Fans who were eager to buy tickets for the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix were left disappointed when many of them spent hours trying to no avail.

The tickets for the Singtel Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, which will take place on 28^th September 2008, were released yesterday morning at 9am. However, the enthusiasm dwindled down when many fans were frustrated by the online booking system which crashed while trying to cope with the huge number of visitors.

The system, which is said to be capable of boasting up to 20,000 connections at any one time, was experiencing an influx of 42,000 customers worldwide instead. Fans who went down to the ticketing counters countrywide also experienced the same problem, with many of them leaving empty-handed despite a 5-hour queue. The ticketing hotline was also practically impossible to get through.

Fans have also questioned Singapore GP Pte Ltd’s choice of ticketing agent – since tickets from most high-profiled events happening in Singapore are usually handled by SISTIC.com Pte Ltd. OmniTicket Network, whose portfolio includes Walt Disney World Resort and Harrods, created a special system to cater to the demands of the fans. The system was actually tested for two weeks before the launch yesterday but it still succumbed to the high traffic from race enthusiasts all around the world.

The ticketing situation has been alleviated significantly as fans are able to log onto the system to purchase their tickets with more ease as of this morning. Some fans who did not manage to get any tickets from the counters yesterday were guaranteed by the personnel from the Singapore GP Pte Ltd of their tickets after they filled in a form with their particulars.

According to the Straits Times, Steve Slater, a commentator on ESPN Star Sports for Formula 1, saw the lighter side of the situation by saying that some countries would wish they have this problem instead.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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