2006 FORMULA 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2004 Grand Prix of Bahrain marked the first ever round of the FIA Formula One World Championship to be held in the Middle East and the official culmination of a multi-million dollar project started back in September 2002 when the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a long-term deal to host the event.

Located at Sakhir, 30 km south-west of the island's capital, Manama, the Herman Tilke designed circuit contains no less than five track layouts within one complex. Construction began in November 2002 and in the months prior to its March 2004 completion, work was going on around the clock. Over 12,000 tonnes of stone were used in the build, a third of it Welsh granite, chosen for the track surface due to its excellent adhesive qualities.

The 5.411 km Grand Prix circuit was designed with the spectator in mind, with 50,000 grandstand seats, all providing excellent views. Those spectators (a total of 100,000 over a race weekend) get to see the cars heading into the external desert area, before coming back into the oasis-styled infield. Up to 500 journalists can also witness the action from the venue's purpose-built media centre.

The track offers the driver a unique experience in the way the circuit's width varies at the end of the different straights. This allows for diverse racing lines, and the 12-corner design provides at least three genuine overtaking opportunities.

Most fans' arrival point will be the Bahrain International Airport, located in Muharraq on Bahrain Island, the largest of the Kingdom's 36 islands. The airport plays host to around 40 airlines and lies just a few kilometres north-east of the capital, Manama.

General Stands Bahrain Malaysia Australia San Marino Europe Spain Monaco England Canada United States France Germany Hungary Turkey Italy China Japan Brazil

Race times
Pos	Driver	Time	*P*	Laps	Gap	Hotlap		Pts
1	Torrente	45:52.960		26	0	1:43.768		103
2	cuest	46:37.501		26	+44.5	1:45.021		85
3	Paul	46:41.364		26	+48.4	1:45.773		75
4	OperaF1	47:14.240		26	+1:21.2	1:47.088		65
5	Pipo2005	47:00.289	+25	26	+1:07.3	1:44.982		60
6	Kaiser_46	47:12.808	+25	26	+1:19.8	1:43.718		60
7	raka100	47:39.140		26	+1:46.1	1:45.723		48
8	curisam	47:45.395		26	+1:52.4	1:46.087		44
9	quideco	47:50.703		26	+1:57.7	1:47.730		40
10	Rexakosix	49:06.421		26	+3:13.4	1:44.996		36
11	davidmd	46:26.343	+25	25	+1 Lap	1:47.253		33
12	Althor_GP4	45:50.860		24	+2 Laps	1:47.503		30
13	caspita	44:19.354		22	+4 Laps	1:47.778		27
14	AleMaineri	36:58.687		20	+6 Laps	1:44.934		25
15	canijo	27:27.580	+25	11	+15 Laps	1:59.849		22
16	fabrikart	17:58.978		10	+16 Laps	1:45.405		20
17	dviejo	13:06.760		7	+19 Laps	1:47.070		18
18	Neltharion	11:59.580		6	+20 Laps	1:52.957		16
19	Skymota	11:48.977	-4(+1:59)	6	+24 Laps	1:48.706		14
20	mamego	31:46.947	+25	16	+10 Laps	1:51.887		0
21	haedmoli	19:52.609	+1:04	10	+16 Laps	1:54.329		0
22	800	14:24.613	+25	7	+19 Laps	1:49.746		0

Qualification times
		Sectors			Partials
Pos	Driver	S1	S2	S3	P1	P2	Time	*P*	Gap	F		Pts
1	cuest	32.1	38.9	33.2	32.161	1:11.117	1:44.368	0	0.000	9		10
2	Torrente	32.0	39.2	33.3	32.004	1:11.294	1:44.641	0	0.273	15		7
3	AleMaineri	31.8	40.0	33.5	31.832	1:11.928	1:45.495	0	1.127	8		5
4	raka100	32.1	39.5	33.8	32.158	1:11.662	1:45.501	0	1.133	14		3
5	Rexakosix	31.9	39.7	34.2	31.964	1:11.675	1:45.906	0	1.538	15		1
6	Paul	32.5	39.8	34.4	32.552	1:12.435	1:46.865	0	2.497	14		0
7	OperaF1	32.6	40.3	33.9	32.603	1:12.949	1:46.892	0	2.524	16		0
8	dviejo	32.7	40.2	34.6	32.740	1:13.007	1:47.642	0	3.274	14		0
9	caspita	32.1	40.4	35.0	32.174	1:12.627	1:47.662	0	3.294	15		0
10	Althor_GP4	32.9	39.9	34.9	32.970	1:12.960	1:47.927	0	3.559	13		0
11	quideco	32.3	41.7	35.0	32.341	1:14.114	1:49.163	0	4.795	16		0
12	fabrikart	31.8	39.8	34.4	31.849	1:11.736	1:46.150	59	1.782	12		0
13	Pipo2005	32.0	39.3	34.0	32.004	1:11.375	1:45.428	1:42	1.060	8		0
14	Neltharion	33.6	43.6	36.2	33.610	1:17.268	1:53.535	1:49	9.167	16		0
15	Skymota	32.6	40.7	34.6	32.618	1:13.372	1:48.024	2:34	3.656	15		0
16	rubenux	33.1	40.1	35.1	33.161	1:13.263	1:48.397	0	4.029	13		0
17	curisam	32.0	39.4	33.8	32.060	1:11.528	1:45.400	5:00	1.032	7		0

Practice times
		Sectors			Partials
Pos	Driver	S1	S2	S3	P1	P2	Time	Gap
1	Torrente	31.2	37.7	32.3	31.259	1:08.977	1:41.305	+0.000
2	cuest	31.4	37.9	32.6	31.479	1:09.399	1:42.062	+0.757
3	Kaiser_46	31.3	37.9	32.6	31.385	1:09.378	1:42.077	+0.772
4	Pipo2005	31.4	37.9	32.8	31.492	1:09.415	1:42.242	+0.937
5	OperaF1	31.4	38.1	32.6	31.489	1:09.623	1:42.322	+1.017
6	raka100	31.5	37.9	32.8	31.542	1:09.506	1:42.388	+1.083
7	Rexakosix	31.4	38.2	32.9	31.496	1:09.703	1:42.627	+1.322
8	curisam	31.5	38.1	33.0	31.592	1:09.728	1:42.730	+1.425
9	AleMaineri	31.3	38.5	32.8	31.389	1:09.935	1:42.834	+1.529
10	fabrikart	31.5	38.3	32.9	31.554	1:09.869	1:42.855	+1.550
11	Paul	31.6	38.6	33.1	31.633	1:10.268	1:43.434	+2.129
12	davidmd	31.8	38.7	33.4	31.833	1:10.621	1:44.037	+2.732
13	dviejo	32.1	38.6	33.5	32.109	1:10.741	1:44.301	+2.996
14	Althor_GP4	31.9	38.9	33.4	31.992	1:10.989	1:44.441	+3.136
15	caspita	31.5	38.7	34.1	31.599	1:10.341	1:44.462	+3.157
16	Skymota	31.9	38.9	33.8	31.929	1:10.909	1:44.759	+3.454
17	quideco	32.0	39.1	33.8	32.085	1:11.224	1:45.103	+3.798
18	JHN	32.2	39.0	33.9	32.221	1:11.309	1:45.263	+3.958
19	800	31.7	39.3	34.2	31.720	1:11.055	1:45.341	+4.036
20	rubenux	31.8	39.9	34.8	31.856	1:11.797	1:46.691	+5.386
21	Neltharion	32.7	42.1	35.0	32.771	1:14.894	1:49.955	+8.650
22	mamego	32.1	41.0	34.3	32.124	1:13.147	1:47.542	+6.237
23	haedmoli	32.8	41.0	34.5	32.817	1:13.897	1:48.403	+7.098