Ecclestone wary of Bahrain trouble

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is aware of the prospect of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix becoming a PR catastrophe. With the race just five weeks away, Ecclestone knows it may well become a target, especially as there are reports of almost daily clashes in the Gulf kingdom between protesters and police. An extremist group in Bahrain, the Coalition Youth of the 14 Feb Revolution, have written to Ecclestone claiming they are planning to do everything they can to ensure the race does not go ahead. Ecclestone said: "They (the protesters) don't need to resort to violence." He added: "All they need to do is stand on the road on the way to the circuit, with placards, and they would get their message out there. Nobody's going to shoot them. "If I was the organiser I would wait until 4pm, or whenever the race starts, blocking the road, a few thousand of them, and then go home. "And if they successfully delay the race then they would get more coverage than they could dream of." Worse still, if just one death occurs or there is a terrorist attack whilst F1 is in town then that would reflect badly on the sport. "That's a danger," Ecclestone said in The Daily Telegraph. "Nothing you can do about that. It could happen anytime, anywhere. "There are always people threatening. I don't believe the organisers would take a risk if they thought there was a risk. Let's see."