BIC set for rip-roaring start to racing in F1 Gulf Air Bahrain GP 2019

Manama, Mar. 28 (BNA): Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) 5.412-kilometre track comes to life Friday (Editor’s note: March 29) when action in the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 weekend makes its rip-roaring start. The long wait is over for fans looking forward to “Limitless” thrills, as eyes around the world turn their focus to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the second round of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. This year’s Bahrain Grand Prix marks race no. 999 in the history of Formula 1. It is also the 15th anniversary of the event and the sixth time it is taking place under BiC’s state-of-the-art floodlights as a night race. Formula 1 will be holding its first two Practices of the weekend on Friday. Practice One is scheduled for 2pm and the next will be starting at 6pm, making for a pair of totally different sessions. Both will be held over an hour-and-a-half. Following the season-opening Australian Grand Prix nearly a fortnight ago, the Formula 1 teams will be looking to either maintain their good start or turn things around and improve on their Melbourne results. Set to feature on the BIC grid are defending constructors’ World champions Mercedes with reigning drivers’ World champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, Ferrari with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, Red Bull Racing with Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, Renault with Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg, Alfa Romeo Racing with Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, Racing Point with Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, Haas with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, Williams with Robert Kubica and George Russell, Toro Rosso with Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon, and McLaren with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. Bottas was the winner in Australia where he was joined on the podium by teammate Hamilton and Vettel, but the Ferrari ace was the victor at BIC last year and all three are once again expected to be amongst the top contenders. The epic 57-lap battle is scheduled for Sunday evening with a 6.10pm flag-off, and it is set to be one of the most spectacular night races of the season. Aside from Formula 1, there will also be action in the two support series on Friday. The FIA Formula 2 Championship will be holding its weekend’s Practice and Qualifying, as will the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. Formula 2 Practice begins at 11.30am while Qualifying will be at 4.50pm. The Porsche GT3 Cup Practice will be at 12.40pm while Qualifying is set for 8pm. The pair of support series supporting Formula 1 this weekend are taking place at different points of their respective seasons. The FIA Formula 2 Championship is holding its opening round at BIC, while the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is staging its 2018/2019 championship finale. Formula 2 will see 20 cars representing 10 teams on the grid, with many of motorsport’s future stars set to be in action, some of whom are also test drivers in Formula 1. One of the biggest figures in the championship is Mick Schumacher of Prema Racing. The son of seven-time Formula 1 World champion Michael Schumacher is expected to be one of the leading contenders this year, although he is certain to face plenty of tough competition. Among those who will be looking to challenge the German are Nicholas Latifi from Canada, Jack Atiken from Great Britain, Nikita Mazepin from Russia, Nyck De Vries from the Netherlands, and lady driver Tatiana Calderon from Colombia, among others. There will be two Formula 2 races this weekend, this first being a 32-lap Feature on Saturday followed by a 23-lap Sprint on Sunday. In the Porsche GT3 Cup, the stage is set for an electrifying season-ending round with the title battle going down to the wire. Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer clinched a fantastic double in the previous meeting, also held at BIC, with Turkish ace Berkay Besler winning the other race. Both drivers are back this weekend along with top title contenders Al Faisal Al Zubair and Khalid Al Wahaibi of Oman. They are all competing in the Pro class, along with Cypriot Tio Ellinas, Luxembourger Dylan Pereira, and Frenchman Julien Andlauer. Al Zubair is the defending champion and is a favourite to repeat. There will also be a strong Bahraini contingent taking part amongst the 19-car field. They will be led by His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. Joining him in flying the kingdom’s flag in front of their home fans will be Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa. HH Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla, Shaikh Isa bin Salman and Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed are all competing in the ProAm class, while Shaikh Jaber is racing in the Am category. There will be one race each on Saturday and Sunday. Hundreds of motorsport fans turned up Thursday evening for the Formula 1 Pit Lane Walk. All those with tickets to the Grand Prix were able to join the hugely popular activity. The Pit-Lane Walk is one of the most sought-after happenings for the public each year. It offers a chance for fans to get a close-up look at the Formula 1 teams hard at work in their garages. Similar pit walks for Paddock Club and F1 Experience pass holders also being held throughout the race weekend. To mark the occasion of the Bahrain Grand Prix, BIC hosted a special Welcome Party on Wednesday night for all the participating racing teams in this weekend’s events. The dinner was held in the BIC Paddock, and it featured a wide variety of food choices ranging from barbecued grills to shawarma wraps and fresh salads. The Welcome Party is an annual tradition of BIC held usually on the Wednesday night of the race weekend. Race-goers are set for a fantastic treat of electronic dance music (EDM) Friday evening when the weekend’s first of two major concerts takes place. Superstar DJ and record producer Martin Garrix takes to the main stage at BIC’s Formula 1 Village vending area for his much-awaited live performance. It is scheduled to begin at 8.45pm. Garrix has risen to global stardom in pop as well as electronic circles. EDM’s freshest talent has headlined festivals around the globe, founded a label and mentored other artists and won the number 1 spot in DJ Mag’s Top 100 three times in a row. His hit ‘Animals’, released in June 2013 was a breakout success and a game changer for the music industry. Reaching No. 1 in the UK and many other territories, it proved that a hard-hitting, dancefloor-oriented track could reach pop status, ultimately reaching over a billion streams across several platforms. His other hits include “Don’t Look Down”, “There for You”, “So Far Away”, “Like I Do”, “In the Name of Love” and “Scared to be Lonely” and he has collaborated with other megastars such as Tiesto, Usher, the late Avicii and Dua Lipa. Tickets to the Bahrain Grand Prix can be still be purchased at the Ticket Sales Tent next to Sakhir Petrol Station. They can also be purchased at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre (BCC) and The Avenues, online at www.bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000. For further information, visit bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline. Also, find BIC on Facebook (facebook.com/OfficialBahrainInternationalCircuit), follow BIC on Twitter (@BAH_Int_Circuit) and Instagram (instagram.com/bah_int_circuit), and subscribe to BIC’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/Bah_Int_Circuit) for regular updates on all happenings at the world-class Sakhir circuit.