SAKHIR, Bahrain, 4 April 2004 — The screeching sound of Formula One has come to the south of Bahrain but the crowds in the tiny island nation aren’t as large as some would have hoped. Traffic on the King Fahd Causeway between Alkhobar and Bahrain is light. Within Bahrain it appears that the hotels, restaurants and car rental agencies have benefited most from the 2004 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. On the practice and qualifying days the main grandstand at Bahrian’s F-1 circuit was far from full. There were more VIP spectators in evidence in their special lounges than ticket holders from the general public.
Early estimates of 100,000 visitors to the Bahrain Grand Prix have been scaled back and now it is hoped that between 40-60,000 visitors will come out for the three days of the event. Most four and five star hotels are fully booked, although the four-star Bahrain Phoenicia hotel was offering double rooms for SR900 the afternoon before the race. At three star hotels the situation was different. Rooms at those hotels were generally available, although some came at a premium. The Oriental Palace Hotel quoted double rooms at SR400, but the Adhari Hotel was greedier, pricing their standard SR350 double rooms at SR700.
Seef Mall was busy as usual but the visitor numbers did not appear to be out of the ordinary. Staff at MAC, a cosmetics store, were wearing red Ferrari t-shirts and caps in honor of the Grand Prix.
“We wanted to do something special in support of the event and our attire has attracted attention,” said Mai, the store manager. “As of yet though we haven’t seen that the event has had a big impact on sales at the mall. The crowds seem to be the same as always. We have noticed an increased presence of foreigners though.”
The Grand Prix organizers have anticipated that most of the spectators for the race will come from GCC nations and some executives in the region are combining business with a little pleasure.
Yasuyoshi Matsunaga, managing director, Toshiba Gulf FZE arrived in Manama on Friday evening. He had meetings in Bahrain and hoped to make time to attend at least a portion of the F-1 qualifying session and the Grand Prix.
“I am here for business,” said Matsunaga, “but I’m utilizing this opportunity to see the race, too. I’ve been to the Formula One in Monaco and enjoyed it. Now in Dubai they have built an F-1 circuit and I wonder if that means that eventually we will have Formula One in Dubai. I must point out that Dubai has more and better facilities for hosting such an event than what is available here in Bahrain.”
Dubai might wish to host a Grand Prix but for the present, chances of that are slim. It is thought though that the Grand Prix-standard circuit developed in Dubai by Union Properties could be used by F1 teams for winter testing. Spain has traditionally been the venue for winter testing, but teams are on the lookout for a new location with a bit more sun.
Despite the light crowds on Friday and yesterday, there was still plenty of excitement at the Bahrain International Circuit. During a press conference, six-time F-1 world champion Michael Schumacher stated that he was “quite pleased with the circuit and the layout.” He described it as interesting and very tricky with some nice up and down moves.
Schumacher’s fans were almost overwhelmed to be in the vicinity of their hero. Eight-year-old Saeed Arafa, his six-year-old brother Omar and their friend, eight-year-old Faris Haddad came over from Saudi Arabia for the three days of the Formula 1. Decked out in their Ferrari shirts and caps they were a trio bursting with excitement.
“We were sitting in the main grandstand and it was great,” said Saeed. “Michael is my favorite. I love the fast cars. I like everything. It’s excellent.”
When pushed a bit to tell though what was the very best thing about Formula One, Saeed thought for just a second and replied, “The noise. The cars go really fast and make incredible noise. I love the noise.”
