An army of around 14,000 people is working to make sure that this year's Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is a success.

This includes approximately 9,000 personnel preparing the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) for the showcase event, plus more than 4,000 who will be on duty at the track during the race weekend, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Among them are around 2,000 catering staff whose job is to ensure tens of thousands of Formula One enthusiasts do not go hungry.

“Last year, 4,600 (staff) passes were issued for the F1 weekend,” Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa told the GDN in an exclusive interview.

“Expect similar numbers this year.

“This year, we've issued about 9,000 pre-contractor passes, which expire on the Tuesday before the race.”

Bahrain is hosting a leg of the FIA Formula One World Championship for the 11th time this year.

The first took place in 2004 and tens of thousands are expected to visit the BIC during the three-day event, which commences with practice on April 17, followed by qualifying on April 18 and the race itself on April 19.

“Do and Co are an international catering company and they do the Paddock Club for all of F1,” said Shaikh Salman.

“Pfefferkorn Catering does our corporate boxes and lounges, but they're local.

“For the normal catering, there's a mix - but they're all local.

“For all of catering, under that set-up, I'd say [we have] about 2,000 working when you include the Gulf Air tent, the cooks, waiters, set-up and logistics.”

Preparation for the event has included training activities for the 850 race marshals, who will be on hand to ensure it passes smoothly.

This included training during GP2 testing that took place in Bahrain.

“We did Virtual Safety Car training and everything that's new in F1 to get them to understand it,” said Shaikh Salman.

Virtual Safety Car is the name given to new technology that enables race controllers to inform drivers directly when they need to slow down in the event of an emergency, meaning there is no longer any need for an actual safety car.

“It's been 11 years with the marshals (on duty) so everyone knows what they need to do,” said Shaikh Salman.

“There's always the challenge every year of having a good race and that really comes down to the decision you take.

“The decisions are based on experience and listening to the race controller - the blue flags especially (which mean a driver is about to be lapped and should allow the faster car to go past) and how they affect the race.

“If you saw Malaysia (Grand Prix), Vettel was saying 'blue flags, please' because he was leading.

“If the cars don't get out of his way, people catch up and he could lose the race just because of what the marshals are doing.

“The girl on the radio does an amazing job, I listen to her on the radio.”

Meanwhile, Economic Development Board member and Tamkeen vice-chairman Khalid Al Ameen said that this year's race is expected to generate revenues of $500 million to $600 million, said a report in our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej.

Revenues generated from ticket sales last year increased by 29 per cent, while the number of visitors rose by 150 per cent compared with 2013, he said.

This year, ticket sales have so far increased by 22 per cent compared with the same period last year, while hotel room reservations registered a 14 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, he said. - TradeArabia News Service