Bahrain in favor of the idea of a night race

The organizers of the Bahrain Grand Prix say they are open to the possibility of their race becoming a nighttime event, even if their current situation doesn’t make this step necessary.

With Singapore being the first Grand Prix to take place at night in September and the circuits in Australia and Malaysia likely to follow suit, the officials of the Sakhir circuit have revealed that they too would not be opposed to this idea.

The Bahrain circuit’s chief operating officer, Shaikh Salman, stated to the ‘Gulf Daily News’ that a number of people are currently considering whether or not a night race would be beneficial.

« We are not opposed to the idea, and it is natural for us to gather information about it, trying to determine the pros and cons, » said Sheikh Salman.

European viewers will not gain much from this schedule change because the number of time zones separating Europe from Bahrain is not very significant. However, there could be an advantage in terms of the number of spectators present on-site.

Sunday is considered a weekday in Bahrain, and a later start time for the race would allow the local population to attend the event after work or school.

Shaikh Salman added: « A night race could prove interesting. It’s something that everyone is talking about now because Singapore will somehow be the way forward. I’m not aware of what can be proposed for Bahrain, but the concept is very interesting. »

At present, it’s more logical that this happens this way for countries that are located further east. Here, it is very debatable, and we still have long discussions ahead of us.