Hundreds of fans enjoy Pit Walk

Manama : Despite heavy rain yesterday afternoon, hundreds of motor racing fans of all Nationalities old and young from the Kingdom and overseas enjoyed the chance to get a close-up and enjoy a rare chance to see mechanical and technical staff of the various racing teams close-up at work during a Pit Walk at Bahrain International Circuit’s Pit Lane, ahead of today’s start of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

One of the teams visible was Red Bull Racing who put on a display and demonstrated the speed in changing tyres and wheels outside their garage.

This was an opportunity open only for the media and spectators with three-day tickets and a chance to see their favourite teams close-up as they continue preparations ahead of official practice today.

When the heavens opened, people who were preparing ahead of the bad weather reached for their umbrellas with many rushing to areas to avoid the precipitation and stay dry, though less teams compared to previous years appeared to be on the Pit Lane, it didn’t disappoint some enthusiasts who braved the downpour.

The race is celebrating its 12th race this year and being held under its state-of-the-art HD floodlighting system for the third consecutive time on Sunday starting at 6pm.

People of all ages were fascinated by the speed that team mechanics changed tyres and quite not quite believe what they were seeing in front of their very own eyes.

Even the noise to unscrew the wheel and then to replace it did not deter them from continuing to watch along with many clicking photos as it happened and hoping to get a chance to spot one of the 22 drivers in Sunday’s race despite the poor weather.