Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
He may no longer be F1 supremo but it will be remembered that Bernie Ecclestone remained loyal to the kingdom’s grand prix endeavours even during the most turbulent of challenges.
And the message from motor sport fans and executives in the kingdom is clear: ‘Bernie, thank you and come back any time!’ As reported in GulfWeekly, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, had the vision and determination to turn a circuit dream into reality after what he has described as ‘a chance meeting with Sir Jackie Stewart’, the former British F1 driver, during a flight.
Writing the foreword in a Bahrain International Circuit book entitled 483 Days, a crowning achievement, published at the opening of the $150 million circuit in 2004, the Crown Prince said he saw first-hand the ‘incredible transformation’ of F1 into a precision business.
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 later met with Mr Ecclestone to discuss how best to develop a racing facility for the kingdom and the rest, as they say, is history. They continued to meet as the BIC became a fixture on the F1 racing calendar.
The grand prix alone generates close to $600 million in direct and indirect business for the economy, it has been reported.
