Bahrain F1 GP, who's in?

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:32 pm

I was talking to my boss on the phone about a work trip (4/9-4/21) and he mentioned that he couldn't book me at my usual motel through the 21st because the F1 GP was taking place a few miles from where we were working the day after we wrapped up, and a lot of rooms are already taken. We now have reservations at the Best Western through the 22nd and I had the travel agent push the flight back by one day. Trying to decide on seats now, the Turn 1 bleachers look pretty good for the money.

I really love my job sometimes.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:08 pm

On the assumption you are serious, I give it about 50/50 that the event will come off without some type of major incident (race disruption, death, etc.). I follow F1 pretty closely that there are still plenty of rumblings about it not happening again this year. My personal opinion is that it should not go forward for a number of reasons. First, I don't support holding international sporting events in countries that are in turmoil, second, F1 (and team sponsors) doesn't need the risk of the potential bad publicity if it all goes sideways. Some interesting reading...

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/04/ ... the-truth/

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2766 ... rand-prix/

Bernie Ecclestone has a general "damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead" approach. Maybe he thinks if they just use enough tear gas it will all work out. :roll:

...

http://en.espnf1.com/bahrain/motorsport ... 74586.html

Richard

PS: Best Western Bahrain? Really? Interesting.

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:31 pm

As someone who works in Bahrain fairly regularly; I believe that the news is sensationalizing this issue.

The nature of the conflict is local, and foreigners are largely unaffected by it. You have to differentiate between locals with grievances and foreigners trying to foment revolution when you look at Bahrain. Both are present, and the government cracks down pretty hard on the latter, while the former is generally free to peacefully air their grievances. At the big protest at the Pearl, they recovered weapons and extremist literature from foreign countries, and they have zero tolerance for foreign radicals getting involved in their politics.

As a foreigner in Bahrain, you are free to safely go anywhere, and the locals will not try to involve you in their issues. That's not the case in other places that I have worked, but it is in Bahrain.

The other thing to consider is the Saudis. Bahrain basically belongs to them (they heavily subsidize Bahrain, which allows it to keep existing in it's present form); it's where they go to drink and chase girls. They will not allow it to degenerate into a subversive zone. It was the Saudis that rolled across the causeway and destroyed the Pearl, breaking up the protest and "disappearing" the foreign revolutionaries.

So based on my experience and the people that I have talked to over there, I don't think that there is a serious problem over there. I think that a lot of Arab Spring revolutionaries would like to see Bahrain go the way of Yemen, Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, and are working toward that end. I also think that a lot of reporters like to file sensational stories about revolutions.

P.S. - Yeah, Best Western, apparently it's actually a decent place to stay over there. I usually stay at the K, but the K doesn't have a "Wild West Saloon" like the Best Western, so I may have to change hotels.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:27 am

Roger,

I considered not responding as I try to avoid public discussions (particularly on the internet) that tend to be political in nature, but against my better judgment here I go!!

I know it is more complex than this, but I believe much of the issue there boil down to the sectarian issue of the marginalization of the Shia majority. You have a majority Shia population that is chafing under the rule of a Sunni minority. Add into the mix a royal family that has been trying to provide more rights to their citizens (good for them!) while at the same time trying to remain in power (boo!), a strong neighbor (Saudi Arabia) that is predominantly Sunni that has a stake in keeping things as they are, and a series of regional revolutions in which those who have been historically oppressed rising up. In short, it’s difficult watching a neighbor right old wrongs when you are not able to do the same.

I have no idea what you do that requires you to spend time in Bahrain (I am curious). If I was to hazard a guess it is commercial in nature and that if you do it on a frequent enough basis, I also assume that you are working with the movers and shakers within Bahrain society. Again, my understanding is that in general that within the private sector you will see the Sunni minority enjoying more favored status. With (on average) the Sunni minority in positions of power and the Shia reserved to less skilled jobs. I hope this statement is not crossing the line, but I can imagine that, it is more likely that you are experiencing more of the world view of the ruling class Sunni minority and less of the actual Shia majority.

So I can imagine that their perspective it that this is all “local grievances” (true it is local issues, but saying it like that makes it sound like they are complaining about the quality of trash pickup on Monday mornings) and that most of the problems are being caused by “outside foreign agitators” (which I agree is becoming more of a problem as radical groups see blood in the water and are looking to expand their power). But, unfortunately (in my opinion) it is the same mantra currently being used by the al-Assad regime in Syria and by Gaddafi prior to his fall in Libya. Not that Bahrain is Syria or Libya, but the language is the same as it belittles and tries to divert attention away from the root problems.

Granted, they do seem to allow more protests than your average gulf state, but it seems to me that it runs under the rules of “You can protest as much as you want as long as nothing changes”. That as soon as things begin to get out the control of the ruling class (i.e. change might happen!) that the crackdown (such as the bloody one last year) happens. I think it is the ongoing crackdowns, human rights issues and general suppression of the population that concerns people the most.

Regarding those news reports, yes, the media can sensationalize things (this is the job of commercial media), but there are more than just nuggets of truth in those stories. Especially for those that originate from the F1 community. The F1 community really wants things to work out and is not trying to pump up fear just to create drama to sell newspapers. There are real concerns at play. It is my understanding that the F1 teams have contingency plans in place for moving equipment back to Europe directly from China instead of the planned trip to Bahrain. Why have races in places where you have to have contingency plans like that in place?

So from an F1 perspective (which is what my initial comments were about), I stand by my comments in that I am concerned about something happening at the Bahrain F1 race that will ultimately reflect badly upon F1 and/or its sponsors (ultimately hurting a sport that I love). I think that with the number of eyes that F1 gets during the season that it presents a large opportunity for someone to try to make a statement during the race weekend. And no doubt the government is going to crank up the security during the race weekend to try to prevent anything from happening and to present a view to the world that “everything is OK”. That just illustrates why it should not go forward in my humble opinion.

With that being said I hope you have a safe trip and enjoy the race weekend.

Richard

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:37 pm

Internet discussions of politics and religion do tend to degenerate, but this is a private forum and most of the members appear to be grown-ups, so I think that it's probably okay here.

The people that I work for are aligned with the Sunni leadership, so I will tend to get their take on issues, but I also work with a lot of Americans, so I get a pretty good functional assessment of the conditions on the ground for a western foreigner. As far as my work, I am a CCIE and work as a data and voice communications consultant for a number of commercial and government clients.

Socially, the culture in Bahrain is very similar to that of the Sunni-majority UAE, where I have also done some work, but the sectarian makeup of Bahrain is more like that of Iran. In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, they essentially have two cultures, the traditional and the westernized, which they understand must co-exist in order for them to participate in business with the rest of the world and prosper going forward. Either culture is accepted, even though they are radically different and incompatible in many regards.

I believe that the current government of Bahrain is understandably apprehensive, as they favor a progressive program like that of the UAE, and the only large example of a Shia-majority/Shia-led state is Iran, which still stones women to death for adultery and jails them for wearing pants. The Bahraini reforms after the last round of Shia discontent produced a representative parliament that had almost half of the seats occupied by Shiites, but they proceeded to justify everyone's fears by proposng legislation that would enforce Islamic traditions if upheld.

I don't know that too much of a comparison can be made between Assad/Gadaffi and Khalifa. I think that Khalifa is just trying to do the best that he can in a difficult situation, where Assad and Gadaffi were relatively independent and had a lot more options open to them. Even if the current leadership wanted to let the Shia majority set policy, I don't think that Saudi would stand for it. Tanks would roll across the causeway again and the situation would get sorted out quickly and violently. While I can understand popular references to apartheid, I think that you really have to look at Bahrain as a Saudi satellite if you are looking at solutions, and nobody can really tell the Saudis anything or apply any kind of pressure to them.

I really hope they don't cancel the race though, but for purely selfish reasons. I have never seen an F1 race outside of Speed Channel, and I'd really like to see one live.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:37 am

One thing you might try to do Roger is see if any of your contacts might be able to get you better access. I don't know what levels of special access are granted at F1 events, but each team usually has a pretty large hospitality center as well as the potential for grid and/or paddock passes. I am not sure, but I think there is a Porsche Super Cup support race and if it was me, I would try to catch qualifying for the race. I don't know if they will let you roam around or not, but if you can, try to sit opposite the pits at some point during the weekend (qualifying might be a good time) to watch that action. It it interesting to sit opposite the Ferrari pits (assuming they have stands that face the pits) to experience the excitement of the Ferrari Tifosi.

If you are an F1 fan you should have a good time. The only F1 race I have attended was the inaugural US GP at Indy in 2000. While we had some rain, it was a lot of fun. At Indy, we spent some time around the turns 8, 9, 10 complex in which the viewing area was relatively close to the cars as well as in the main stands near turn 1. I am not sure what part of the Bahrain track lets you get particularly close to the track (if any). The sound and speed of the cars is not something that is captured very well on TV. Most memorable for me was the image and sound of a lone car with its 3L V10 running around 17K RPM down the long straight right at me as I sat near turn one.

Richard

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:23 pm

Thanks for the advice. I bought a seat in the Turn 1 grandstand, right at the end of the front straight. I'll have the whole day off, so I'll show up at 0930 and see where I can wander. There's an expat that I know who I'm going to try and talk into going, and I'll try and talk to some locals and see where else I can get.

I'm curious to see what the Ferrari cars do on a dry track (not much chance of rain in Bahrain). Malaysia was very interesting, but it looked like they won that one during the pit stops.

clinehall · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:34 am

I'll watch for you on TV. You need to wear a Lemons shirt! Or better yet, i'll see if I have any more CHA shirts!

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:33 pm

Now that you mention it, wearing a LeMons shirt at a real racing event is good for a "get out of jail free" card. Unfortunately I don't have a LeMons shirt. If you can get me a 3XL or 2XL CHA shirt by tomorrow, then I'll be happy to wear it.

RickyBeam · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:55 pm

I think the one I have is a 2XL. (with our car on it)

The Pink MF Unicorn would be my choice of "we can see you" t-shirt.

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:24 pm

That shirt really stands out when I'm driving by the pits looking to see if my team is giving me any signals, but I'm not sure that it would be appropriate at anything other than a LeMons event. We did give one to our real estate agent at the closing when we bought our new global racing enterprise headquarters, and he promised to wear it on his next trip to Disney World, but based on his choice of clients, he may not have a lot of sense.

I went looking through my discarded/ruined clothing bin and did find an old LeMons shirt that had graduated to rag status. It's a bit on the small side, but I heard somewhere that foreign women find fat guys in tight grease-stained t-shirts sexy!

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:25 pm

Doh, just realized that was you!

RickyBeam · **Posted:** Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:09 am

Roger McDaniels wrote:

That shirt really stands out ... he may not have a lot of sense.

Indeed, it's very easy to spot one next to the hot pit. And he may not have enough money to take any trips... he spent months finding us properties to make peanuts in commission, but the 30$ in t-shirts made up for it.

I thought about wearing mine today, but there were still children around the paddock.

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:12 am

The Best Western kind of sucks. My room has only warm water, while my boss's room has only cold water. They have a huge charge for Internet access, and the Saloon is like an all-night rave, complete with floor-shaking bass until 4-5AM. Also no free breakfast. I slept on a cot in a bunker way out in the desert last night, which was quieter, but I think that I've gotten too old and broken to sleep on Army cots any more. Or maybe I just need to lose about 100 pounds.

Aside from my incessant whining, things are going well here.

So Ricky, Sunday at VIR went well? I really wanted to stay for the whole weekend, but I'm pretty sure that blowing off the family for Easter to drive the race car around would have gotten lawyers involved in my marraige. There is some speculation about where the July LeMons event will be, maybe VIR South?

RickyBeam · **Posted:** Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:00 pm

Sunday was great. The traffic thinned out a bit, and continued to thin out through the day. The bug survived it's always-at-red-line, 8 MPG torture.

I've not checked LeMons recently, but there's been no announcement that I've seen.

THSCC Forums

Bahrain F1 GP, who's in?

Who is online