MANAMA (Reuters) - Formula One cars take to the track in Bahrain on Friday, with the government hoping a successful Grand Prix will draw a line under more than a year of Arab Spring protests while activists are promising to mark it with "days of rage".
On the eve of the first practice session, protests flared in villages surrounding the capital, far from the circuit where the race will be held. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have been building in the week leading to Sunday's round of the World Championship.