3.6 meters per second (8.1 miles per hour) from (060°)
Temperature
27 °C (81 °F), with a dew-point at 18 °C (64 °F)
Temperature feels like 28 °C (83 °F)
Pressure
1013 hPa (29.91 inHg ).
Humidity
57.9%
Clouds
no clouds below 1500 meter (5000 feet) and no cumulonimbus clouds
Visibility
greater than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)
The Bahrain International Circuit is a venue used for drag racing, GP2, and an annual Formula One Grand Prix. For the first time in 2006, there was a V8 Supercar race, named the Desert 400, and also a 24 Hour Race. The circuit posed a unique problem. Positioned in the middle of a desert, there were worries that sand would blow onto the circuit and disrupt the race. However, organizers were able to keep the sand off the track by spraying an adhesive on the sand around the track.
Bahrain holds the honour of being the opening round of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, the first time the Middle Eastern track has been the curtain raiser since 2006.
Located in the heart of the Persian Gulf, when the event first came onto the calendar in 2004 it was the first-ever Middle Eastern country to host a round of series.
The race is held at the Sakhir International Circuit in the desert outside the capital Manama. In 2010 a new loop with eight new corners over dramatic elevation changes was added. It begins just after the old Turn 4 with a fast flowing corner leading into a sequence of five bends followed by a fast kink and then a challenging hairpin. The new track extension will bring exciting overtaking opportunities as well as a fresh challenge to the drivers.
The circuit’s long straights mean this is a circuit where engine performance is especially important and it has one of the highest wide open throttle times per lap of almost anywhere else in the championship except Monza. After all these long straights braking down into the slower corners gives a high wear rate for brakes - possibly the highest of the year.
Adrian’s View
I look forward to Bahrain as it’s unusual to race in the desert and, even if it’s not a classic, it’s a nice enough track. When we arrive the track is very ‘green’ as there’s not much racing there over the season and the track conditions can vary quite a lot over the weekend if sand blows on to it from the desert.Sometimes you do one lap, think the car is OK and don’t make any changes and then you’re slower - the track has just been coated in sand.
We start the lap on a long straight, reaching 310-315kph by the turn one hairpin. It’s a good opportunity to overtake. There is a litte kink into turn two, which you take nearly flat before another straight and sixth gear. It’s quite easy to lock up at the end but the exit is wide so you can get it back again.
After a flowing complex from turns 4 to 8, you approach turn 9 and have to be very careful as it’s one of the key places you can make a mistake. If you brake too late and lock up, you’ll go off and even though there is a big run-off, you can destroy the tyres there. There’s a tight corner at turn 10, taken in either first or second gear. Getting the apex right here is very important as you could lose two tenths, particularly as the car is very nervous at this point.
There’s another straight between turns 10 and 11 before a right hander, that you can’t brake too late for as you need to be back on the power for turn 12. There are two straights in the last sector so you could use KERS to come closer and then get past on the main straight.
