Q & A with Toro Rosso's Massimo Rivola

Many within the paddock are pretty relaxed about the step into the unknown of racing at night, especially with MotoGP's own night race at Qatar having been a success.

But one man who has some worries about what will happen in Singapore is Toro Rosso's team manager Massimo Rivola, who was one of a handful of F1 people who experienced Qatar first hand.

Autosport.com heard from Rivola about why he wants support from rival teams to make changes to the Singapore Grand Prix timetable.

Q. What was your impression of how the Qatar weekend went?

Massimo Rivola: It was a fantastic event, I think. It was brilliant to be there and watch the race so close - and see the efforts they made to realise it. Rider wise, they said at the beginning that they had some difficulties with the shadows because sometimes they felt that someone was going to overtake them, but in fact it was only their shadow.

The other problem the riders had at the beginning was not being able to see the clean part of the track (racing line) and the dirty part - because the light made it appear the same. And the other thing was to adjust to what the real difference was in judging gaps and distances.

But the riders did practices and qualifying in the night, so they got used to it, and they also did a test the previous week as well. That was very good for them because they could get used to the problems. Most of them were by the race 99 percent ready to do it - although not all of them.

Q. Did any aspect of the weekend surprise you?

MR: Well, the fact is that in Qatar there are no grandstands - and it will not be the same in Singapore. Even photographers around the track were not allowed to use a camera flash, and with the grandstands in Singapore it will be very different. That could be a problem.

Also, Formula One cars have mirrors - the bikes don't. The way the circuit was illuminated was that there would be a very big light from the top, and then at the lower position the track would be lit from behind the riders. For them it wasn't a problem, but we have mirrors. So I don't know if that will be a problem.

Personally I am not relaxed, let me put it like this. Honestly, I would like to test but it not possible and too expensive to realise. I am sure it will be fine in the end, but there are still some points to discuss.

The most important is that our schedule should be all over the night, rather than split between day and the night. The sunset in Singapore is at 7pm and at the moment the plan is to have first practice finish at 6pm and second practice to start at 8pm.

Q. Hasn't there been some discussion about getting more running at night?

MR: Yes. Let's say that at the moment the schedule is to have practice at 4pm and 8pm, but I have spoken to Charlie (Whiting, F1 race director) to ask him to review the position. So we will see. I don't know.

Q. It will be tough won't it, going to a new track and having to cope with night running for the first time?

MR: Yes. It is a new track, new system and new concept. And also I can say that I was curious to see the behaviour of the teams and riders, in terms of spending time in the night and being forced to sleep during the day. At the end, I think it was okay for most of them - including the team members. So I don't think this will be the big issue even if, in F1, for Friday we have much more of a job than in motorbikes. They do not have as much running as we do on a Friday.

Q. What about the problem of running in the wet? In Qatar, the MotoGP organisers planned to move the race to daylight in the event of it raining...

MR: It could be a problem, because it is more likely in Singapore to have rain that is a lot heavier than in Qatar. Honestly, I would be curious to see in Qatar if that (moving the race) would have been the final decision after the money they spent. But they were pretty sure that there was no chance of rain, so they could declare that.

From our side, it could be dangerous. But I think in case of weather forecasts, if it is likely to rain I think there will be some practice extensions and the chance to run some more in those conditions.

Q. So you believe that more thinking is needed between the teams and the FIA?

MR: Yes. But at the moment it doesn't look like the teams want to follow my feeling.

Q. Maybe that will change when the race gets nearer?

MR: Well, I'm nervous about that. I have asked for the matter to be added to the agenda for the next meeting of the Sporting Working Group (SWG), so let's see. I don't know. At the beginning I was not relaxed but not so worried, but after I saw Qatar and I spent time there, I am not confident 100 percent now.

I am talking about the safety of the drivers - because I am not worried about having to work all night if it is for our job. The safety issue we have to consider more carefully.

Q. It is always the little details that cause a surprise, isn't it?

MR: Well, on my side I was curious. It was nice to be in Qatar, I love bikes, and it was useful and it was easy to do it because I was going to Australia. It was a good thing to do, but now I am a bit worried because I have more information about it all.