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A legendary racing driver has spoken about the chance encounter with a member of the Bahrain royal family which helped spark the kingdom’s love affair with Formula One and set the wheels rolling on creating the home of motor sport in the Middle East.
This coming weekend Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) celebrates staging its 10th Grand Prix and the island will once more welcome thousands of race fans from around the globe, providing a massive tourism boost to the island’s economy and worldwide TV exposure to help attract further international investment into the country.
No one will be prouder of its continued success than His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, who had the vision and determination to turn a dream into reality after what he has described as ‘a chance meeting with Sir Jackie Stewart’.
Sir Jackie, 75, a British former F1 driver from Scotland nicknamed the Flying Scot when he competed in races between 1965 and 1973, winning three world drivers’ championships, recalled: “I was flying on the Concorde from New York to London, I think in 1997, and had pre-boarded the plane and was sitting in seat 1A.
“As folks were boarding, one young man arrived and paid extra attention to me, who I simply did not know. Later, during the flight, and as the seat next to me was vacant, he asked if he could sit down to have a chat.
“He introduced himself, he was not the Crown Prince at that time, but told me of his enormous enthusiasm for motor sport.
“He asked if I, at some point, would accept an invitation to come down to Bahrain and try to convince some of his friends that more should be happening in the world of motor sport that might benefit Bahrain itself.
“I, in fact, did have the opportunity enroute from Jordan to Asia, to stop off in Bahrain and was very well received by the Crown Prince and a group of his really good friends.
“I was shown around the little track that they had created and was able to spend some quality time with all concerned. As we were then running Stewart Grand Prix in Formula One races, I invited the-then Prince Salman to the Italian Grand Prix of Monza, where he joined us for the weekend at the Villa d’Este Hotel on Lake Como. Those two incidents started a great friendship that has blossomed continuously since then.”
It was not the only thing to blossom. Writing the foreword in a BIC book entitled 483 Days, a crowning achievement published at the opening of the circuit in 2004, the Crown Prince said at Monza he saw first-hand the ‘incredible transformation’ of F1 into a precision business with global audiences in the billions and TV syndicated to some 200 countries.
He said: “Formula One was now a hugely sophisticated media machine, which could put countries, brands or individuals on the map. I decided that we must find a mechanism to harness the effect of motor sport in Bahrain.”
He met with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to discuss how best to develop a racing facility for the kingdom and the Crown Prince says his advice ‘set us on a journey’ to establish the BIC.
A feasibility study was initiated, circuit specialist Tilke AG engaged, a site chosen and designs prepared.
“I was convinced that the magnetic appeal and international network of F1 would provide us with a vital cornerstone for tourism and industrial communications,” said the Crown Prince. “I started to imagine how Alba, Bapco, the financial centre and tourism could benefit if we could ‘plug-in’ to this dynamic platform.”
His Majesty King Hamad instructed that the opportunity be pursued and the Crown Prince said that without his unswerving support, ‘this wonderful achievement would not have been possible’. He also thanked His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa for his ‘wisdom and encouragement’ and the dedicated efforts of all ministries and national organisations.
On October 8, 2002, the Crown Prince was joined by Great Britain’s Duke of York, Prince Andrew, at the official ground-breaking ceremony of the BIC which attracted worldwide media attention. After an investment of $150 million in the BIC the new facility was officially opened by King Hamad on March 17, 2004, occupying 170 square hectares set within a 300 square hectare site in Sakhir.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary this year the race has been switched to a later start, becoming a day-to-night event under floodlights. In a personally signed letter to GulfWeekly, Mr Ecclestone wonders whether back then anyone would have thought of what it would be like to make arrangements to celebrate the 10th Formula One race to be held in Bahrain.
“Things move forward every year and every year there are improvements,” he said. “This year is a little special with the race in the dark.
“Thanks again for the forward thinking of the BIC. Thanks also to the fans and the Kingdom of Bahrain for their support.”
Sir Jackie, as part of an exclusive interview with GulfWeekly, said: “Without the Crown Prince, I don’t think there would be any chance that there ever would have been a Grand Prix in Bahrain.
“I am very proud that I played a small part in it all coming together. What most people in Bahrain don’t fully appreciate, I think, is that remarkably few folk on a global basis knew that Bahrain existed or where it was geographically.
“The Grand Prix has truly put Bahrain on the world map and the huge amount of television exposure that Bahrain gets from the event each year, is colossal.
“It projects not only Bahrain, but the whole region and, of course, because of the Grand Prix being so well received on a global basis, Abu Dhabi now has a Formula One race also.
“Qatar has built a world class motorcycle track for MotoGP and many other countries in the region have become aware of how positively a sport like F1 can project the image of a nation and its people.
“His Majesty King Hamad and the Crown Prince attend the Grand Prix each year, as does the Prime Minister, to welcome heads of state from all over the world, business leaders from a wide area of the commercial world, as well as prominent and well-respected people from the world of film, music and sport, who count Bahrain as one of the friendliest and most enjoyable race weekends to attend in the world.
“So, what the Crown Prince has done is open the whole region and far beyond to the world of motor sport, through television, radio and print media, in the most positive fashion.
“The Crown Prince should be well recognised and properly respected for what he has done for Bahrain as a nation.”
Sir Jackie will be flying to Bahrain for this weekend’s race and he believes the facility remains a favourite with drivers, teams and spectators alike.
He said: “The circuit of Bahrain is a very enjoyable one for the racing drivers. It’s very difficult and demanding with long, sweeping corners, high G-forces and is capable of producing enormous speed for Formula One cars, as well as all of the other categories of the sport that now get the opportunity to race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
“The hospitality facilities are, I believe, the best in the world of any circuit. The spectator amenities, particularly behind the main grandstand with all of the amusements and activities that are available to people of all ages, has really led the world of Formula One into a new way of doing business. The off-road facility is wonderful. The go-kart track is another first class effort and everyone in Bahrain should be very proud of their circuit.
“I hope that everyone who attends the race this year, particularly those who have not yet taken the opportunity of seeing the Grand Prix, will fully appreciate all the hard work that has been done; first of all to create the circuit and all that it encompasses nowadays but they must also, in my mind, come and see the Formula One race where the highest form of technology in motor sport has now come every year over these past 10 years.
“It’s quite a landmark that everyone should be very proud of. It takes a huge amount of commitment and human resources to welcome the masses of people that Formula One and its ‘circus’ brings to town.
“It’s positive for the economy, as it attracts many people from other countries to be in attendance and therefore the hotels, the restaurants and Gulf Air as well as all the other carriers who fly people in from all over the world can benefit. So, in my opinion, all Bahrainis should support the biggest sporting event that takes place in their nation. You can see the stars and their cars.”
As for this season, the celebrated sports commentator reckons the good old days may be back in fashion for one of the teams competing.
He said: “I believe that the Mercedes Benz engine is going to be the power unit of the year.
“Mercedes Benz have been in motor sport for a very long time and its racing cars were known as the ‘Silver Arrows’ way back in the twenties and the thirties. Again, in the fifties they came back into motor racing with the great Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss and won the world championship, as they had dominated the sport along with Auto Union in the twenties and thirties, but in the fifties they were the dominant leaders in Grand Prix racing, ahead of Ferrari and Maserati.
“My belief is that Mercedes Benz is going to reign again in 2014 after all those years.
“Ferrari will be competitive during the year and it remains to be seen in the early races this year whether the Renault engine will be able to keep up. They have had considerable experience in building turbo-charged Formula One engines, so nobody should be surprised if they are contenders; particularly as Red Bull and the reigning world champion Sebastien Vettel and his new young team-mate Daniel Ricciardo are going to be racing with Renault engines.
“The Williams Grand Prix Team looked good in the first race of the year, both in qualifying and in the race, so hopefully Sir Frank Williams will be back on the podium with his cars in 2014 and the rest of the field will be just as anxious to be picking up valuable world championship points.
“The two Mercedes drivers being led by Nico Rosberg, because of his first race win in the season in Australia and, of course, Lewis Hamilton being a contender, is a strong combination. Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are both world champions and, of course, tough competitors, to mention just a few. I think it’s going to be a good year.”
