ITHMAAR GROUP Yalla Bahrain! F1 Racing Challenge is underway with workshops taking place across the Kingdom

Manama 3rd March 2008: Supporting the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix the ITHMAAR GROUP Yalla Bahrain! F1 Racing Challenge brings together fun, speed and participation. The challenge is to build the fastest – or most interesting – gravity-powered racing car and then compete in a public race.

More than 45 teams look set to compete in the soapbox derby from every corner of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Companies getting ready to show their motor racing abilities include Nissan, Ford and official Yalla Bahrain! sponsor ITHMAAR GROUP. Lining up along side them on the starting grid will be students from Al Ahlia University, New York Institute of Technology Bahrain, AMA International University and Bahrain Training Institute. Also not afraid to show their racing prowess will be some of Bahrain’s top media moguls including Gulf Daily News, Arabia Motors, Gulf Auto Zone, Al Ayam, Al Wasat, Al Watan, Layalina, FACT magazine and the BIC Media Club.

To help participants design and construct their soapbox cars ITHMAAR GROUP Yalla Bahrain! is staging workshops across the Kingdom to advise on design, engineering and aerodynamics. Haitham Hameed, an automotive engineer from the Bahrain International Circuit was on hand at the F1 Racing Challenge workshop this week to lend his expertise to the teams. He explained “I am really pleased to be involved with this exciting new Yalla Bahrain! event. My role is to advise all the participants on the rules of the challenge, explain each role of the team members, engineering, aerodynamics and design. It is a very big challenge for everyone but it is a great event and I would love to see it become a permanent fixture on the ITHMAAR GROUP Yalla Bahrain! calendar.

“It is fantastic that the participants get a chance to learn all about motor racing and really feel part of the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. The teams get to see first hand what it takes to design and build a race car. The Yalla Bahrain! team have built the first prototype out of an old bath tub which definitely shows the teams the fun side of this event!”

The grand showdown for teams will take place on March 14th at the BIC. Applications for team entries are still open, but for those wishing to come and watch rather than join in with the racing, there is a host of entertainment available. Taking you through the day will be a car show, bungee jumping, international break dancers plus much more to keep all the family occupied. There will also be various prizes on offer to reward the teams for there hard work and creativity, along with the bruises that they might carry from the race day.

The Ithmaar banking group consists of: Ithmaar Bank, Shamil Bank, Solidarity (an Islamic insurance company, headquartered in Bahrain), Faisal Private Bank (Switzerland), Faysal Bank Limited (Pakistan), First Leasing Bank and Ithmaar Development Company. The group’s services, including investment, private, retail, and commercial banking, private equity, mergers & acquisition advice, takaful, leasing, and real estate development, form a 360 degrees value chain that embraces the entire spectrum of banking and financial services.

2006 Yalla Bahrain! Programme
o Motorsport Art Exhibition – Bahrain National Museum, opened by Honda F1 driver Rubens Barrichello in the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa
o Jenson Button Autograph Session – 1500 fans met Jenson at the Seef Mall on Valentine’s Day
o F1 Street Parade, Manama Corniche – More than 15,000 people enjoyed the high speed parades of Porsche Supercup, Lumina CSV and other racing cars on the highway together with an air display and fireworks
o Jump Bahrain! – Parkour ‘streetrunners’ crossing Bahrain to arrive at the BIC for the 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in a TV spectacular

2007 ITHMAAR GROUP Yalla Bahrain! Programme
o F1 Autograph Session – More than 1000 fans met Honda F1 driver Christian Klien at the Seef Mall
o F1 Football Fever – 32 teams played for 1500 spectators at the BIC raising money for charity
o F1 in Colour – Giant 15m x 10m collage of images celebrating Formula One in Bahrain created by more than 50 Bahraini community groups, schools, universities and businesses
o F1 Zone – Interactive area with simulators, racing car displays, kids area and ladies fashion displays drawing up to 8,000 people per day at the Al Aali Mall
o F1 Drift and Drive-In Movie Night – 6500 people enjoying drift racing displays and the GCC premiere of Mr. Bean’s Holiday
o F1 Cavalcade – 9000 people on the December 17 Highway in Isa Town

2008 ITHMAAR GROUP Yalla Bahrain! Programme
o F1 Racing With A Star – Felipe Massa autograph session and simulator challenge, Seef Mall, February 8
o F1 Football Fives – Football tournament on Public Day at F1 Testing, BIC, February 9
o F1 Paint Bahrain – Art challenge with Abbas Al Mosawi, 10-21 February with public display from 22 February
o F1 Car Building Challenge – Soap Box-style car building and racing March 1-14, raceday March 14 in Manama
o F1 Drive-In Movie Night – Blockbuster movie and family entertainment, BIC, March 7
o F1 Xtreme – Urban sports, motor sport displays, stunt bikes, drifting, live performances and DJ competition together with family entertainment, Manama seafront, March 28-29

 

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