amanda Speed
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The nicest drag stip in the world... (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter amanda Speed
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Sounds like he and your mom had a wonderful time. Its always neat going places you have never been before. I couldnt imagine spending that much time on an airplane though.
It took me a while to find good pictures on the link he gave:
Bahrain International Circuit
...but once I did... WOW!!!
Try this one:
Bahrain International Circuit
amanda Speed
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stanman
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My girlfriend is a flight attendant for ATA and has been to Bahrain many times. She just missed the big drag racing event at the Bahrain facility by a week.
She always says you can't believe how plush/extravagant everything is over there.
The only hotel she say is nicer is the one they stay at in Budapest.
She always says you can't believe how plush/extravagant everything is over there.
The only hotel she say is nicer is the one they stay at in Budapest.
Wow... Those lounges are amazing. Just a LITTLE different than some temporary aluminum/wood grandstands...
Gordon
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I visited Bahrain in '99 for a few days while my ship (USS Constellation) was in the Persian Gulf and anchored just off the coast. It truly is a beautiful place but it is freakin' hella hot!
Toejam
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I remember last year some time I had seen a thread on one of the Boards about Pro mods racing in Bahrain. My first thought was "Your kidding me"! Then I thought I hope they don't run when it's 120 degrees there! But looking at those pics, that place looks like a Palace! Those folks don't have a problem spending Mega$$$$!
clock guy
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It has our timing system (Compulink), its on past of the new F1 track there.
amanda Speed
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I think they said it cost around 155 Million Dollars to build!!!
Nazgul
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Great blog, thanks for the link Amanda... that track is awesome!
That's cool Jeff! The new F1 circuit in Bahrain is fabulous! I hope I get an opportunity to attend an F1 race there, and a few other exotic (to me atleast) F1 locations oneday.
farmje
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This track is amazing. I don't think I'd be about ready to die if it was 100+ degrees there like it was in Memphis this year on that dreaded weather-change Friday. Was anyone else there for that day?
155 million huh? Maybe we should start a donation thing? heh.
farmer
155 million huh? Maybe we should start a donation thing? heh.
farmer
Al smith
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Can you imagine if the management of Bahrain international was invited over stateside to visit a track like say....Columbus? Boy that would be so embarassing.
Toejam
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Can you imagine if the management of Bahrain international was invited over stateside to visit a track like say....Columbus? Boy that would be so embarassing.
I think you could add about 5 more to that list!
Seb
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Too cool.
The Mighty
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We went to the big race in Bahrain (The Bahrain International Drag Racing Festival) with Barry Sheavills Motorsport back at the end of October as part of the 8 car European Top Fuel Exhibition.
I was going to write up the whole story here on the Mater, but to be brutally honest most I always get the impression that most people here couldn't give a damn about anything outside of NHRA and if I'd posted the story elsewhere on the Mater (ie outside NHRA) it would have just got lost and never seen just like many other interesting threads have(as there is still nowhere to really post "other drag racing" threads), so I just thought "why bother???".
The Bahrain facility is, as has been said a wonderful place, just like the rest of the country, although drag racing culture hasn't really caught up with the investment that has been put in there yet, but I'm sure it will as the crowd catch on to the sport more. The track is part of the same facility as the F1 circuit, thus why the stands etc are so wonderful. We we're also lucky enough to be able to use the F1 pit garages as our pit space whilst running over there. One thing very noticeable is that the public are not allowed anywhere near the pit area. So no meeting the fans, selling merchandise or giving away hero cards etc for us which is a great shame. The track is about 25 minutes drive into the desert from Bahrain's capital Manama and maybe 35 minutes from the airport. The city is growing all the time as much of the island was coral reef and as the waters are shallow in the gulf and around the island much of the new building around Manama is achieved by "reclaiming land" from the sea. Bahrain and Mamama city is very much a "party town". Drinking laws are incredibly relaxed for an Islamic country and you'll see lots of wealthy Saudi men in Bahrain at the weekends visiting for a little "fun" as they put it!
Racing in Bahrain doesn't start till around 4pm due to the heat, and even then the track can be very slick although it has to be said the Bahraini track crew have really got their heads around track prep now and do an awesome job. This said we still found ourselves sitting in the staging lanes at 2am waiting to run on an 11pm scheduled time, which when you've been at the track since 10am makes it a very long day. When we left the track at 3:30 am Friday night/Saturday morning the sportsman racing was still in full swing. The all-concrete 1/4 mile runs along the inside of the back straight of the F1 track with grandstands only adjacent to the right hand lane (the oasis complex) as the opposite side is the F1 track. When towing from the pit area, we towed up the F1 pit road, past the gentleman's "pipe smoking area" and up and around the fabulous piece of architecture that is the sakhir tower the top floor of which is the private VIP viewing area of the King of Bahrain. The King was present on the Friday judging by the well armed security presence.
At were met on the start-line by the crowd stamping, clapping and chatting "TOP FUEL.... TOP FUEL" over and over, I think they were pleased to see us. The start-line area was also full with the local middle-eastern racers keen to catch the TF action. Before this event the quickest anyone had run in Bahrain was a 6, remembering that you won't see any altereds, FC's or Rails of any kind in Bahrain. At the moment the whole scene out there is based around doorcars and nothing else, so the spectacle of 8 7000hp landlocked missiles was something no-one wanted to miss!
With only four runs each over the weekend and with very limited data on the very different conditions to everyones European setups. Thomas Nataas and Micke Kagered set about lowering the Middle-East record eventually knocking nearly 1 and a half seconds off the existing mark.
We had done what we'd set out to do and Barry was back where he belongs - in the seat of a Top Fueler. Now we just can't wait for next year, lets just hope that we can secure enough funding to return to the Middle-East again. Saying that, with the likelihood of the huge growth in the sport in the middle-east in the near future it does make great sense for any motorsport related company in Europe or the US to tap into this newly emerging market. So hopefully we can work on something along those lines next year and we've already had some sponsor interest from the middle-east region too. FINGERS CROSSED!
pics to follow...
CP
I was going to write up the whole story here on the Mater, but to be brutally honest most I always get the impression that most people here couldn't give a damn about anything outside of NHRA and if I'd posted the story elsewhere on the Mater (ie outside NHRA) it would have just got lost and never seen just like many other interesting threads have(as there is still nowhere to really post "other drag racing" threads), so I just thought "why bother???".
The Bahrain facility is, as has been said a wonderful place, just like the rest of the country, although drag racing culture hasn't really caught up with the investment that has been put in there yet, but I'm sure it will as the crowd catch on to the sport more. The track is part of the same facility as the F1 circuit, thus why the stands etc are so wonderful. We we're also lucky enough to be able to use the F1 pit garages as our pit space whilst running over there. One thing very noticeable is that the public are not allowed anywhere near the pit area. So no meeting the fans, selling merchandise or giving away hero cards etc for us which is a great shame. The track is about 25 minutes drive into the desert from Bahrain's capital Manama and maybe 35 minutes from the airport. The city is growing all the time as much of the island was coral reef and as the waters are shallow in the gulf and around the island much of the new building around Manama is achieved by "reclaiming land" from the sea. Bahrain and Mamama city is very much a "party town". Drinking laws are incredibly relaxed for an Islamic country and you'll see lots of wealthy Saudi men in Bahrain at the weekends visiting for a little "fun" as they put it!
Racing in Bahrain doesn't start till around 4pm due to the heat, and even then the track can be very slick although it has to be said the Bahraini track crew have really got their heads around track prep now and do an awesome job. This said we still found ourselves sitting in the staging lanes at 2am waiting to run on an 11pm scheduled time, which when you've been at the track since 10am makes it a very long day. When we left the track at 3:30 am Friday night/Saturday morning the sportsman racing was still in full swing. The all-concrete 1/4 mile runs along the inside of the back straight of the F1 track with grandstands only adjacent to the right hand lane (the oasis complex) as the opposite side is the F1 track. When towing from the pit area, we towed up the F1 pit road, past the gentleman's "pipe smoking area" and up and around the fabulous piece of architecture that is the sakhir tower the top floor of which is the private VIP viewing area of the King of Bahrain. The King was present on the Friday judging by the well armed security presence.
At were met on the start-line by the crowd stamping, clapping and chatting "TOP FUEL.... TOP FUEL" over and over, I think they were pleased to see us. The start-line area was also full with the local middle-eastern racers keen to catch the TF action. Before this event the quickest anyone had run in Bahrain was a 6, remembering that you won't see any altereds, FC's or Rails of any kind in Bahrain. At the moment the whole scene out there is based around doorcars and nothing else, so the spectacle of 8 7000hp landlocked missiles was something no-one wanted to miss!
With only four runs each over the weekend and with very limited data on the very different conditions to everyones European setups. Thomas Nataas and Micke Kagered set about lowering the Middle-East record eventually knocking nearly 1 and a half seconds off the existing mark.
We had done what we'd set out to do and Barry was back where he belongs - in the seat of a Top Fueler. Now we just can't wait for next year, lets just hope that we can secure enough funding to return to the Middle-East again. Saying that, with the likelihood of the huge growth in the sport in the middle-east in the near future it does make great sense for any motorsport related company in Europe or the US to tap into this newly emerging market. So hopefully we can work on something along those lines next year and we've already had some sponsor interest from the middle-east region too. FINGERS CROSSED!
pics to follow...
CP
Last edited:
The Mighty
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Bahrain Drag Racing Festival 2006
Here's some of the pics...
Welcome to the BIC. The bridge is the F1 circuit overpass.
Barry Sheavills and Crew.
Barry Interviewed by Richard Whitehead of MTV middle-east Sport
The European Racers press call infront of the Sakhir Tower
Here's some of the pics...
Welcome to the BIC. The bridge is the F1 circuit overpass.
Barry Sheavills and Crew.
Barry Interviewed by Richard Whitehead of MTV middle-east Sport
The European Racers press call infront of the Sakhir Tower
Last edited:
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