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      04-10-2012, 08:30 AM   #84
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Sounds like Bahrain is not happening...

Quote:
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he cannot stop the teams from backing out of the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix if they feel uncomfortable about visiting the country.

On Monday one team principal admitted to the Guardian that the teams are hoping the FIA calls the race off as they fear for the safety of their staff in the Gulf state. Protests continue to flare up in villages around the capital of Manama and on Monday seven policeman were injured by a home-made bomb as a protest calling for the release of an activist on a two-month hunger strike turned violent.

Although the team principal spoke out about his concerns on Monday he asked to remain anonymous with the teams, officially at least, waiting on a decision from the FIA. One team source told the Daily Telegraph on Monday: "I know we keep saying it but we really are in the hands of the FIA, the commercial rights holder and race organisers here to make the right decision. And of course they must be made for the right reasons; commercial and political factors must not be allowed to compromise anyone's safety."

But Ecclestone said the teams are free to make their own decision. "If the teams don't want to go, then we cannot make them," he told the Times, which also reported that Ecclestone had met with protest leaders and offered them the opportunity to hold a press conference to air their grievances over the grand prix weekend.

Meanwhile, John Yates, a former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner who is acting as an advisor to Bahrain's security services told the Telegraph that the problems are limited to "pockets of violence" and that 95% of Bahrain is safe.

"If there are problems, they ... must be able to escalate their response," Yates added. "You saw what happened in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race over the weekend. That man is lucky to get away with his life. Anyone who invades the circuit is putting themselves in danger, putting the drivers in danger, putting potentially other spectators in danger. That will be clamped down on and properly so."
http://en.espnf1.com/bahrain/motorsp...ory/75179.html

Quote:
Pressure is growing on the FIA to cancel - or at least postpone - the Bahrain GP after a team boss admitted that teams are "uncomfortable" travelling there.

The Sakhir circuit is due to stage the fourth race of the 2012 F1 season on the weekend of April 22, but the situation in the Gulf kingdom remains tense after fresh violence broke out over the weekend.

Seven police officers were injured when a home-made bomb exploded while protesters have also demonstrated against plans to host the grand prix in the troubled country.

The decision on whether the race goes ahead is firmly in the FIA's hands as more and more reports are emerging of teams who are unwilling to travel to Bahrain after this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

According to Reuters, some teams have made contingency plans 'by routing personnel on return flights via Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Oman with alternative reservations for the last leg of the journey back from Shanghai'.

Meanwhile in an interview with the Guardian, an unnamed team boss, who claimed his 'views were representative of the other principals', said they don't want to go to the Middle East country next weekend.

"I feel very uncomfortable about going to Bahrain," he said.

"If I'm brutally frank, the only way they can pull this race off without incident is to have a complete military lockdown there. And I think that would be unacceptable, both for F1 and for Bahrain. But I don't see any other way they can do it."

He added: "We're all hoping the FIA calls it off. From a purely legal point of view, in terms of insurance and government advice, we are clear to go. But what we find worrying is that there are issues happening every day."

The team principal admitted they are still hopeful that the FIA will make the right decision, saying: "The best thing would be for the race to be postponed until later in the year, or even cancelled.

"But that is a decision that must be made by the FIA, FOM [Formula One Management] and the commercial rights holder. I never anticipated a decision being made until the week before China. I believe Jean Todt is in China, which is interesting."
http://planetf1.com/news/3213/766279...Off-Bahrain-GP

Quote:
Formula One teams have drawn up plans to abandon the Bahrain Grand Prix amid growing concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the Gulf state, according to a report in the Times.

Until this weekend the FIA and race organisers have maintained a firm line that all was well and the race weekend was not under threat but that changed with a statement from the FIA saying it is "constantly monitoring and evaluating the situation".

A report in the Times claims that teams have been issued with two tickets for travel after the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend. One takes them, as planned, to Bahrain while a second ticket is for a return journey home.

It is also possible that insurance concerns, which were key to the decision to scrap the 2011 race, may also come to the fore. Escalating unrest may cause a number of firms to reassess the risk of insuring millions of dollars of equipment in such a volatile state.

While organisers in Bahrain may have a vested interest as they are keen to use the race to promote progress in the country, the FIA says it is happy to trust the judgement of the local authorities. "The FIA is the guarantor of the safety at the race event and relies, as it does in every other country, on the local authorities to guarantee security. In this respect we have been repeatedly assured by the highest authorities in Bahrain that all security matters are under control."

The slick and expensive media campaign waged by the Bahrain organisers seemed to have won over enough critics in recent months, but fresh reports of violence against protestors has led to many to rethink. Having said it was safe to go to Bahrain back in January, Damon Hill changed his stance this week while several British MPs have also called for the race to be cancelled.

Mubarak Al-Khalifa, a government spokesman and a member of the royal family, said: "The only concern we have is that a popular sport is being used as a political tool by violent protestors. I can assure fans the race is going ahead."

Meanwhile, one of Bahrain's youth opposition movements, The February 14th Youth Coalition, has issued a warning to F1's sponsors, organisers and spectators, saying that it will not be able to ensure their safety. The message posted on Facebook also said that the organisers of the race would be considered a part of "the Khalifi bloody and criminal system".
http://en.espnf1.com/fia/motorsport/story/75077.html
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