31/05/2011
NEWS STORY
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Ahead of Friday's deadline, the chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit, Zayed Rashid Alzayani, says the circuit is ready and eager to host the race.
"We feel we are in position to have that event back," said Alzayani, according to the Associated Press. "Things have calmed down tremendously in Bahrain. Life is back to normal. We are happy to have the race."
Having extended the deadline from its original May 1 date, the pressure is on the sport to come to a decision this week which, if Bahrain is returned to the calendar, will result in a major reshuffle of events at the end of the year. The most likely scenario, if the World Motor sport council gives the event the green light, would be for Bahrain to run back-to-back with Abu Dhabi and the inaugural Indian race deferred to December.
However, much depends on convincing the WMSC that the situation is changed, that the event will not be hijacked for political purposes and that the safety of everyone involved with the event can be guaranteed. Alzayani insists this won't be a problem. "We went through a rough patch and we need nice moments in our history now for the nation. Formula One has always been a time where Bahrain showcases itself to the world not only as a sports arena but as society, a community that Bahrain as a nation has to offer. Formula One can bring back joy to the country."
Asked about reports that staff at the circuit have been arrested he admitted that 24 out of 108 had been detained, however, he insists that the circuit is above politics. "We still have employees working who are Shiite, Sunnis and Christians," he said. "We never looked at race or sect thing. We look at productivity and loyalty to the job. They weren't detained because they were Shiite but because they had cases against them. Some have been released. Some are still under dentition."
Last week, Tom Porteous, deputy programme director at New York based Human Rights Watch, said that the lifting of martial law on June 1 is essentially a cosmetic exercise. "There is little reason to think that ending martial law on June 1 will make much difference in Bahrain's menacing human rights climate," he said.
Nabeel Rajab, vice-president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and who warned that the (original) event could be hijacked by protestors, is admant that the race should not go ahead. "It's not a good message to the human rights defenders and reformists in Bahrain," he said.
Speaking to CNN's Don Riddell at the weekend, Bernie Ecclestone remained hopeful that the event would go ahead. "If there's peace there and they're happy, we're happy to compromise and make things happen for them," he said.
When asked if this was truly realistic, seeing as the country is under martial law and there are tanks on the streets, he replied: "I don't know. I haven't been there. You get stories about these things. They've lifted this restriction, or they're going to on the first of June, so we'll have to see. It's really a case of if the government supports it, allows people to travel, insurance companies are happy for the teams to be there.
While a number of teams have expressed about the rescheduling of the race, mainly in terms of dates and logistics, Ecclestone claims they are all happy to go if the race is given the thumbs up on Friday. "I think the teams are happy," he said. "If it's safe and everything is good then I think the teams will be happy to support it.
“We've always tried to keep out of politics and religion and things like that," he continued. "I don't really know and I don't know if people have ever found out exactly what the problems are. All you can do is hear what people report, but sometimes these things aren't reported that accurately. So I don't know. If what you hear and read is true, I think we'd have to support the people against..."
Asked if F1 could take a stand and say that it's not going to Bahrain this year, the F1 supremo said: "I think it would be difficult to do that, but I think we'd have to - sort of - do something that would keep everybody peaceful."