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Bahrain tells Formula One enthusiasts to ‘Imagine Your Moment’

Imagine former Ferrari ace seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher winning the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004. Imagine Fernando Alonso, then with Renault, notching back-to-back race wins in 2005 and 2006, Schumacher final season in F1 before taking a sabbatical.

Imagine Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel fending off the challenge from Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen of LotusF1 to win the Grand Prix last year. Or even imagine the support races and the off-track entertainment activities over the seven runnings of the Grand Prix.

The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), organisers of the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in the Kingdom of Bahrain, have come up with a unique slogan - ‘Imagine Your Moment,’ for this year’s race, the ninth running of the event.

Dubbed ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’ and the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East back in 2004, BIC began the countdown for this year’s Grand Prix.

Bahrain is pencilled in as the fourth race of the 2013 FIA Formula 1 World Championship and will run from April 19 to 21 at the unique Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir in the middle of the desert.

And Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the chief executive of BIC wants people to look back and enjoy those moments and create more memories.

“The theme and slogan this year is ‘Imagine Your Moment.’ The concept came after our debrief meeting last year. We are trying to capture things that worked. People brought a lot to the table. We created a memory for people to take back. We wanted people to imagine these moments. It shows that it is a beautiful day for everyone,” Shaikh Isa, said.

Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Maher Salman Jabr Al Musallam at the Press conference to announce plans for the Bahrain Grand Prix 2013. — Supplied photo

“There is always a special moment or two for whoever attends the Bahrain Grand Prix, be it on the track or off of it, and we would like all the fans to ‘Imagine Your Moment’ and feel the excitement of our upcoming Grand Prix,” he added.

Shaikh Isa revealed that the GP2 Series will be the support race for the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix this season.

“This year, the GP2 Series will be back again. It will be the support race for the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. For us, it is the most important feeder series to Formula One.”

The Formula BMW Asia, the Formula BMW World Final, the Porsche Supercup, GP2 Asia, the Speedcar Series and the Australia V8 Supercar Championship has played second fiddle to the headline act — the Formula One — in previous years at the Circuit.

GP2 will be holding its second round of the 2013 season in Bahrain. The organisers said that other support races will be announced soon. It will not just be racing during the race weekend. Shaikh Isa said that race fans will have an array of activities which will keep them entertained and they have taken it up a notch this time.

“There will be various off-track entertainment activities ranging from musical performances, stage shows and mesmerising acts to carnival rides, parlour games and dazzling exhibitions, which is a very important part of the Grand Prix. We will have performances from all over the globe — France, Switzerland, China, Japan, Kenya, India, Brazil, to name a few. So, we have the world coming to us. Children’s activities will also be the focus,” he said.

Shaikh Isa said the economic impact of holding the Grand Prix in the Kingdom of Bahrain was massive.

“It is difficult to put a number to this year’s race. The economic impact to Bahrain is a tremendous number. I always look at direct impact which is air tickets, hotels as well as people dining out. We are trying to encourage more people a longer stay. We are trying to grow the business to business aspect so that companies can leverage it,” said Shaikh Isa.

He was pleased that the Grand Prix attracted a crowd of 70,000 last year and expects the numbers to increase this season.

“We expect an even larger turnout this year, with the growing popularity of the sport and the rapidly developing motorsport culture both in Bahrain and the rest of the Middle East all contributing to the greater attendance,” he said.

And BIC hopes to come close to matching its biggest-ever turnout to the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend of 100,000 fans in 2010.

BIC has been working hard over the past several weeks gearing up for the upcoming Grand Prix, tackling the wide array of issues associated with hosting such a major event.

Now, with the final countdown to the race weekend, BIC is set to become a hive of activity as it steps up its preparations.

Tickets have already gone on sale for the Grand Prix.

Gulf Air, the official title sponsor of the Grand Prix, were pleased to continue their association.

“This will be Gulf Air’s eighth year as the official title sponsor of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Since its beginning in 2004, the race has become one of the region’s most prestigious sporting events. The 2013 Formula 1 Bahrain Gulf Air Grand Prix is expected to draw thousands of fans from across the Middle East and the international community allowing the Kingdom to reap the associated economic benefits,” Gulf Air Acting CEO Maher Salman Jabr Al Musallam, said.

“The Gulf Air-F1 sponsorship agreement has also paid great dividends in firmly establishing the Kingdom of Bahrain on the global map as ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’ as well as raising the airline’s image as the sports ambassador of the country,” he added.

james@khaleejtimes.com