Next stop Bahrain

As the flag fell at the end of Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix and the victory celebrations subsided, attention turned to the next round of the championship - the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Yes, the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship is just two weeks away and for the first time in Middle East sporting history it's taking place right here in Bahrain! Two years of planning and sixteen months of construction work will finally be put to the test as the biggest sporting extravaganza to hit the region arrives in town. During the coming days the advanced party of Formula One teams, television broadcasters, motor racing scribes and photographers together with the drivers, their management and the rest of the Formula One entourage will be arriving in the Kingdom.

For many it will be their first visit to the region. For all of them it will be a unique experience which they have been looking forward to with anticipation since the race was announced on the championship calendar last year.

Over the next seven days flights will begin to arrive bringing everything that makes the fastest show on earth move. Race cars from Ferrari, BMW WilliamsF1, Renault F1, McLaren Mercedes, Jaguar, Toyota, BAR Honda, Sauber Petronas, Jordan and Minardi will be jetted in strapped to aircraft pallets. With them will come packing cases, crates and boxes of the highest technology equipment associated with a sport that is at the leading edge of design. All the TV equipment required to generate live pictures of the race that will be beamed around the world two weeks from now will begin to arrive and will, along with all the team equipment, descend upon the Bahrain International Circuit.

The airport and transportation links will experience the first demands on countless months of planning to accommodate the increase in traffic and personnel. Hotels across Manama will begin to fill, restaurants are already fully booked, shopping malls and the famous Souqs will witness the influx of drivers and their wives, friends, team principals, technicians, engineers and members of the media corps. The interest and excitement that the race is generating will pulse through the Kingdom and spill over into the region. Many spectators and guests will be jetting in on extra shuttle flights from places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha; countless thousands will cross the causeway from Saudi Arabia while others will arrive by air from all points north, south, east and west.

Michael Schumacher may have won the second of the two races this year yesterday in Malaysia but whatever happens in two weeks' time at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, there will be only one winner - the Middle East.

Formula One is two weeks away and all the hard work put into making this dream come true is about to be realized. 04.04.04 will be a memorable day in the history of the Kingdom and everyone is welcome to witness this magnificent achievement!

-bgp-