Snakes & Devils

An UPCOMING book on the history of

MOTORING and MOTOR RACING

in Southeast Asia

RED FLAGS & LOST CIRCUITS

Southeast Asia

While Snakes & Devils was the definitive account of the Singapore Grand Prix, Red Flags & Lost Circuits of Southeast Asia is the culmination of over twenty-years of work on the history of motoring and motorsport in Southeast Asia. The work will be issued in two volumes. Snakes chronicled the 13 golden years of Grand Prix racing in Singapore in one packed 288 page volume with 400 photographs and instantly became the only definitive historical account of the original Singapore Grand Prix. The book, published by Marshall Cavendish, was released to the public on 9th June 2008 and was limited to a single print run of around 1,500 copies. A special corporate edition, commissioned by TAG Heuer, was issued in conjunction with Singapore's first Formula 1 Grand Prix held in late September 2008. Red Flags & Lost Circuits, on the other hand, will be published by Curry Pot Press and limited to 200 copies to accommodate the very small market in that part of the world and cater to the industry and to enthusiasts.

Why Red Flags?

The term "Red Flags" can signify a warning, martial law, defiance, or left-wing politics. The earliest citation for “red flag” in the OED is from 1602 and shows that at that time the flag was used by military forces to indicate that they were preparing for battle. The red flag became a symbol of communism as a result of its use by the Paris Commune of 1871. The flags of several communist states, including China, Vietnam, and the former Soviet Union, have red backgrounds.

In motorsport the Red Flag is used to stop either a practice session or a race due to conditions been considered too dangerous. This flag is typically used after a major accident where safety marshals are required out on the track for longer than desirable period, and having cars drive past, even slowly would pose a significant danger.

In motoring, The British Locomotive Act 1865 set a speed limit of 4 mph in the country and 2 mph in towns. The 1865 Act also provided for the then famous “man with a red flag”. Walking 60 yards ahead of each vehicle, a man with a red flag or lantern enforced a walking pace, and warned horse riders and horse drawn traffic of the approach of a self-propelled machine.

The Locomotive Amendment Act 1878 made the red flag optional under local regulations, and reduced the distance of the warning to a more manageable 20 yards.

This, in the broadest sense, is what Red Flags is all about; man’s love-hate affair with the automobile, his fear of the machine, and the automobile’s impact on society – and society’s impact on the development of the automobile. Red Flags hopes to take the reader on an 85 year journey of the automobile in Singapore and Malaysia, from the earliest imports to the formative years of automotive assembly and finally to the piece de resistance of it all, Malaysia’s own National car, the Proton. Volume 2, Lost Circuits of Southeast Asia, looks at motoring as a sport with a slightly broader church including the region beyond the borders of Peninsula Malaysia. It is hoped the two volume work will serve as an acceptable reference to both the motoring industry as well as motor sport in the region and together with the author’s earlier work on the original Singapore Grand Prix[1], provide enthusiasts, historians and the industry with sufficient material on the car in Southeast Asia.

[1] Snakes & Devils – A History of the Singapore Grand Prix was published by Marshall Cavendish in June 2008. pp 288, 400 illus.

Red Flags will contain about 200 pages, including appendices, detailed bibliography and an index. Lost Circuits, a much larger volume, will focus on motor racing in all its forms in the region. Each chapter focuses on the individual states and the events that took place there. For example, under Singapore, the 15 or so sites used for sprints, hill climbs and circuit racing are all covered in detail, including numerous photos and illustrations that were not present in Snakes & Devils. The scope of the work stretches from the start of the 20th Century and ends around the mid-1980s. Each of the Malaysian states is covered in detail, including the various hill climbs, sprints, and circuit races, including the failed Swettenham Aerodrome Grand Prix that would have predated the War Effort Grand Prix of November 1940. Other countries covered include Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, with mention of the races in Sri Lanka and India.

Such a project has never been undertaken on such a scale previously. The author spent 19 fairly unsuccessful years working in the financial sector that was constantly mired in some from of crisis or recession. Most of those 19 years were therefore spent preparing for this ultimate work so it hasn't been a total failure. There have been no restrictions on size and depth of content that will eventually emerge in Red Flags & Lost Circuit and a considerable amount of effort has been taken to ensure accuracy of data. The release of this two volume work will be timed around the second Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix.

About the Author

Eli Solomon has spent a lifetime, punctuated by a spell as an equity salesman in an investment bank, in the company of good and bad cars and good and bad company. His interests are varied, and his latest venture is into the world of rare Southeast Asian books with the formation of Singapore Rare Books LLP. He now spends equal time between Hong Kong and Singapore.

His racing interests include wringing the neck out of his single-seater Brabham BT18 at historic motor sports events when he can afford to, and rebuilding old race cars, including one that was entered in the Singapore Grand Prix of 1971 and 1972 and a little known Special that was raced in Malaya in 1953. He has acted as historical consultant for a documentary film for Singapore television on the history of the Singapore Grand Prix as well as been a guest on TV talking about alternative investments. A short spell with a local vintage car club saw his enthusiasm for such machinery and for such clubs severely dampened by vandalism within the club (which the Hon. club secretary even referred to as "AN ACT OF TERRORISM"), so much so that he had to remove himself from any association with the club to safeguard his private property from those members who had a more sinister agenda. In the early 1990s, his interests centered around the very early history of Singapore. A coffee-table edition of his early work on Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles appeared as The Raffles Book of Days, published by AOTO. A bibliography on Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles for the National Library of Singapore was then undertaken, soon followed by a chronology of the life of Colonel William Farquhar, first Resident of Singapore, for Singapore Resource Library. Eli's latest book is titled Red Flags & Lost Circuits of Southeast Asia with publication expected to be in time for Singapore's second Formula 1 Grand Prix.