Bahrain is to build a Formula One track that will be completed in 2003, boosting the country’s chances of hosting a Grand Prix.
Bahrain has signed an agreement to build a Formula One race track after feasibility studies proved positive.
Sheik Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the head of the state’s General Organisation for Youth and Sports, said the track, which will be built in Sakhir, will cost $79 million (R654 million) and is expected to be completed in 2003.
“Whether we get to host a Formula One race or not, we are still going ahead with the project,” Sheik Fawaz said.
“It would be the first circuit of international standard in the region, and racing teams could use it to test their machines in hot weather,” he said.
Tenders for the construction will be invited in the near future.
The circuit will have a grandstand for 16 000 spectators and will also be used for drag racing, go-kart and motorbike competitions.
The agreement was signed by Bahraini Finance Minister Abdulla Saif and Hermann Tilke and the chief executive of the German company Tilke Engineers.