Will protests in the Middle East cause the cancelation of additional races?
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/motorsports/" rel="tag">Motorsports</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/safety/" rel="tag">Safety</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a></p><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/bahrain-protest-flags.jpg" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />Go back a few years and the prospect of political unrest in a host country was seldom a factor in determining where to hold a motor race. But that age of innocence appears to be behind us.<br />
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We got our first taste of things to come when the world-famous Dakar rally was <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/04/dakar-rally-cancelled/">forced to cancel</a> in 2008 and later relocate from North Africa to South America due to threats from al-Qaeda. But what we hoped would have been an isolated occurrence is re-emerging as a serious consideration for racing series the world over.<br />
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The start of the 2011 Formula One season was due to get underway in Bahrain on March 13, but protests in the gulf state <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/21/demonstrations-in-bahrain-cause-grand-prix-cancellation/">forced its cancellation</a> and the delay of the season's start, which only took place <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/27/2011-australian-grand-prix-comes-straight-from-a-land-down-under/">this past weekend</a> in Australia. (The GP2 Asia series was also forced to cancel its Bahrain races in February and March.) The question is, will the cancellations in Bahrain emerge as an exception, or the new rule? Follow the jump to read on....<br />
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[Image: Adam Jan/AFP]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/30/will-protests-in-the-middle-east-cause-the-cancelation-of-additi/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Will protests in the Middle East cause the cancelation of additional races?</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/30/will-protests-in-the-middle-east-cause-the-cancelation-of-additi/">Will protests in the Middle East cause the cancelation of additional races?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/30/will-protests-in-the-middle-east-cause-the-cancelation-of-additi/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19894196/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/30/will-protests-in-the-middle-east-cause-the-cancelation-of-additi/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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