Racing Fever

At the start of March, as the green light flashed to indicate the start of our topic on Formula 1, the children from Year 2 accelerated to the ‘Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’, the Bahrain International Circuit.

They were met by Mohammed, BIC National PR Assistant, who immediately whisked them off to the top of the VIP tower. Here, the children got an impressive view of the whole of the world class circuit and were lucky enough to stand right above the treacherous Turn 1! Here they were told about the history of F1 and the Bahrain circuit and asked some amazing questions, but luckily Mohammed was on hand with an answer for every one of them.

The children also had the chance to see the inside of a room that nobody ever sees – the race control centre! They were amazed by the technology on show and how everything on the track, from traffic signals to floodlighting and CCTV cameras could be controlled from one console. Some of the children even got to press some of the very large red buttons, like missile launch controls which set off warning lights, as if there had been an accident on the track!

After a quick snack and a tour of the enormous media room, Mohammed asked the children questions about what they had learned during the visit and gave out lots of prizes for the correct answers. Every child was generously given a BIC wristband to take home with them.

It was then time to roar along to the starting grid to see where the Formula 1 cars are positioned at the beginning of a race. Many used it as an opportunity to find out who was the fastest runner in the class, lining up on the chequered start line and racing almost all the way to the treacherous, 70 degree, Turn 1. Thank goodness barriers were across for Drag Racing which was taking place at the circuit in the same week.

As always, this was one of the highlights of the year and a huge thanks to the BIC team for arranging such an amazing, behind the scenes tour and giving the children the opportunity to go to places at an F1 venue that most people can only dream of.