The countdown was officially announced by the top officials of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and the national carrier Gulf Air during a Press conference at the BIC on Monday.
The annual festival of top-class motor racing and entertainment takes place April 19-20-21 at BIC, “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, in Sakhir. It will be the fourth round of the 2013 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Speaking at a Press conference held today at the circuit premises, BIC Chief Executive Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa revealed an array of details about this year’s event, which will be the Kingdom of Bahrain’s ninth hosting of the Formula 1 race.
Among the major announcements, Shaikh Salman unveiled the official slogan for this year Grand Prix weekend: “Imagine Your Moment”.
Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer Maher Salman Jabr Al Musallam was also on hand in the media gathering. He spoke about Gulf Air’s involvement and support for the Formula 1 extravaganza.
Shaikh Salman revealed the all-new slogan for this year’s race weekend: “Imagine Your Moment”.
This reflects both the excitement from all Formula 1 fans ahead of the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as all the memorable moments people create during the enjoyable time they have at the race.
“There is always a special moment or two for whoever attends the Bahrain Grand Prix, be it on the track or off of it, and we would like all the fans to ‘Imagine Your Moment’ and feel the excitement of our upcoming Grand Prix,” Shaikh Salman, said.
“BIC has been working hard over the past several weeks gearing up for the upcoming Grand Prix, tackling the wide array of issues associated with hosting such a major event.”
Now, with the final 60-day countdown to the race weekend, BIC is set to become a hive of activity as it steps up its preparations and as everyone begins looking forward to all the thrills and enjoyment.
“This will be Gulf Air’s eighth year as the official title sponsor of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Since its beginning in 2004, the race has become one of the region’s most prestigious sporting events. The 2013 Formula1 Bahrain Gulf Air Grand Prix is expected to draw thousands of fans from across the Middle East and the international community allowing the Kingdom to reap the associated economic benefits. The Gulf Air- F1 sponsorship agreement has also paid great dividends in firmly establishing the Kingdom of Bahrain on the global map as the ‘Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, as well as raising the airline’s image as the sports ambassador of the country,” Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Maher Salman Al Musallam, said.
Shaikh Salman expressed his delight with the massive crowd of up to 70,000 people attending last year’s highly successful Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
The BIC chief expects an even larger turnout this year, with the growing popularity of the sport and the rapidly developing motorsport culture both in Bahrain and the rest of the Middle East all contributing to the greater attendance.
Just as it is each year at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Formula 1 will not be the only racing championship that will be thrilling fans on the track.
An action-packed programme of international support races has been lined up by BIC, including once again the highly popular single-seater championship: the GP2 Series.