April Fool’s – The 2008 Bahrain GP canceled!

The news was released early in the afternoon via a statement from the FIA – Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile. According to it, the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was supposed to take place this weekend as the third round of the 2008 Formula 1 season, will be canceled.

According to the press release, fully available in English on the federation’s official website, a violent sandstorm, the likes of which the region has rarely experienced in recent years, is said to have struck the circuit area last night. With winds reaching 190 km/h, several infrastructures are believed to have been damaged, including notably the pillars supporting the Podium.

The organizers of the Bahrain GP were quick to reassure by stating that the GP could take place, even in the current state of the circuit, posing no risk to the drivers. However, the Grand Prix would have restricted access to certain stands, such as those surrounding the starting grid, being far too damaged to risk allowing tens of thousands of spectators. Enough to baffle Bernie Ecclestone and the organizers.

Moreover, the weather forecasts indicating strong gusts at the end of the week (potentially reaching 110 km/h) would have definitively prompted the cancellation of the GP.

« We cannot take such risks », comments Stuart Murder – Deputy Director of the FIA. « The current conditions and future forecasts have not encouraged us to go on-site with the entire Formula One Circus! »

« We are, however, studying all the possibilities still available to us… »

The sand being continuously present on the track, a windy GP would be disastrous for the mechanics, just as the absence of a significant number of spectators would be for the profitability of the event.

The statement also specifies that a possible postponement of the third 2008 F1 event could be possible in the coming weeks. The Bahrain GP was supposed to give way to three weeks of break allowing the teams to return to European grounds. The Grand Prix could therefore be postponed between these two future weeks.

We will keep you informed as quickly as possible of the developments in the story.

Article modified on April 2, 2008:

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The F2SA team: The current article is, as you might have noticed, an April Fool’s in honor of our national April 1st (it was yesterday, sorry for those who forgot…). The custom has it that everyone plays a prank on their neighbor. The editorial team of Fou2sportauto.com couldn’t resist doing otherwise…

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