Bahrain: The head of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) has said the country's Formula One race does not fear competition from Abu Dhabi, but insists the event is committed to raising the bar for motorsport in the region.
Shaikh Salman Bin Eisa Al Khalifa said Bahrain had already successfully organised eight Grand Prix compared to Yas Marina's two and that the focus was on promoting the sport throughout the region rather than competition between the two venues.
"There is definitely no pressure on us," the CEO of BIC, who was speaking on the sidelines of the official 69-day countdown to the Grand Prix in Bahrain on Tuesday, said.
"Every year we have been happy and we are always trying to raise the bar. We have had fantastic races with great touches.
"I don't think we are as a culture or a region ready to compete against each other. We are still building the sport together so the more the better."
The event, which was launched in April 2004, welcomed a record 100,000 spectators last year and is expected to top that number from March 11 to 13.
Support events
It will once again kick-start the Formula One season and will feature a number of support events including the GP2 Asia Series final round, the opening round of the Porshe Mobil 1 Supercup and the WGA Chevrolet Supercars Championship Middle East.
The event, which has been launched under the campaign slogan ‘Fuel your Passion', will also include an exhibition detailing the history of the McLaren team from the 1960s with twenty cars on display. "We're very proud that the BIC has the opening round of the grand prix," Shaikh Salman, who took over as the CEO of the BIC last January and is getting ready for his second grand prix in charge, said.
"We work very hard to secure the first race with the Formula One management. It is a challenge and I'd like to thank the support of the F1 management and Bernie Ecclestone [The head of Formula One].
"It's very important to us and our sponsors to be the first race and it means people are talking about the race for three months instead of two weeks, which what happens if we are the third."
Last year's Formula One championship was one of the closest in recent memory with Sebastien Vettel finally grabbing the drivers' championship on the last day in Abu Dhabi.
With the region now boasting two of the best facilities in the world championships and a possible third being touted for Qatar, commentators have asked where is the growth in domestic talent, but Shaikh Salman believes it is simply a question of numbers.
"There are so many levels before F1 that we have to grow the grassroots in motorsport before an F1 driver comes from the region. It's nothing to do with the tracks. If you look at Europe maybe 4,000 race karts but by the time you have gone through all the levels maybe two or three make it to F1.
"How many karters do we have? 100. We can't do the same as Europe so once we grow the base we will start talking."
