ROSBERG TO START FROM POLE POSITION IN HISTORIC BAHRAIN F1 NIGHT RACE

Manama, Apr 5 (BNA) – Nico Rosberg claimed pole position this evening as Mercedes locked up the front row for the 2014 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. Rosberg topped the qualifying timesheet for the second year in a row at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir, this time doing it under the all-new, state-of-the-art floodlights. The German marginally pipped teammate Lewis Hamilton to the number one starting position for tomorrow’s (Sunday, April 6) first-ever Formula One night race in Bahrain. Hamilton was previously the heavy favourite heading into qualifying, having been dominant since the start of the weekend’s events by setting the pace in all three practice sessions. But it was Rosberg who stole the show in the event that mattered most, and with both Mercedes drivers doing well, the team popularly known as “The Silver Arrows” continued their impressive start to the new Formula One season. “It's fantastic to be on pole again here in Bahrain,” Rosberg said. “I really enjoy the track and I won my GP2 Series title here so it has some pretty special memories for me. “We've had a good weekend so far and I've been able improve my pace throughout the practice sessions so I was hoping for a strong qualifying. “It's so difficult to get everything completely right with all the new technology and set-up requirements on the car but I felt really comfortable this evening and was able to put some great laps together. “I'm looking forward to the race as I had a good run on high fuel but we're going to need to be careful with tyre degradation.” By setting the fastest lap of one minute 33.185 seconds in Q3, Rosberg earned Mercedes their third successive pole in as many rounds to start the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship. Hamilton’s Q3 best was 1:33.464. The 2008 World champion had captured pole the previous two rounds, although he and Rosberg shared the honours by the end of each weekend’s racing. Rosberg emerged triumphant in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne while Hamilton claimed a pole-to-flag win at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. “Second place is pretty good for us today,” commented Hamilton, who topped today’s third practice with a best lap of 1:35.324. “I made a mistake on my last lap which was a shame but it's great for the team to have both cars on the front row. “They've done a fantastic job this weekend with the set-up simulations and we did a lot of testing here before the season started which has helped. “The car has felt good so far but I definitely felt more comfortable in practice than I did this evening in qualifying. “Congratulations to Nico today, he's done a great job so far this weekend and nailed a really quick lap in qualifying. I'm happy that it's my team-mate there on pole and not someone else!” Qualifying behind the front pair was Daniel Ricciardo of reigning World champions Red Bull. He had a fastest lap of 1:34.051, giving him a much more positive qualifying than teammate and four-time World champion Sebastian Vettel, who was unceremoniously knocked out in Q2. Valtteri Bottas put in a fine effort for Williams by qualifying for row two with a best lap of 1:34.247. Sergio Perez of Force India followed with a 1:34.346 lap, while Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari rounded out the top six qualifiers with a 1:34.368 lap. Jenson Button (1:34.387) qualified seventh for what is set to be the 250th Grand Prix start of his illustrious career. Williams’s Felipe Massa (1:34.511), McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen (1:34.712) and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (1:34.992) completed the top 10. Dropping out of Q2 alongside Vettel were Nico Hulkenberg of Force India, Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne of Toro Rosso, Esteban Gutierrez of Sauber and Romain Grosjean of Lotus. Missing out on Q2 and set to start from 17th to 22nd in Sunday’s night race will be Pastor Maldonado of Lotus, Adrian Sutil of Sauber, Caterham pair Kamui Koabayashi and Marcus Ericsson, and Marussia tandem Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton. Tomorrow’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled to flag off at 6pm. It will be run over 57 laps or a maximum of 120 minutes. All are invited to enjoy the region’s biggest sporting and social occasion. Doors open at 11am and there will be plenty of fun and entertainment both on and off the track prior to the Grand Prix. THE SCORPIONS AND AFROJACK PUT ON SPECTACULAR LIVE PERFORMANCES The weekend’s main attractions off of the race track took centre stage tonight as The Scorpions and Afrojack both put on a show to remember for their legions of fans. Legendary rock band the Scorpions kicked things off with their live performance, to be followed by two-time Grammy Award-winning DJ Afrojack. Their shows were part of the fantastic line-up of off-track entertainment put together by BIC in celebration of the circuit’s 10th anniversary and the landmark 10th edition of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. FANTASTIC “10 EVERY 10” RAFFLE DURING FIRST-EVER NIGHT RACE Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) unbelievable “10 EVERY 10” raffle campaign continues on Sunday with another 200 lucky winners set to emerge. Fans attending the 57-lap Bahrain Grand Prix and who are seated on the Main Grandstand will have a chance to win fantastic prizes every 10 minutes during Bahrain’s first-ever night race. Sixty winners were already drawn during today’s Formula One Qualifying. They were able to take home valuable high-end electronic devices such as brand new Apple iPhone 5S and 5C models, Apple iPad Airs, Samsung S4s and Samsung Note 3s. The exciting raffle continues Sunday for all those who are seated on the Main Grandstand. Winners will be identified by their seat numbers; therefore, they must be in their seat in order to claim their prize. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity and make sure you are seated for the duration of the race. A team from BIC will be on hand at the Main Grandstand to hand over the winnings. Draws will be held by BIC management in the presence of a representative from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. F1 DRIVERS MEET ADORING FANS IN AUTOGRAPH SIGNING SESSION Hundreds of fans were treated to the thrill of meeting Formula One’s biggest stars in an autograph session held this evening in front of BIC’s Paddock Club. All of Formula One’s top stars were at the autograph session, including Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen for McLaren, and Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas for Williams. Also on hand were Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez of Force India, Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez of Sauber, Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso, Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson of Caterham, Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi of Marussia and Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado of Lotus. VANDOORNE STORMS TO SEASON-OPENING VICTORY IN GP2 SERIES McLaren test driver Stoffel Vandoorne made an impressive debut to his GP2 career today after racing to an impressive victory in the weekend’s feature race. Vandoorne’s finish earned him a winning start to the 2014 championship, as GP2 is holding its season-opening round in support of the 2014 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The first-year ART Grand Prix driver started on the front row alongside pole-sitter Jolyon Palmer of DAMS and on the very first turn took over as leader. After taking his mandatory pit stop early on in lap nine, the Belgian rejoined the race still within the top 10 but was gradually able to fight his way back to the top. Vandoorne regained the lead with only three laps to go. He claimed the chequered flag with a winning time of 59 minutes 57.411 seconds. “It was a very good race for us starting from P2,” said Vandoorne. “I had a really good start. I took the lead and leading the opening lap was a key I think. “That was a good race. We managed to keep the lead and that’s what counts in the end.” Julian Leal of Carlin finished as the runner-up 1.551 seconds behind, while pole man Palmer had to settle for third place with a 5.880s gap from the victor. Stefano Coletti of Racing Engineering was fourth, Arthur Pic of Campos Racing fifth, while Vandoorne’s teammate Takuya Izawa rounded out the top six. ASHKANANI CLAIMS POLE-TO-FLAG WIN IN PORSCHE GT3 CUP Zaid Ashkanani claimed a fine pole-to-flag victory today in the first race of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East’s exhibition round, being held in support of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. After earlier in the day grabbing pole position with a fastest lap of two minutes 04.290 seconds, Ashkanani managed to hold on to his lead at the rolling start, and never let go of first place the rest of the way. The recently crowned GT3 Cup champion clocked an overall winning time of 20:53.405. He finished 3.099s ahead of Saudi runner-up Fahad Algosaibi, while Bahraini ace Mohammed Mattar joined them on the podium after finishing 5.807s behind. Race stewards later announced that Algosaibi and Mattar would switch their final classifications. Saeed Al Mehairi of the UAE followed in fourth place 7.571s behind the winner, while Bahrain’s Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa finished in fifth with a 12.592s gap from Ashkanani. SUNDAY’S TIMETABLE OF EVENTS TIME CATEGORY SESSION 2.15pm GP2 Series Sprint Race (23 laps) 3.30pm Formula One Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk 3.30pm Porsche GT3 Cup Race two (10 laps) 4.30pm Formula One Drivers’ Track Parade 4.45pm Formula One Start Grid Presentation 5.45pm Formula One Grid Formation 5.46pm Formula One National Anthem 6pm Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix AHN