Bahrain GP dropped for 2011 season
0 
The organizers of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix said on Thursday they had abandoned plans to hold a 2011 race after controversy on rescheduling the event postponed by turmoil in the Gulf nation.
"Whilst Bahrain would have been delighted to see the Grand Prix progress on October 30th in-line with the World Motor Sport Council's decision, it has been made clear that this fixture cannot progress and we fully respect that decision," Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed R Alzayani said in a statement.
"Bahrain has absolutely no desire to see a race which would further extend the calendar season detract from the enjoyment of F1 for either drivers, teams or supporters," he said.
Earlier this month Bahrain lifted a state of emergency it imposed in mid-March when it crushed month-long protests with the help of military intervention by its Gulf neighbors in a crackdown which left 30 dead.
But debate over the suitability of giving Bahrain a revised date on the Formula One calendar had heated up this week, with teams citing not the political turmoil but the logistical difficulties of changing the schedule so late in the season.
Bahrain had been originally scheduled to host the season-opening race on March 13, but on February 21 it was postponed.
On June 3 it was reinstated with a provisional date of October 30.
That plan, however, called for the Grand Prix scheduled in India on October 30, at a new $350 million 5.14-kilometre (3.2-mile) circuit on the outskirts of New Delhi, to be pushed back to December.
This week objections from various parties involved in the sport had been mounting.
The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) wrote to the International Motoring Federation (FIA) and to F1's commercial ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone stating that it did not want the calendar changed at such late notice.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments