The organisers of the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix have said that the race will be switched to night-time next year to mark the event’s tenth anniversary.

Speaking to Autosport at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, the Bahrain circuit chairman Zayed Al Zayani said that an official announcement on the move is imminent.

Zayani also told the website that he had asked F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to move the Bahrain race back from being the proposed opener for next season, so that they can finish required upgrades for a night race. A provisional date for next year’s event had been March 2.

“We requested from Bernie not to be the first grand prix of the year because we are undergoing a major refurbishment of our track to commemorate the 10th anniversary,” Al Zayani told Autosport. “We didn’t want to be squeezed for time.”

He added that organisers were still deciding whether the race would be held at twilight, like that in Abu Dhabi, or if would begin later in the evening.

The last three races in the Gulf state have been marred by internal unrest, with security forces battling with protesters looking to overthrow the ruling Khalifa dynasty.