The inaugural Bahrain GP in April 2004 was a major boost to motorsport in the Middle East, helping to put the region firmly on the world motorsport map.

During the recent Autosport International show in Birmingham, Crash.net took the chance to meet up with Shaikh Salman from the Bahrain International Circuit to discuss the first season of racing at the impressive new venue and look at the impact the circuit can have on the Middle Eastern region...

Crash.net:
Obviously the first Bahrain GP is the main event that you held at the circuit during 2004, but we also saw the F3 and GT festivals towards the end of the year.

How pleased were you with the impact that the Bahrain circuit had in its debut year?

Shaik Salman:
I was very pleased. Obviously with the new circuit it was the first time for us to bring these events to the Middle East, and I think it is our job to do that. If we have branded ourselves as the 'Home of Motorsport in the Middle East,’ then we need to bring in every type of race to show the region what motorsport is all about.

We chose the GT race because of the Ferraris, the Lamborghinis, the cars that people can relate to and know are involved in motorsport and the F3 race was about the drivers who are in the sport, the Nico Rosbergs, the Nelson Piquet Jrs, the up and coming champions – hopefully - of Formula One, and I was very pleased with those races.

Crash.net:
Looking especially at the Bahrain Grand Prix, we are sitting here next to a hugely impressive trophy awarded for hosting the best organised Grand Prix of the year. How proud did it make you to win that award, especially considering that it was the first time you had hosted the event?

Shaik Salman:
Very proud. When we started out we knew we wanted to put on a good show. We tried our best but we didn’t have an indicator to say if we had done a good job. The teams left the circuit happy, obviously as one of the newer circuits the facilities were very good, and we tried our best. To see the trophy here in front of us is a real honour and an indicator that we did a good job.

Crash.net:
You call yourselves the 'Home of Motorsport in the Middle East.’ Just how important is it to the region to be able to attract a championship like Formula One to the Bahrain International Circuit?

Shaik Salman:
It’s very important, firstly because with Formula One we put Bahrain on the map, that is the obvious reason. Bahrain is a very small country and it helps us tell people where we are when we come to Birmingham or other shows like this and we say we are from Bahrain – the first thing people say is 'Oh yeah, the Formula One race.’ So that helps.