FORMULA One supremo Bernie Ecclestone calls it the 'crown jewel of F1', and rightly so.

For the third time in a month, the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix was honoured for the successful staging of Formula One's first night race in September.

Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the race promoter behind the Singapore Grand Prix, captured the Promoter of the Year award at the prestigious International Automobile Federation (FIA) Gala Awards in Monaco on Friday.

The award is handed out every year to the race promoter who has excelled in the most difficult conditions.

The FIA singled out Singapore GP Pte Ltd for 'its magnificent effort in organising Formula One's first ever night race'.

Despite the relatively short period of time to organise the race, the inaugural night race won by McLaren's Fernando Alonso attracted more than 100,000 spectactors and over 30 million viewers worldwide.

Entrepreneur and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who collected the award on behalf of Singapore GP Pte Ltd, said: 'On behalf of everyone on the Singapore GP team, thank you for honouring us with this very prestigious award.

'Staging the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix represents the hard work and industry of quite literally a cast of thousands. This award honours every single one of them.

'The event would not be possible without all our partners both in the public and private sectors.

'In particular, I would like to thank the Singapore Government, the Tourism Board and the Ministry of Trade and Industry whose support was amazing.'

Accolade

It was the third accolade for the Singapore Grand Prix in a month.

Last Sunday, the Singapore Grand Prix captured the Pioneering and Innovation Award at the Autosport Awards in London.

Handed out by motor sport magazine Autosport since 1982, the awards are widely regarded as being second in terms of prestige only to the annual FIA Gala awards.

The 5.067km Marina Bay street circuit was also named the Motor Sport Facility of the Year at the Professional Motor Sport World annual awards in Cologne, Germany, last month.

Capturing the Promoter of the Year Trophy is a shot in the arm for Singapore GP Pte Ltd as it starts preparations for next year's race, which is scheduled to be held from 25 to 27 Sep.

Among the other major awards handed out at the FIA Gala awards on Friday included the Formula One Drivers' Trophy, the Formula One Constructors' Trophy, the World Rally Championship Drivers' Trophy and the World Rally Championship Manufacturers' Trophy.

In an additional award presented during the FIA Gala awards, Formula One Management took the Television Trophy for its outstanding coverage of the Singapore night race.

Read also:
» S'pore GP wins another prestigious award
» S'pore F1 track wins Motor Sport Facility of the Year

This article was first published in The New Paper on Dec 14, 2008.