F1 Motorsport Bahrain GP Called Off

F1 Motorsport Bahrain GP Called Off

The Bahrain GP became a part of the F1 racing calendar in 2004, and was supposed to kick off the 2011 Formula One season on March 13. The 2011 Formula One schedule included a record 20 races spread all across the globe. But due to the civil unrest in this gulf kingdom, the race has been called off. Though, organizers are hopeful that it is just a postponement and the race can be rescheduled for a later date, something that will undoubtedly be quite difficult given the packed F1 yearlong schedule. The last time an F1 race was canceled was the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in Japan in 1995, which was due to an earthquake.

Final pre-season practice and testing was also scheduled in Bahrain in the first week of March, and obviously even that had to be canceled. All the teams will now remain in Spain at the Barcelona circuit. The Australian Grand Prix will now take over as the season-opener. Though this decision seemed inevitable, the Bahrain International Circuit made the formal announcement of the withdrawal on Monday. The statement read, "The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialog". Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa had this to add, "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialog for Bahrain. Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear "that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date". Bernie Ecclestone, F1 boss had this to say from his side, "It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country. The hospitality and warmth of the people of Bahrain is a hallmark of the race there, as anyone who has been at a Bahrain Grand Prix will testify. We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon".

All the Formula One teams welcomed the decision and agreed that the organizers and respective authorities knew what they were doing. Now though the Bahrain GP has been called off, organizers, teams and fans alike, will only hope now that the internal problems of Bahrain will be sorted out sooner than later, and the Bahrain GP can be rescheduled to later date this year.