Jan.25 (GMM) Bahrain will likely not host a sell-out crowd at March's formula one season opener.

The desert Kingdom has taken over from Melbourne for 2010 as the venue of the first race of the season, but it has not been enough of a boost to ensure entirely full grandstands.

"We have a total capacity of 34,000 but I would expect the number (on Sunday) to go to 32,000," circuit CEO Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, who has taken over from Martin Whitaker, told Arabian Business.

Only 28,000 attended last year's Bahrain GP, which was the fourth round on the 2009 calendar.

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