wombat666
Administrator
With less than two weeks to go before the
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix, and last week’s
death of a photographer at a protest rally,
the FIA is under increasing pressure to call
off the event.
But despite an increase in voices decrying
the ethics of holding a race in a country in
political turmoil, Formula One’s governing
body is continuing to take the advice of the
local government, which is keen to promote
the grand prix as an event of national
unification and reconciliation.
“The FIA is constantly monitoring and
evaluating the situation in the Kingdom of
Bahrain,” a spokesman told Reuters. “We are
in daily touch with the highest authorities,
the main European embassies and of
course the local promoters at BIC as well
as the international promoter. 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.”
Despite their confidence, the pressure is
on to cancel the race, with both Damon Hill
and British Labour MP Richard Burden adding
their names to the list of those publicly
opposed to the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“What we must put above all else is what
will be the penalty in terms of human cost if
the race goes ahead,” Hill said last week. “It
would be a bad state of affairs, and bad for
Formula One, to be seen to be enforcing
martial law in order to hold the race. That is
not what this sport should be about. Looking
at it today you'd have to say that [the race]
could be creating more problems than it's
solving.”
Burden aired his views in a column for the
Huffington Post.
“No doubt the Bahrain authorities will move
heaven and earth to minimise any risks to
the teams taking part,” the F1 fan and former
government motorsport advisor wrote. “But
the long term damage to the reputation
of F1 and motorsport in general could be
considerable.
“In hindsight, the FIA should not have
scheduled the 2012 race so early in the
season. It was always going to be too early
to know how far things had moved on in
Bahrain since last year. F1 can't turn the clock
back but, with three weeks to go before the
race, it can still rethink. It should do so.”
It is not just public figures in the West who
are opposed to the race, scheduled to take
place at the Bahrain International Circuit on
22 April.
“We don't want Formula One in our
country,” protester Ali Mohammed told the
Hindustan Times during a recent rally against
the Bahrain Grand Prix. “They are killing us
every day with tear gas. They have no respect
for human rights or democracy. Why would
we keep silent? No one will enjoy the F1
in Bahrain with cries for freedom from the
inside and outside of the race.”
2012 Bahrain Grand Prix, and last week’s
death of a photographer at a protest rally,
the FIA is under increasing pressure to call
off the event.
But despite an increase in voices decrying
the ethics of holding a race in a country in
political turmoil, Formula One’s governing
body is continuing to take the advice of the
local government, which is keen to promote
the grand prix as an event of national
unification and reconciliation.
“The FIA is constantly monitoring and
evaluating the situation in the Kingdom of
Bahrain,” a spokesman told Reuters. “We are
in daily touch with the highest authorities,
the main European embassies and of
course the local promoters at BIC as well
as the international promoter. 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.”
Despite their confidence, the pressure is
on to cancel the race, with both Damon Hill
and British Labour MP Richard Burden adding
their names to the list of those publicly
opposed to the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“What we must put above all else is what
will be the penalty in terms of human cost if
the race goes ahead,” Hill said last week. “It
would be a bad state of affairs, and bad for
Formula One, to be seen to be enforcing
martial law in order to hold the race. That is
not what this sport should be about. Looking
at it today you'd have to say that [the race]
could be creating more problems than it's
solving.”
Burden aired his views in a column for the
Huffington Post.
“No doubt the Bahrain authorities will move
heaven and earth to minimise any risks to
the teams taking part,” the F1 fan and former
government motorsport advisor wrote. “But
the long term damage to the reputation
of F1 and motorsport in general could be
considerable.
“In hindsight, the FIA should not have
scheduled the 2012 race so early in the
season. It was always going to be too early
to know how far things had moved on in
Bahrain since last year. F1 can't turn the clock
back but, with three weeks to go before the
race, it can still rethink. It should do so.”
It is not just public figures in the West who
are opposed to the race, scheduled to take
place at the Bahrain International Circuit on
22 April.
“We don't want Formula One in our
country,” protester Ali Mohammed told the
Hindustan Times during a recent rally against
the Bahrain Grand Prix. “They are killing us
every day with tear gas. They have no respect
for human rights or democracy. Why would
we keep silent? No one will enjoy the F1
in Bahrain with cries for freedom from the
inside and outside of the race.”
