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2015 Singapore GP: Track-invader charged

Singapore - A British national has appeared in court in Singapore charged with endangering the personal safety of drivers by walking across the track during last weekend's floodlit 2015 Singapore GP.

Court documents on Tuesday (September 22) identified the 27 year old man as Yogvitam Pravin Dhokia.

Gap in fence

Drivers in Sunday's race were stunned to see the track intruder as they came around a corner, with camera footage later showing him emerging through a gap in the fence onto the racing line.

He then crossed the track and wandered alongside the barriers as cars sped past.

The safety car was deployed before the man climbed back over a barrier between turns 13 and 14.

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff told reporters afterwards: "He must have had a couple of beers. I was alarmed because that can cause a massive accident and it's dangerous for the drivers."

The formal charge sheet said Dhokia had committed an "act so rashly as to endanger the personal safety of the drivers involved in the Race, to wit, by crossing the Race track while the Race is on-going."

It added that he faced a possible jail sentence of up to six months and/or a maximum fine of 2500 Singapore dollars ($1765).

Local media reported Dhokia, whose passport was confiscated, had been offered bail of $15 000 Singapore dollars but told the court he could not pay it.

"I'm not working currently. I spent all my savings on tickets. I don't really have that kind of money," Channel News Asia quoted him as saying.

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