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Bahrain International Circuit to host Formula One through to 2016

We have a date - the first of the new contract that will see Bahrain staging a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship up to at least 2016.

 
Next year’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on April 19th according to the provisional FIA Formula One World Championship calendar issued today by the sport’s governing body at its World Council meeting in Paris, France.

 
Bahrain’s April race date means that the Kingdom will again host the third Grand Prix on the Formula One World Championship which starts in Australia on March 29th. The second race will be in Malaysia on April 5th.

 
“It is good news to get our date  so early in the year as it helps considerably with the planning for everyone involved in the organisation of the race”, said Martin Whitaker, Chief Executive Officer of the Bahrain International Circuit.

“This year’s race was a sell-out and we are already planning an even bigger and better event for 2009 and having a date that we can focus on will help considerably in our planning. It will also prove to be a great target for all those who benefit from the largest annual sporting and social event in the Kingdom. The race always provides a massive boost to the hoteliers, restaurateurs, travel companies, retailers and many others who run businesses throughout the island”

 
The announcement of the date was underlined by further good news regarding the length of Bahrain’s Formula One contract.

“The race will be an annual fixture in Bahrain until the year 2016 under the terms of the contract that we have with Formula One,” added Whitaker. “Given the revenue that is generated both directly and indirectly from the Grand Prix every year this is great news for the economy and businesses in general”.

 
The announcement of the provisional 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship ends speculation regarding the possibility of Bahrain being the opening race on the calendar.

“The team at BIC feel that holding the third race of the year puts us in a great position for generating both spectator and corporate interest. We can leverage the awareness from the opening races in terms of ticket sales and general attendance and can also now start to plan with the Formula One teams who like to test in Bahrain early in the year.In the past nearly all the teams have tested at BIC prior to the start of the season and this year we saw both Ferrari and Toyota maximizing the opportunity of dry and warm weather testing before the opening races. A programme in Bahrain early in the year will benefit them as they prepare for the new season.”

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