai cars.

Syn, 60, is the president of HRC Holdings, which develops and runs a chain of 10 Hard Rock cafes in Asia and the Maldives.

Roche is the 49-year-old director of Lushington Entertainments.

It has, among others, brought Elton John, Michael Jackson, Simon and Garfunkel and the Eagles to town.

With the certainty that came with the signed contract on Friday, the team wasted no time in having an early meeting yesterday.

"We've finished only one per cent of the job," said Roche. "But it's the important one per cent. Now we can go ahead and employ staff, get the office space and organise other things."

Syn was involved with the negotiations right from the start - on April 26, 1988.

His proposal to Ecclestone was accepted, but he couldn't get the Government to set aside a piece of land on the East Coast for a permanent track.

Instead, it went to Laguna National Golf and Country Club.

He took the plans to Malaysia, where the government offered him RM1 million (then about S$500,000) to upgrade the Batu Tiga circuit. It wasn't enough money to do anything substantial, so he gave it up.

Now that a second chance has cropped up to bring an F1 race to town, Syn has become passionate again about the project.

And it helps that in Ong - a former ACS schoolmate and London flatmate - he has a kindred spirit.

Roche is the money and events man.

It is perhaps good that the quartet are not deep-seated racing people.

Non-enthusiasts like Roche bring a new perspective into how to make the Singapore GP the best in the world.

The first few years will be easy, he said. But a certain staleness would creep in from the fifth to seventh year. And that's when the race must reinvent itself to stay fresh and relevant.

But his first priority is to see a good, affordable first race. "Or else, there won't be a second race," he said.

And what is the role of chairman Teo, who was watching the Australian GP even from its Adelaide days in the 1980s?

"I am in to cut losses and reduce unnecessary expenses," he said. "We don't expect to lose big money in the first two years and hope to be more structured after that.

"If and when we make money, we will roll it over for contingency."

Their message is simple: Formula One racing in Singapore is not primarily about money making.

It is to spread the good name of Singapore first and motor racing second.