Ecclestone ready to say ‘bye-bye Bahrain’

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone says it is nearly a case of ‘bye-bye Bahrain’ but is prepared to allow more time for the grand prix.

“We need to wait a little bit to see exactly how progress is made,” the sport’s 80-year-old commercial supremo said, adding that he might have to say “bye-bye Bahrain” but a decision was not imminent.

“I suppose we’d be safe by early June or something like that,” he said.

The governing International Automobile Federation said last month that it had asked Bahrain “to communicate by May 1st at the latest” whether it would be in a position to reschedule the race.

An FIA spokesman said the body was unaware of any potential further delay and was still expecting a decision by the Sunday deadline.

The Grand Prix at Sakhir was originally scheduled to be the season-opener on March 13 but was postponed after a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in the Gulf kingdom that left at least 29 dead.

“Things can change in a couple of weeks...so you don’t know,” said Ecclestone. “All of a sudden everything might be peaceful in a month’s time and they are happy to run the event and so we are happy to be there.”

Bahrain’s Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has had to decline an invitation to Britain’s royal wedding on Friday due to the situation.

In a move likely to increase sectarian tensions, a Bahrain military court sentenced four men to death on Thursday over the killing of two military policemen. Three other defendants were handed life sentences.

Ecclestone said he and FIA president Jean Todt were assessing the situation.

Teams have left it to Ecclestone and the FIA to make the decision, even if senior figures privately doubt there can be any hope of rescheduling.

“We’re not involved in a political assessment of what is happening anywhere in the world,” McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said at the Chinese Grand Prix this month. “We are a race team...if the championship takes us there we’ll go and race there. If it doesn’t then we’ll focus on the other remaining races of this year,” added the Briton, whose team have Bahrain’s holding company Mumtalakat as their biggest shareholder.

“I don’t think we want the season extended but I think it’s for others to see how it fits in.”

Ecclestone said last month that the race could be slotted in towards the end of the season, which is due to end in Brazil on November 27 after the penultimate race in Abu Dhabi, should circumstances improve.

Australia’s V8 series looks to follow F1 to India

(Reuters) - Australia’s V8 Supercars series is in talks to follow Formula One by taking its brand of touring car racing to India from next year, a government trade official said on Friday.

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix will take place at a purpose-built circuit outside New Delhi on Oct. 30 and V8 officials are hoping to stage a race there and another on a street circuit in the southern city of Chennai.

Peter Linford, Australia’s senior trade commissioner in New Delhi, said the first step would be to get an Indian driver and Indian team racing in the series.

“Having an Indian driver with an Indian team racing against all of the other Australians makes a lot of sense because that will give us the opportunity to televise the series more popularly in India,” he told the Australian Associated Press.

“Then when the series does come to India it will have a fan base already established.”

The V8 series, which has attracted crowds of more than 200,000 on home soil, has its origins firmly in Australia but already opens its season at the Formula One circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Linford conceded that although there had been a “base sponsorship commitment” from Australia, India was very much focused on making sure the Formula One debut goes without a hitch.

“There’s a bit of work to do, and in fairness to the Indians front of mind for them at the moment is their first F1 race,” Linford said.

“To talk to them about V8s is a little bit difficult because they’re so focused on getting the track ready, especially as they haven’t run an F1 race there before.”