MANAMA, Bahrain — The Sunni monarchy has been hoping that the Formula One Grand Prix, its showcase annual event, would restore Bahrain’s stature as a stable Persian Gulf kingdom, blighted after months of antigovernment protests by the Shiite majority that led to the cancellation of the race last year.

Instead, the opposite seems to be happening. While Bahraini officials vow that the Grand Prix will be held as planned on Sunday, Shiite opposition groups and rights organizations have denounced the race as a public relations stunt that has sought to mask what they call the monarchy’s failures to address causes of political discontent here.

Clashes between protesters and the police, which never really went away during 14 months of unrest, have intensified in the week leading up to the race, which opposition groups have called the “days of rage.” Cartoons ridiculing Bahrain’s crown prince and Bernie Ecclestone, the British leader of the Formula One race organization, have been scrawled on the walls of Shiite suburbs and villages, including one depicting them co-piloting a race car with tear gas bellowing from the tailpipes.

Bahraini officials and race organizers have reacted defensively, asserting the government is addressing the Shiite grievances. They have denounced news coverage of the protests, calling them isolated incidents, and barred some foreign journalists sent to cover the race, apparently fearing that they would report on the demonstrations. Security checkpoints and roadblocks line the route to the track; visitors pass through metal detectors and must surrender all liquids as if at an airport check-in.