PRESS Bahrain GP

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www.bahraingp.com 

Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix On-track for 04.04.04 race deadline
London, 20 November 2003. The Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir,
to the south of Bahrain’s  capital Manama, is  beginning  to look
more  and  more  like a Grand Prix circuit with  every  day  that
passes.  With  construction  engineers  working  around  the  clock
to complete the  brand new circuit in  time  for  next  year’s
inaugural Grand Prix, there was time for celebration this week  as
machinery completed the first half of the all  important track
surface. As the engineering team begin the 136-day countdown to the
Grand Prix all eyes are on the  track surface on  which  drivers such
as  World Champion Michael  Schumacher,  Juan Pablo  Montoya,  Rubens
Barrichello,  Kimi  Raikkonen,  David  Coulthard,  Fernando  Alonso
and Mark Webber will race for the coveted title of the first driver to
win a Grand Prix in the Middle East.   The  track  laying  activities
are  vitally  important  not  only  because  the  curing  process  is
critical in terms of the final racing surface, but also because it is
a milestone on the road to the circuit’s completion. 04.04.04 will be
a significant date in the Kingdom of Bahrain – traditionally,  hosting
a  Grand  Prix  demonstrates  a  country’s  engineering,  business
and organisational prowess. Bahrainis  are immensely proud  of the
Grand  Prix and  see it as the  catalyst to  promote  awareness for
Bahrain  while  endorsing  the Kingdom’s standing within the Gulf
region. The first layer of asphalt now covers over half of the new
circuit and work is on schedule to have the complete circuit covered
by early December. The construction team is laying an average of 650
tonnes of asphalt per day.   Overall  some  12,000  tonnes  of  stone
will  be  used  in  the  track  building  exercise  – four thousand
tonnes of which comes from Wales and the remainder from Malaysia. The
second layer of asphalt will be laid when all the racing kerbs and
run-off areas have been completed in the middle of January and the
final layer in early February. As  the work on  laying the
all-important racing surface continues apace, the engineering teams
are  continuing to  weave  a  magical spell  on  the construction of
the buildings and the landscaping of the area that will give the
circuit its unique Arabic appeal.   

Every day brings new changes to the shape and form of the grandstands,
pit complex and race control tower. Rising above them all is the
spectacular eight-storey VIP Tower, a tall circular  building that
will house the  Bahrain Motor  Federation, the  Bahrain International
Circuit  Management  offices,  a  restaurant,  merchandising  centre
and  hospitality  suites. The dramatic building dominates the
circuit’s skyline and will provide Grand Prix VIPs with magnificent
views of the entire 5.475km circuit. Alongside  the  track  laying
activities the  landscaping  of  the  circuit  is  also  taking
shape. The first racetrack to  stage  a  Grand Prix  in  the  desert
has  numerous  differences  to  its traditional compatriots on the FIA
Formula One World Championship calendar – not least the  fact  that
it  provides  striking  visual  differences  between  the  desert  and
the  oasis greenery of  the pit  and paddock  complex.  Irrigation
channels  deliver the  much-needed water   supply   to   feed   the
vegetation   that   provides   the   manicured   “Golf   Course”
atmosphere. Here the teams and drivers will go about their daily
business, while sponsors and   their   guests   will   be
entertained   in   an   environment   difficult   to   match   in
the entertainment, business and financially-dominated world of Formula
One. Enthusiasts are already flocking to purchase tickets for the
April race. The objective of the Bahrain  race promoter has been to
enthuse spectators and fans from neighbouring Gulf States with a
“Grand Prix Roadshow”. The travelling show has added considerable
value and awareness to the Gulf Air-sponsored race and to date 28,000
tickets have been sold with the organisers expecting a total of
150,000 to visit the race over the three days.   It’s not only the
spectators who are looking forward to the race. Already the drivers
and teams are expressing considerable interest in the new circuit and
are keen to view it first hand.  The  first  to  visit  the  site  was
BAR  Honda  driver  Jenson  Button  who took  a  spin around the
circuit, not in his usual form of transport but in  a 4x4. His first
impressions were    full    of    encouragement    and    praise
for    the    organising    team,    saying   “… from what I have seen
this is going to be an excellent circuit with variety of layout”.
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I dunno, is this stuff interesting while we're in the off-season, or
wot?
-- 
([:]) by Kimbo!   www.foca.co.uk

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? I am not a moderator.

note: hotmail address is a spam bin, 
write to kim at foca_co_uk for a reply