SINGAPOREANS love cars. They love motoring lifestyle activities like car club trips, meets and various other driving courses and tips.

But can these translate into a budding motorsports culture here?

The expectation is that it will, eventually.

And a big part of it has to go to Singapore's successful Formula One Grand Prix bid for next year's first race.

As they say, this is the real deal.

Jonathan Hallett, the media and communications director for the Singapore Grand Prix, told The New Paper: "The F1 championship alone is the world's third most-watched sporting event, after the World Cup and the Olympics. So we will see an increased level interest in motorsports in general.

"Formula One alone is not just about the race, it is an international brand that appeals to people of all walks of life.

"From businessmen entertaining their top clients in corporate hospitality suites to the fan with a passion for motorsports - there are many chances for various organisations to reach out to the wide spectrum of spectators.

"We certainly hope that F1 will deliver a different buzz to Singapore internationally.

"It's certainly one of our primary objectives to grow the local fan base for the entire F1 season and not just the Singapore GP.

"Like all sports, the more you understand the complexities and subtleties, the more you can enjoy it.

"Having this world-class event right at our doorstep will certainly help us achieve maximum local interest."

DOMINO EFFECT

But the domino 'spillover' effect of the successful grand prix bid for Singapore is already bearing fruit locally.

The authorities are already hunting for a variety of events.

Sponsors are more receptive than ever.

Doors are now easier to open.

Suddenly, there has been a growing motorsports buzz locally.

Earlier this month, there was the first-ever Caltex National Karting Challenge at the popular East Coast Park for nearly 100 drivers.

This was after many more had to be turned away because the limited places had been snapped up so quickly.

There's even talk by the Singapore Government of bringing go-karting activities to the heartland estates, to hit the grassroots.

The Singapore GP has already received more than 100 requests from the public to be race marshal volunteers for next year's race.

There have been recent media reports of a possible permanent, but smaller, race track being planned in the eastern part of Singapore.

Singapore Motor Sports Association president Tan Teng Lip said: "This race track, if it is built, represents real and proper hope for the long-term development of a true motorsports culture in Singapore.

"For any sport to grow, you need facilities for people to go to.

"The interest to be marshals trained by us is already a good start."

PLANTING MOTORSPORTS CULTURE SEEDS

Glenn Tan, group chief executive of Motor Image Enterprises - the regional distributor for Subaru - is known for his maverick approaches.

And going by the above recent developments here, he feels the F1 bid's spillover effect is already working some magic on other areas that may not be directly related to F1.

He said: "My company is the first here to field Made-in-Singapore rally cars for this year's Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.

"We assemble them here, right at our premises in Toa Payoh.

"And if there's a permanent race track to be built here, we can certainly look into assembling our Subaru Impreza WRX STIs for the purposes of track racing.

"I have to admit, I had problems previously, knocking on sponsors' doors to support my work on this project.

"But now that F1 is coming here, the buzz is going to help, even if rallying is a different creature.

"I think Singaporeans, if they love cars, will love the speed, too. And they will start to develop a curiosity for all things related to motorsports.

"Rallying is different from F1, just as go-karting is. So there should be a variety to intrigue Singaporeans with the intricacies."

Motor Image Rally Team driver Cody Crocker - who won his fourth straight race in the championship recently at the Malaysian Rally, which took place in the oil plantations of Johor - gave his perspective.

The Australian told The New Paper: "Singapore's going to go from strength to strength now.

"You've had drifting, go-karting and sprints. And with tarmac racing plus F1, that's really a good start for building a motorsports culture.

"I believe if you have a country of car lovers, that enthusiasm is naturally going to spill over into a real interest in motorsports here."

Another Motor Image Rally Team driver, Indonesian Rifat Sungkar, said: "Motor Image is already assembling rally cars right here in Singapore.

"Go-karting is what I started with myself, and it's a good way to target Singaporeans.

"Singapore's already got a good automotive industry in the region.

"So, if more public interest can be tapped, together with establishing facilities like a race track, it will grow from there."

THE YOUNG CAN BUILD THE CULTURE

Ricky Lin, president of the National University of Singapore (NUS) motoring club that organised the recent Caltex National Karting Challenge, said the key to Singapore's future motorsports culture lies in those aged 18 to 30.

"Many older Singaporeans above 40 that I speak to are surprised by how many young Singaporeans can have a car waiting for themselves the moment they pass their driving tests," he said.

"They're able to afford it more now, too. I see that at the NUS; that's certainly the case.

"There's a genuine interest in cars, and that's the kind of natural national interest we hope to tap into - to create more events like we did recently.

"After all, we never grew up experiencing the old Singapore Grand Prix on the roads in Thomson."

That's how Caltex came in with Lin's NUS motoring club.

Judy Tan is a brand manager with Chevron Singapore - Chevron owns the Caltex brand - and she said it made perfect sense for her company to sponsor the karting competition.

She said: "F1 is something everyone can watch and enjoy - a world-class event.

"But this event's a nice way to reach the masses and target a group we hope will identify with the Caltex brand better when they become car owners themselves.

"I was impressed with the level of safety that went into the organisation, where drivers have to go through a safety course before they can race.

"The important thing is that the mindset will change nationally through events like these - that motorsports here can not only be legal, but safe and healthy."

Indeed, Singapore's F1 race 'domino effect' is already planting the seeds of a new motorsports culture here.