AS THE scheduled date of April 22nd for the Bahrain Grand Prix approaches, debate is again raging over whether Formula One should go. Last year, Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's supremo, was widely criticised for persisting in efforts to stage a race in the kingdom, after anti-government protests by the majority Shia population prompted a brutal crackdown by the Sunni-dominated regime. At the very last moment, with racing equipment already air-freighted out to the desert, the race was cancelled. Will Mr Ecclestone hold firm this time?

Many fans fail to understand why Formula One cannot simply stay away from Bahrain. The race is just one of 20 Grands Prix scheduled for 2012, and there is no shortage of countries waiting to take Bahrain's place. Last year's fiasco, with u-turns over whether or not to go to the kingdom, turned into a public-relations disaster. Mr Ecclestone competed with himself to make impolitic, cynical statements—the protests, he said, were nothing more than “a few skirmishes”—and left the sport looking greedy and out of touch.

In November last year Bahrain's government published an independent report into human-rights abuses committed by its security forces. (Mr Ecclestone and Jean Todt, the head of the sport's governing body, who also pushed hard to go to Bahrain, have doubtless pored over every detail). The study, which was ordered by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, details how Shia prisoners were systematically tortured and women threatened with rape. The government's willingness to publish the truth about itself has, however, changed the atmosphere. When several British peers demanded a second cancellation of the Grand Prix in a letter last week, a parliamentary group on Bahrain responded that a cancellation could damage genuine efforts at reform.

Racing in Bahrain and in other new markets is a crucial part of Mr Ecclestone's strategy for Formula One. The first Grand Prix was held in the kingdom in 2004. The Bahrainis sprayed a special glue on the desert to stop sand flying in drivers' faces, and Formula One's teams agreed to replace celebratory booze with warrd, a non-alcoholic fruit drink. Pit girls had to cover up. But it was worth it: races at Bahrain's lavish new circuit have outperformed expectations, drawing record television audiences, largely due to the relatively small time difference with European viewers. In 2008 Bahrain's race was the second-most watched of the season.

The strength of the relationship between Formula One and Bahrain's monarchy was made clear following last year's controversy. Initially, Mr Ecclestone declared that he would be taking the financial hit for the cancellation of Bahrain's Grand Prix. It later emerged that Bahrain would still pay its $40m hosting fee even though there was no race.

Formula One's traditional markets in Europe, of course, have never presented such dilemmas. But Mr Ecclestone recently declared that “Europe is finished”, and plans to move Formula One away from its historical heartland to expand into Middle Eastern and Asian markets. European circuits used to dominate, but will claim fewer than half of the races this season. The governments of countries such as China, Abu Dhabi and Singapore are willing to pay higher fees than long-established, privately-owned European circuits. Race-hosting fees have now taken over from the sale of television rights as Formula One's biggest source of revenue.

Tapping into fast-growing markets is the strategy of any sensible multinational rich-world company. But Bahrain shows the difficulty for such a high-profile sport. Ironically, the kingdom was chosen in 2003 because it was considered to be one of the Middle East's safest and most stable countries. Future Grands Prix in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere may well face similar problems. A recent new deal scheduled for 2014 the first-ever Grand Prix in Russia, where anti-government protests have dramatically gained strength of late. Mr Ecclestone badly needs to set a precedent for pressing ahead with a Grand Prix despite an unpleasant political environment. If he doesn't go to Bahrain, his entire business strategy could be called into question.