F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix flags off in style

Manama, Apr. 14 (BNA): Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) announced today that ticket sales for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix have increased as compared to last year. Tickets have already sold out for the University Grandstand. They are also 98 per cent sold out for the Main Grandstand. With the highly anticipated night race happening on Sunday (Editor’s note: April 16), this year’s mega event has generated great interest from race fans all over the world. Tickets will continue to be sold over the next couple of days. They can be purchased at the special tent located next to Sakhir petrol station. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel gave Ferrari a bright start to the weekend’s events by setting the day’s overall best lap time after topping the timesheet in both the day’s Formula 1 practices. The two-time winner with former team Red Bull registered a fastest lap of one minute 31.310 seconds. His best came during a highly competitive evening run, held under BIC’s state-of-the-art floodlights, which ended with up to three drivers of having a chance to capture the top spot. Vettel was a mere 0.041s quicker than Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes, and just 0.066s ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull in third place. Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was ranked fourth 1.168s off Vettel’s pace, while Lewis Hamiltoin of Mercedes, Nico Hulkenberg of Renault, Felipe Massa of Williams and Max Verstappen of Red Bull completed the top eight. Each of the leading eight drivers had better laps in the second practice than Vettel’s leading lap in the first. Vettel’s best lap in the opening session was 1:32.697. He was 0.400s faster than Ricciardo and 0.869s in front of the other Bull of Verstappen. Sergio Perez of Force India was classified fourth, the Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll were fifth and sixth, respectively, Esteban Ocon of Force India was seventh and Fernando Alonso of McLaren rounded out the top eight. Formula 1 action resumes on Saturday afternoon with a third practice session starting at 3pm. Qualifying will then be held from 6pm to 7pm under floodlights. Frijns claims pole position for first race of Porsche GT3 Charlie Frijns captured pole position for the first race of the final weekend in the 2016/2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. Frijns set a fastest lap of two minutes 05.714 seconds during today’s Qualifying. Dylan Pereira was marginally slower with a best time of 2:05.869 while Al Faisal Al Zubair qualified third with a best time of 2:05.918. Frijns and Pereira were both in the Gold category. Pereira was the pole-sitter in the Silver class after going fastest in their category ahead of Bandar Alesayi and His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. Meanwhile, Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa qualified first in the Bronze class, where Team Bahrain teammate Shaikh Hamad bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Race one is scheduled for 11.55am on Saturday. Earlier today, Al Faisal Al Zubair emerged as the pace-setter at the end of the first practice of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. Al Zubair had a best lap of two minutes 07.599 seconds. He was 0.593s ahead of Ryan Cullen and 1.012s in front of Charlie Frijns. Vernay and Comini take turns setting the pace in TCR practices Jean-Karl Vernay topped the timesheet in the first practice of the TCR International Series today morning. Driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, Vernay had a best lap of two minutes 13.565 seconds to claim first place on the session’s final classification. James Nash was behind him in a SEAT Leon TCR 0.254s slower, while Dusan Borkovic in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR was ranked third 0.572s behind. Later, Stefano Comini topped the second practice timesheet. Driving an Audi RS 3 LMS TCR, Comini clocked a best lap of two minutes 13.731 seconds. He was a narrow 0.222seconds quicker than Pepe Oriola driving a SEAT Leon TCR, while James Nash, also in a SEAT Leon, was third 0.228s back. TCR returns to the track with Qualifying on Saturday at 11am. Enrique Iglesias and Steve Aoki set for epic back-to-back performances Following this evening’s spectacular performances by Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, Klingande and MATTN, the music continues Saturday with the headlining pair of Enrique Iglesias and Steve Aoki. They will be performing live in back-to-back shows after Formula 1 Qualifying, with Iglesias being the first to take to the stage before Aoki closes out the night in style. All those with tickets to the Grand Prix weekend will be able to enjoy all the concerts at no extra cost. Iglesias is a Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. His global popularity is undeniable, and he is one of the biggest artists ever to grace the stage at the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. He has been celebrated with just about every award an artist can receive, including multiple Grammys, Billboard Awards, World Music Awards, American Music Awards, and many more totaling over 200. Aoki is an electronic dance music icon. He has collaborated with other major artists such as Linkin Park, will.i.am, Afrojack, LMFAO, Iggy Azalea and Lil Jon, to name a few. Aoki was ranked Best DJ in America by DJ Times in 2015, and until today continues to rock the airwaves with his hugely popular tracks. Entertainment showcase for the whole family all through the weekend Race-goers will have lots to do along BIC’s Formula 1 Village vending area. Among the many attractions are a Dinosaurs and Ice Age Tent, a Haunted Mansion, a wide variety of Roaming Acts and shows, and plenty of kinds’ entertainment. The Dinosaurs and Ice Age Tent and Haunted Mansion are firsts for the Bahrain Grand Prix, and they are sure to be fan favourites. All those who choose to visit the Haunted Mansion must be truly prepared for a fright and must be aged 12 years old and above. Meanwhile, a series of fantastic shows will be taking place all weekend long, as well as a wide array of international roaming acts. For the kids, there will be outdoor activities such as a Sensory Zone, Mumbo Tumbo Drum Beats, Badge Caricaturists, Face Painting and Pop the Balloon Man. There are also workshops to keep them busy and entertained all throughout the Grand Prix weekend. Tickets to the race weekend can be purchased at the special tent located next to Sakhir petrol station. A Main Grandstand ticket costs BD150 apiece, while a Batelco Grandstand ticket is BD120. A ticket to the Turn One Grandstand is BD100, while tickets to the University and Victory Grandstands are BD60 apiece. Children aged three to 12 years old can get tickets for half the price, while entry is free of charge for those below three years old. School students aged 13 to 17 years old can get a 25 per cent discount. University students can get 10 per cent off, while senior citizens aged 60 and above along with people with special needs can get 25 per cent discount. All tickets are for three-day access to the Grand Prix weekend, which, aside from F1, will include racing from other major international and regional championships. AOQ