FEBRUARY 25, 2002

Beirut or Bahrain?

THE race to be the first Middle Eastern country to host a World Championship Grand Prix is now on and despite Beirut having been talking about the idea for five years, it looks like Bahrain is going to get there first. Work has begun on the construction of a racing facility near Manama while in Beirut there is still only talk of a track in a downtown park. A year ago FIA President Max Mosley said that Beirut would be "a good place to have a race" but made the point that the calendar is already over-subscribed for some years ahead and Bernie Ecclestone's support for a racing circuit in Moscow would seem to suggest that this project is to be taken seriously as well.