SEPTEMBER 30, 2003

Gulf Air to sponsor Bahrain Grand Prix

The Bahrain Grand Prix has landed a title sponsor in Gulf Air. This is not a surprise as the airline is jointly owned by the governments of Bahrain, Oman and the UAE.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has landed a title sponsor in Gulf Air. This is not a surprise as the airline is jointly owned by the governments of Bahrain, Oman and the UAE. The airline's network covers 45 cities in 33 countries but has been struggling in recent years and last year took on Australian James Hogan to lead a three-year restructuring programme. The revamp is being funded by the three governments and aims to make Gulf Air a much higher profile brand and attract new visitors to the region, mainly from the developing markets in Asia.

Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the boss of the Bahrain circuit, says that "60 percent of the world's F1 fans are Asian".