Bahrain International Circuit

Home of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first Formula 1 race held at night under floodlights

The Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir, about 10 kilometres south of Riffa, is one of the newer venues on the Formula 1 calendar and one of the most ambitious: built in the middle of the desert on what was previously flat sand, it opened in 2004 and hosted the first Formula 1 race in the Middle East. On race weekends in March or April the entire area around Riffa fills with international visitors, and the atmosphere spills across Manama and the surrounding towns.

Outside race season the circuit offers track days, driving experiences, and tours of the facilities. The desert setting — the circuit is surrounded by sand on all sides, with the grandstands rising out of the flatness — gives it a slightly surreal quality that no amount of landscaping has fully eliminated. A short drive from Riffa and easily combined with a day out from Manama.

things to do sight
A story
When the Bahrain Grand Prix moved to a night race format in 2014, the circuit became the first in the world to hold a Formula 1 race under full floodlights. The transformation required 1,200 custom floodlights producing a combined output bright enough to be visible from space — a fact the circuit's marketing team have never been shy about.