Bahrain GP to go ahead as protests flare

Organisers have rejected calls from human rights groups to cancel Sunday’s race because of what activists see as continuing political repression. The cars take to the track again on Saturday for practice and qualifying sessions.

They need to fix the country first,then they can start looking at Formula One and other events,said Umm Hussein,one of 10,000 demonstrators who gathered near the capital,Manama,on Friday.

Police used teargas against masked youths throwing petrol bombs,who were trying to reach a traffic roundabout that was a rallying point during an uprising last year inspired by the Arab Spring revolts that toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt.

Last year’s race was delayed,and then cancelled,after a brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain,a financial hub and modest oil producer that is also host to the Fifth Fleet,the US Navy’s main outpost in the region.

Security forces from neighbouring Saudi Arabia came in,the streets were cleared and 35 people,including security personnel,died.

Since then,amid simmering unrest,Bahrain has invited in an independent commission to prescribe reforms and has enacted some,but human rights groups say there is still more work to be done. They say the kingdom’s rulers are using the motor race to improve their international image.

We are committed to our programme of reforms,but this week’s unbalanced coverage does little to help the progress we are already making,a Bahrain Information Affairs Authority official said in a statement.

While sports journalists poured in to cover the race,non-sports reporters from Reuters and some other news organisations have not been granted visas to visit the Gulf island.

Hackers brought down the F1 website intermittently on Friday and defaced another site,f1-racers.net,to support what they described as the Bahraini people’s struggle against oppression.

ROSBERG FASTEST IN BAHRAIN FREE PRACTICE

Nico Rosberg followed up his first Formula One win with Mercedes with the fastest lap in Friday practice for a Bahrain Grand Prix overshadowed by petrol bombs and protests elsewhere in the Gulf kingdom.

The German,who took the first victory by a Mercedes works team since 1955 at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix,lapped the desert Sakhir circuit in one minute 32.816 seconds in the afternoon session.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the morning,when Formula One cars took to the reconfigured track for the first time in more than two years after last year’s race was cancelled following a bloody crackdown on an anti-government uprising.

Human rights activists and pro-democracy protesters have called on the glamour sport to cancel the event again this year.

That was a good start to the weekend,said Rosberg,a winner after 110 unsuccessful attempts,while casting doubt on how meaningful the times were. The most important thing still is to improve our race pace.

The conditions are really tough out there so the race will be quite demanding from the tyre perspective,added the German,who was fourth before lunch.

Australian Mark Webber was second fastest for Red Bull in the same session,ahead of team mate and double world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The two drivers used different exhaust configurations in China,with Vettel reverting to one used in pre-season testing after finding an update not to his liking.

GREEN LIGHT

Manama is under tight security,with dozens of armoured vehicles stationed around the capital and the road to the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Activists say barbed wire has been installed near some parts of the main highway.

Two of the 12 teams were left rattled after witnessing protesters throwing petrol bombs. Two members of the Force India team went home to Britain although the other team,Sauber,continued with race preparations.

At Bahrain International Circuit,which has been blanketed by multiple layers of tight security,there were no incidents during Friday’s practice runs.

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone described general security fears as nonsense.

Team principals echoed the sentiment,saying they were confident in security measures,which they said were similar to arrangements seen at other Formula One races across the globe.

Of particular concern to security personnel are young Bahraini protesters carrying petrol bombs who clash with police in Shi’ite villages surrounding the capital nearly every night.

Opposition leaders say around 95 protest organisers have been arrested in night raids in the past week and 54 people wounded in clashes,in which police have fired birdshot.