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This article was taken from the December 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
The glare on your evening commute maybe tough, but imagine driving at 325kph in a Formula 1 car directly into the sunset at Yas Marina -- a racetrack filled with shadow-casting bridges, a light-reflecting megahotel, and a shimmering marina packed with millionaires' yachts. That's the vertigo-inducing challenge presented by the F1 Tour's first twilight race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which takes place on November 13 along the Persian Gulf.
The course has become a tour highlight, drawing 50,000 spectators and half a billion TV viewers annually, and race organisers thought it would be especially cool to start a race in daylight and end in darkness. But visibility for drivers was a concern, and glare from lighting can ruin the view from grandstands and wash out broadcast footage. So the race organisers hired Musco Sports Lighting, an Iowa-based out- fit that specialises in illuminating sports complexes, to create a 4,700-fixture, 600-million-lumen lighting scheme that mimics the Sun -- minus some hassles. "It's like watching a day race without the heat," project engineer Jeff Clouse says. Here's how to get high-noon clarity on demand.
For HD broadcast, Musco aims to generate 1,500 vertical lux, the brightness of a top-tier cricket pitch. Technicians used a CAD program that calculates total lux per square metre as they add or subtract setups and aim fixtures. Each light pole is then manufactured with an exact height, aiming angle and position location for build-by-number assembly.
Main lights Because the course twists and turns, lights must be placed above the drivers' line of sight, but they can't spill into grand- stands. For basic lighting, Musco erected 121 Light-Structure Green poles. Each holds a rack of 1,500-watt metal halide bulbs with aluminium visors that illuminate the track 40 per cent more efficiently than traditional field lights.
Secondary lights To eliminate street-level shadows along hairpin turns, Musco added hundreds of three- to 12-metre poles mounted with Mirtran lights. Each of these 0.28-square-metre fixtures contains a 2,000-watt metal-halide bulb pointed inward at reflectors. Mirtrans project a focused beam that covers a wide swathe of track with less spillover than standard floods.
Tunnel lights At high speeds, small shadows can create disorientating flickers. In locations where the company was unable to deploy traditional lampposts, it improvised -- sometimes finding unconventional solutions. For example, the ceiling of the pit row tunnel along the start/ finish straight is outfitted with a strip of 400-watt canopy lights like those used at gas stations.
Road test Before the race, Musco checks light levels by mounting a luminescence meter to a pace car and driving the course. Any blips get remeasured by an engineer on foot, who adjusts aiming angles.
Come race time, F1 cars make 55 laps around the 5.5 kilometre course, averaging a blistering one minute, 40 seconds per lap.
Blink and you'll miss them -- but not because the view isn't perfect.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
