The Devil's Bend
A quick introduction to this place, many years before the F1 Grand Prix races we have today, Singapore have our very own Grand Prix Tournament. And the first Singapore Grand Prix was held over a weekend in mid-September 1961, promising entertainment and excitement for the spectators, both local and foreign. Over the weekend, 1 day is for a more amateur and leisure contest, with motorcycles, vintage cars and saloons taking part in various races, and the second day is the actual Grand Prix Tournament. The circuit is located at the Old Upper Thomson Road and Upper Thomson Road, where competing drivers had to race in the 4.8km-long Sembawang Circuit that had several challenging bends with interesting nicknames such as Circus Hairpin, The Snakes, Long Loop and the Devil’s Bend.
The famous but dangerous Devil’s Bend, located near the entrance to the Upper Peirce Reservoir, was the most challenging of all. Shaped like the letter V, the chicane tested the skills and reactions of the qualified 30 racers, who had to complete 60 laps and a distance of approximately 286.5km, and the capabilities of their vehicles. A total of seven lives were lost due to racing accidents in the 11 years history of the Singapore Grand Prix.
As safety concerns were the official reason cited for the cancellation of the 1974 edition of the Grand Prix that heralded the end of Singapore Prix. However, even though that marks the end of the tournament, the eerie occurrences and deadly accidents at the Devil's Bend still continues...
During daylight, this lovely road is filled with cyclist and joggers enjoying this quiet road. However, behind this peaceful surface, there are many stories of people seeing paranormal activities such as ghostly figures and dizzy spells when driving along this long winding stretch of the road especially coming close to the Devil's bend. Making this old Thomson Road one of the most haunted roads in Singapore to live up to its name.
On another hand, this road is also used by speed lovers to feed their craving for speed and thrill. Many youths have raced and crashed in the old Thomson road making this road one the most accidents occur in a single stretch. This is truly a Devil's bend, do you think it lived up to its name?
Credits to Wikipedia