Bahrain....

I can imagine that you find 100k fans amongst 1 billion people. But your explanation is a tad too generous. I mean with that you can basically have a F1 GP in any nation you want.

BTW: I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I enjoyed today's race tremendously. I "hate" the Asian races for their timeslot, but Sepang and China are both great tracks (no matter how much people dislike Tilke). So I'm hoping we're kinda done with the "Asian expansion" of F1. About time to get a few more races in our hemisphere and/or one in Africa.

 

No. The empty grand stands are because they are closed to the public. Visit the official website you can't buy tix to those empty stands.

All stands that were for sale to the public were sold out.

 

Interesting. Build seats and refuse to sell them.
I suspect there's a more obvious reason.

 

Well duh!

They were for sale at the first race and the lack of interest led to semi empty stands everywhere. So by reducing the stands you get to fill the remaining ones.

Turkey is doing the same thing.

Fact is that there is not enough demand.

 

And I wrote it off to an inscrutable Chinese business plan

 

200,000 seats not 60,000 like most other circuits. I'm sure they overestimated somewhere when China was trying to push it's self as a leader in sports. I'm sure with the Olympics around the corner they were happy to throw money in the wind....


They finally woke up

Like I said they have over 200k+ in seats. How many tracks have 200,000+ capacity grandstands in the world? Outside of NASCAR/ovals I can't think of any.

Most tradition tracks get most of their patrons from general admission. Spa doesn't even get 60,000 patrons on race day, why don't we get rid of that track if grandstand numbers is all that matters?

China had over 100,000 people on race day. Which is about the same amount of people that rock up to most tradition circuits in Europe. I don't see why having a billion people would mean they would have 1billion people interested in F1 when only 20years ago most people didn't even own a car.

The car is still a new thing to them. They are experiencing motorsport as we were in the 1920's and 30's.

Asia does have too many GP's at the moment, I agree with that but tradition circuits don't line Bernie's pockets as deep.

 

Sueddeutsche.de reports that the Williams catering manager has been fired because she refused to go to Bahrain...

 

200k?
I had no idea there were so many.

 

Me neither. In that case SpeedCore has a point.

Yup.

Bernie wants to add another Middle Eastern GP, making it 3. That to me is also too many. 1 or 2 suffice.

 

Bernie will always be "planning" to add 2 or 3 to keep the pressure on existing tracks to pay his sanctioning fee without the ability to renegotiate. Bernie always needs 1 new race in his hip pocket or his empire crumbles.

 

Problem is that he actually adds them

 

Dealing with Bernie, is probably akin to trying to attach a strawberry jelly to the back of a greased pig, with a staple gun, and requires the technical accuracy of a lawyer, the lateral thinking ability of a nuclear physicist, and the resilience of a marathon dancer...

 

Mmmmm.. funny, the only person with a pair of balls happens to be a she.

 

Speaking from experience?

 

http://en.espnf1.com/bahrain/motorsport/story/75967.html

 

She should sue!

 

I'm glad they canned her. What an idiot.

 

It is hard to imagine somebody would let such a dream job slip away for this. I know I wouldn't.

 

JD
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Easy for us or anyone to say. I know i won't too. But its hard to tell if we're not in their shoes.

 

Force India guys get tangled up in cross fire.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-2131934/Bahrain-Grand-Prix-2012-Force-India-caught-petrol-bomb-attack.html
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FIA lacks vision, clarity or a clue. This is a race that doesnt belong.

 

After the Force India incident she will be getting her job back Id bet.

 

Bahrain Track Notes: By 'Spanner'
Thursday 19th April 2012
Bahrain Track Notes: By 'Spanner'

F1 truckie 'Spanner' has been out to the Sakhir circuit to see what conditions are like in advance of the race weekend. We print his notes.

TRACK NOTES/DRIVER BRIEFING

Start/Finish Straight: Tarmac looks very gnarly - about as rough as the proverbial camel's jacksie, so you'll have to wait for the HRTs to put some rubber down.


Turn 1: Braking point will be by the burnt-out police car
On full tanks it will be closer to the toppled statue of some bloke in robes (check they don't move it after FP1 as Charlie probably won't like statues of deposed former rulers close to the racing line, but he may go easy on them as everything's gone a bit ***sup this week.


Turns 2/3: Important to carry speed through these for the back straight, avoid the slippery painted surfaces where people have written DOWN WITH ECCLESTONE and JEAN IS A KNOB on the track. In Arabic obviously. Actually it might say EAT AT SALIM'S and my interpreter and security crew are just having a laugh. Jokers.


Turn 4: Braking point is by first tent of the Occupy Sakhir encampment. Don't worry about sliding off and into them, there'll be no-one inside, just like at St Paul's.


Turns 5/6/7: Should be flat out. Avoid the burnt effigy of Damon Hill on the apex of Turn 6.


Turn 8 - Molatov Hairpin: Don't hang around here the locals looks a bit lary. Keep one eye on the grandstand for hurled flaming objects and one eye on the track on exit.


Turn 9/10: Tricky little complex, get your line right on entry. Line up on the makeshift barrier of oil drums and mattresses that's been bulldozed aside .


Turns 11/12/13: This is the safer end of the circuit to go off - very few banners that say F1 DRIVERS GO **** YOURSELVES and far fewer missiles than the other grandstands - only small stones and pebbles, no bricks like Turn 9. A bit like Croydon in August, really.


General Notes
Remember, there's no Mercedes Safety Car this race - the Bahrain GP Safety Car will be a tracked vehicle that can do 26 mph (or 28 mph if they heat up the tracks in the garage before it goes out. Arf! What am I like?) It can only do 23 mph if it's firing its water canon.


Pitlane Entry
There'll be a barrier across the pitlane and you have to show your papers going into and out of the pits. No exceptions - failure to do so will incur a stop-and-go-to-jail penalty (or for Lewis, life imprisonment or something)


Cheers 'Spanner'
Nah - only kidding, it's exactly like it was in 2009. Had you there! What am I like?



Courtesy of OffonF1.com

 

We can only hope it's a one off.

Apparently Friday night is when it usually kicks off.