The was the venue for the inaugural
Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004.
The construction of the Bahrain circuit was a national objective for
Bahrain , initiated by the Crown Prince, Shaikh
Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa . The Crown Prince is the Honorary President of the Bahrain Motor Federation.
Race organizers were worried that the circuit wouldn't be complete in time, and asked for the inaugural Bahrain
Grand Prix to take place in 2005 instead. However,
Formula One supremo
Bernie Ecclestone refused this request. In the end, the circuit was not quite fully complete, but was good enough for the grand prix to go ahead.
The circuit posed a unique problem. Positioned in the middle of a desert, there were worries that sand would blow onto the circuit and disrupt the race. However, organizers were able to keep the sand off the track by spraying an adhesive on the sand around the track.
The circuit was designed by German architect
Hermann Tilke and cost approximately US $150 million to construct.
There are six different tracks.
- (pictured above)
- (the middle section of the track - turns 5 to 12 of the main circuit with a complex of corners joining turns 5 and 12)
- (the entire track, but bypassing turns 5 to 12)
- (turns 4 through to 9 are removed)
- (ran on the straight over a quarter of a mile with shutdown area)
-
