Abu Dhabi: Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone is confident the Bahrain Grand Prix will return next year while Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa said he was fully behind the event.
The event was cancelled this year due to unrest in the kingdom.
But when Ecclestone was asked if it would take place next year, he said: "We wouldn't have put it in the calendar otherwise."
Salman said: "Just like any other country that's faced troubles in the past, we will move beyond it, we will learn from it and we will grow.
"This sport has a great following. You saw our marshals in India and the courage with which they carried themselves and I would be very sad to let them down, as well as the Bahraini and Gulf fans.
"We're doing all that we can to make the race — our race — a great success."
Salman spoke about the independent report into the situation which was recently conducted.
"At times, we feel like we were caricatured in some ways — good guys versus bad guys — when, in truth, the reality is much more complex," he said.
"But, we are very hopeful that this report will lay to rest a lot of those ambiguities and those who have something to be ashamed of must be held accountable and those who tried their best to keep the country together, by working on positive projects and community outreach, should be proud of what they did.
"The race is a symbol of our national unity. On Friday, we had a soccer game and everyone was cheering for the same flag and that's what we want to do — we want to bring back to the forefront our spirit of nationalism, which is there and is strong. This race is part of our passion, so we look forward to it.
"It is seen as the prime symbol of moderation of the country. Anyone with a moderate, global agenda knows that that race is what ties Bahrain to the world.
"Extremists on either side might disagree. But, there's always going to be [opposition] — there's going to be a Green Party somewhere in Europe that is opposed to a race.
"But, the majority of people, especially those that love their country and want it to be a part of the world, support it and they will have my support for that."
