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Frontline health workers and first responders in Bahrain will be celebrated for their efforts by giving their families the chance to watch this year’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
Following a directive from His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, the BIC announced that this year’s races will take place predominantly without spectators and with only limited number of grandstand seats allocated for these special socially-distanced guests.
Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, BIC’s chief executive, said: “Whilst we will not be able to welcome many fans to our events this year, we are delighted to have the opportunity to recognise the courage and efforts of our frontline healthcare workers and first responders by allocating all in-person attendance of the F1 experience to them.
“We are determined to put on a show for the hundreds of millions of people who will be watching from the safety of their own homes around the world.”
The BIC is working closely with Formula 1, the FIA and the relevant government ministries in Bahrain to ensure that the two race weekends, scheduled for November 26 to 29 and December 4 to 6, proceed with all necessary health protection measures in place, based on detailed and established protocols.
Meanwhile, starting on Thursday, the circuit will be roaring with motor sport action as it hosts the 2020 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 8 Hours of Bahrain.
The race weekend will be bringing the Spirit of Le Mans to Sakhir and will mark the final round of this year’s FIA WEC with a field of no less than 24 cars, featuring some of the most talented driver crews, including former-Formula 1 stars.
The WEC battles get underway on Thursday with a 90-minute free practice. A second WEC practice of the same duration, plus a third over 60 minutes, will be held on Friday to be followed by qualifying.
The race will take place on Saturday at 2pm and will end at 10pm under BIC’s state-of-the art floodlights.
The event will also mark the last official appearance on track of the WEC’s top-tier Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) category, which will make way for the Le Mans Hypercar class starting from 2021.
This year’s 8 Hours of Bahrain will be the eighth edition of the Kingdom’s WEC event, and the second time it is being held in the current format. Bahrain remains the only WEC destination in the entire Middle East.
Aside from the WEC, there will also be plenty of thrills in the homegrown BIC 2,000cc Challenge, the region’s longest-running circuit racing championship.
The series is set to run two races, which will mark the third of seven rounds in its 2020/2021 season, featuring some of the kingdom’s most passionate racers.
The FIA WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain will be taking place with all precautionary guidelines in place issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
For more information, visit bahraingp.com.
