Auction bidder pays $24,000 for F1 hotel room

A hotel room with a view of Singapore's first Formula One race fetched a top bid of 30,000 Singapore dollars ($24,000 Australian) in a charity auction, organizers said today. The unidentified bidder will be able to stay at the Pan Pacific Hotel September 26-28 during next year's race.

Motorsports fever has been on the rise in Singapore since the May announcement that the city-state would host its first race on a street circuit in 2008. Approval has been granted to hold the event at night under lights.

Trackside hotels will be slapped by the government with a 30 per cent levy during the event.

Industry observer Noel Hawkes noted that rooms cost triple the normal rate during F1 races in other cities. "It's not that exorbitant by any means," he was quoted as saying.