Bahrain Replaces Australia As F1 Opener

The Australian Grand Prix, traditionally the curtain raiser for the F1 season,
has been pushed further down the calendar in 2008 in favour of starting the year
at Bahrain.

The £80m Sakhir circuit which has staged the Bahrain Grand Prix since it was
added to the F1 calendar in 2004 will now become the season opener.

Bahrain secured its place on the F1 calendar for a further five years until
2013 after reaching a new agreement with Formula One Management at the turn of
this year.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) has also said that the Melbourne
race would start 90 minutes later than usual to cater for European TV viewers
but would not be transferring to a night race as had been suggested in some
circles.

The new time slow means the race will start at 4.30am in the UK rather than
the usual 3am.