FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain and National Day Festival set for brilliant spectacle at BIC

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) welcomes back the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this December, and for the first time ever it will be held together with the BIC National Day Festival. This four-day extravaganza is scheduled to take place December 13 to 16 at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” in Sakhir, and it will be the biggest event held at BIC outside of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Details of the massive occasion were announced at a press conference this evening at the BIC premises in Sakhir. Speaking at the media gathering were BIC Chief Executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu and FIA WEC former World Champion and current AF Corse talent James Calado.The WEC returns with an extended eight-hour event, sponsored by long-term BIC partner Bapco. Both WEC and National Day will be open to the public from December 13, with WEC running for two days and National Day celebrations offering four days of entertainment, concluding on December 16.

The BIC also announced a major event package for the four-day festival, with regional superstar singer Balqees, announced as a first major concert act, together with a vast array of stunt shows, entertainers, bands and performers. Tickets are just BD1 per person per day and can be purchased from today via the BIC Sales Department or from November 1 onwards at the BIC Welcome Centre or the BIC stand at Bahrain City Centre.

Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the BIC, said: “We are very proud to be welcoming back the World Endurance Championship this December. The Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain, together with the BIC National Day Festival, makes for a unique celebration. We expect to attract some of our biggest ever crowds to enjoy the very best of endurance racing and the huge amount of entertainment on offer for National Day, including regional superstars for our supporting concert programme. It will be a truly festival atmosphere at the Home of Motorsport in the Middle East.”Gerard Neveu, CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship, added: “We are very happy to be returning to Bahrain International Circuit, which is the WEC’s natural home in the Middle East and a favorite with our teams for its facilities, climate, organization, and guaranteed warm welcome.

“The Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain, which will form the central part of the circuit’s National Day festival of motorsport, will mark the mid-point of Season 8 for us, and we are looking forward to providing visitors with exciting and unpredictable racing entertainment on track, as well as holding our traditional ‘Rookie’ test the day after our race for champions of the future.  We thank Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa and all his team for making us all feel so welcome; we can’t wait to be back in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

Racing action:

The Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain marks the fourth round of the 2019/2020 FIA WEC season. The grueling eight-hour event makes it the second-longest race on the WEC calendar, behind only the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Just as in previous seasons, there will be competition in four categories, comprising the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1), LMP2, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) Pro and the LMGTE Amateur classes.

Among the leading sports prototype car brands to look forward to in the LMP classes are Toyota, Ginetta, Rebellion, Alpine, Oreca, and Dallara. The GT cars that are set to take to the track in the LMGTE classes include the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, the Porsche 911 RSR-19 and the Aston Martin Vintage AMR.Motor racing fans attending the FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain will be able to enjoy an Open Paddock experience, offering a behind the scenes spectacle of the race experience. All racing will be open to the public on 13 and 14 December, with the race set to get underway at 3 pm on Saturday.

The day right after the FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain, an in-season “Rookie” test will also be held at BIC, which fans will be able to watch from the Main Grandstand. Aside from the WEC, there will also be racing in racing in two highly popular support series: the MRF Challenge single-seater championship from India and the BIC-based Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East. The MRF, which has featured the likes of Mick Schumacher, Harrison Newey, and Tatiana Calderon, will be holding four races over the weekend. The Porsche GT3 Cup, which is the leading one-make circuit racing series in the entire region, will run two races.

Major Concert acts:

And that is not all – One of the major attractions at the festival are the live music concerts featuring top Arab artists. BIC is proud to announce the first artist: Emirati superstar singer Balqees. Balqees is one of the biggest stars in the regional music industry today and will be a hugely popular act coming to Bahrain to support our celebration. She has recorded three record-breaking albums, received numerous awards in the region, performing across the world, including with the iconic Andrea Bocelli. This concert will take place on 13 December. A number of other big concert acts are set to be announced by BIC soon.

Off the track:

Off-track entertainment at BIC will run over four days from 13 to 16 December, with the most exciting array of shows the BIC has ever had for either WEC or National Day. These acts have gathered from all over the world and are set to include:

• Stannage – A world record-breaking stunt team, which have performed their incredible shows all over the world, including car, motorbike, fire and high fall stunts.
• UK-based stunt drivers Terry Grant & Lee Bowers, who hold multiple world records for two and four-wheel stunts, jumps and tricks.
• A High Dive act with international acclaim, who produce jaw-dropping dive shows from incredible heights.
• The Black Angels acrobats group from Kenya which combines acrobatics with popular dance, inspired by their local culture.
• As well as LED drummers, a Mariachi band, pirate show, a lion dance troupe and so much more.

In addition, many of the regular attractions are set to return at the festival. These include children’s rides and activities, a full shopping experience, food and beverage stalls, corporate exhibition space and live music. All this will be topped off by the biggest and most brilliant fireworks display in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Aside from the regular tickets to the race weekend, hospitality packages are also available for individuals, companies or large groups. Call the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000 to book a package. The BIC National Day Festival is being held with the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.