AP PHOTOS: Formula One fans flock to Bahrain for the first race of the season in Mideast

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Roaring engines again filled the air for the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, the first F1 race of the season in the Middle East.

The race, now in its 21st year, made history as the first Formula One race in the Middle East in 2004. Today, it marks the first of the season in the Mideast, which this year will also see races in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Locals, foreign workers and international visitors flocked to the race, in Sakhir outside of Bahrain’s capital, Manama, as the first signs of the region’s intense summer heat was felt. Some tried their luck in racing simulators, while henna artists offered their temporary tattooing to those unfamiliar with the Mideast tradition.

The rulers of Bahrain, a small island kingdom in the Persian Gulf just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, have long taken an interest in racing — particularly Bahrain’s Crown Prince Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, who encouraged the kingdom’s investments in McLaren through its Mumtalakat Holding Co. sovereign wealth fund.

However, the race has drawn scrutiny to Bahrain in the past, particularly after the kingdom crushed its 2011 Arab Spring protests with the help of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The past weekend’s race and the preparations around it saw no major disruptions, though police temporarily detained one activist in the lead up over his posts on social media.

As a photographer now based in Dubai after years in India, it can be difficult to shoot candid photos in the region given security concerns and other restrictions journalists face in the Middle East.

But at the race, people were more open to my camera — even excited to be photographed. That made the experience not only refreshing, but deeply human.