MANAMA, 27 November 2004 — Three Bahraini drivers will participate in the upcoming Formula Three event to be held at the Bahrain International Circuit on Dec. 9-10.

“This is the first time any Arab driver takes part in such a prestigious event,” Sheikh Fawaz ibn Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of the General Organization for Youth and Sports and Chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit, said. “It will be an honor and we hope that they highlight Bahrain’s name and achieve our expectations,” he said.

The three drivers are Sheikh Salman ibn Rashid Al Khalifa, Mohammed Al Baharna and Mohammed Al Fardan. The three took part in the BMW Asia Championship earlier this year as well as the MeCar race held as a part of the Bahrain GT Festival that ended yesterday.

“The festival was a success and the turnout was excellent,” said Sheikh Fawaz.

Over 3,500 people attended the two-day event that included the International GT race as well as the local Mini Coppers Challenge.

“We will hold more motor sports events in the future. We are aiming to hold around four international events, 20 regional and 40 local events annually.”

The Bahrainis Sheikh Salman and Al Baharna stormed the scene and grabbed 1-2 place in the MeCar Championship.

Ford, the renowned motor sport company, supported the championship.

However, another Bahraini driver Hamad Al Fardan, 17, withdrew from the race during the first lap after having engine problem.

Sheikh Salman grabbed the pole on Thursday while Al Baharna qualified for seventh place and Al Fardan qualified third. American Peter Hentzlman took the third position. The race ended with a 4.7 second difference between Sheikh Salman and Al Baharna. The three drivers joined the race ‘at the last minute call’ from the BIC who sponsored the drivers.

“We received a call on Tuesday from the circuit officials inviting us to take part in the event,” said Al Baharna. “We accepted the offer and held testing period on Wednesday, a day before the race,” he said.

Al Fardan was disappointed about the race’s outcome. “From the first warm-up lap I felt something strange in the car. When I pushed hard, the engine just broke down and I had to leave the race,” he said.

The three are Bahrain’s hopes of a future seat in the glamour world of Formula One racing. They also took part this year in the BMW Asia Championship.

“We have hopes to continue with motor sports but our team withdrew from the championship,” said Al Fardan. “We are looking at our options and are seeking to continue with the championship,” he said.

Sheikh Salman said that his dream is to compete in the F-1 championships. “I love driving fast cars and my eyes are gazed at the F-1 world. It’s an aim and I am working on it,” he said.

Al Baharna said that Bahrain should follow the footsteps of Dubai and try to launch its own F-1 team. “It is very expensive to take this step but if the efforts of the community come together to make this happen then we will surely have a Bahraini team,” said Al Baharna.

Dubai F-1 team will be launched by 2006.

“We have no interest in joining this team. We want to drive under a Bahraini flag,” he said.

Other circuits were successful in launching F-1 drivers like Takuma Sato of Japan.

“This is a need of time. We really need a Bahraini driver in F-1. And I’m very optimistic that maybe in a couple of years this could happen,” he said. “We are thrilled with our results and will push to go ahead,” he said.