FIA confirms cancellation of Bahrain Grand Prix
Motorsport's world governing body ratified the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Wednesday following a vote by the World Motor Sport Council.
Motorsport's world governing body ratified the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Wednesday following a vote by the World Motor Sport Council.
The FIA published a revised calendar for the remaining races of the Formula One season, with Bahrain absent.
"Following a fax vote of the FIA World Motor Sport Council and, by unanimous decision, the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar has been ratified as originally proposed," said an FIA statement.
The Grand Prix was first scheduled as the season-opening race in March but was called off amid anti-government protests which saw at least 31 people killed since February.
The FIA then rescheduled the race for Oct. 30 but organizers decided to pull the plug after growing protests from human rights groups.
According to the new calendar, the inaugural Indian Grand Prix - which had been moved to the final round of the calendar - will take place on Oct. 30 and the season will conclude in Brazil on Nov. 27.
Local organizers finally announced earlier this month that it would be "in the best interest of the sport" not to stage the race.
That prompted FIA President Jean Todt to say that the decision to hold the Grand Prix in October would be revised, after teams objected because of logistical and insurance reasons.