Zhuhai International Circuit

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ZIC logo

The circuit from the main grandstand.

The final corner and the pit lane entrance.

Zhuhai International Circuit (ZIC) is located at Jin Ding town in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.

Motorsport started in Zhuhai when it hosted a race on its street course in 1993, racing continued until 1996 when the motor racing circuit was constructed with Formula 1 in mind. The first international race held at the circuit was the BPR Global GT Series. The circuit soon became the hotbed of local motorsports with teams from Hong Kong and Macau setting up their bases inside the circuit garages.

1 Track Layout
2 Lap record
3 International Races
4 Asian Races
5 HTCC and MTCC
6 Formula 1 ambitions
7 Track Rentals
8 Kart Circuit
9 External links

[edit] Track Layout

Zhuhai circuit layout

The circuit is 4.3km long and has 14 turns. 9 of them are right turns and 5 are left turns. The circuit runs clockwise only. The longest straight is the start/finish straight which is 900m long. It is an FIA Grade II certified circuit.

[edit] Lap record

The fastest qualifying lap ever at the circuit was set by a Formula Asia V6 by Renault on October 20, 2006. Driven by Karun Chandhok, it managed a lap of 1:30.033.

The fastest unofficial lap ever at the circuit was set by a 2007 Panoz DP01 Champ Car on November 30, 2006. Driven by Roberto Moreno, it managed a lap of 1:23.612 during a demonstration run. When Champ Car arrives in May for their first race ever in China the official lap record is expected to fall dramatically.

[edit] International Races

In 1997, ZIC welcomed the new FIA GT Championship. In 1999, the circuit held the FIA GT Championship again, after that the circuit went quite on the international scene for 5 years.

In 2004, the circuit was fully renovated and once again the FIA GT Championship was staged. On 2004-11-14, the two Maserati MC12s of AF Corse scored a 1-2 at the track.

The FIA GT Championship was staged from 2005-10-21 to 2005-10-23 and the GPLK Corvette C5-R won the race. The GruppeM Porsches won GT2. The Hong Kong Le Mans Team and the Malaysian Proton R3 Amprex team also took part.

The FIA GT Championship race has been postponed to 25 March 2007 from October 2006, in order to keep clear of the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix in early October and the Macau Grand Prix in the middle of November. The race was won by All-Inkl.com racing's Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mucke. GT2 class was won by AF Corse's Ferrari 430, with Dirk Müller and Toni Vilander at the wheel. See also: 2007 FIA GT Zhuhai 2 Hours.

The Champ Car World Series is scheduled to race at the circuit for the very first time on 20 May 2007. [1]

[edit] Asian Races

The Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) was held at the circuit from 2006-10-20 to 2006-10-22, when a record 33,000 people turned up to watch the races.

AFOS has been held at the circuit many times since its inception in 1994.

The Asian Formula Three Championship is also hosted by the circuit annually.

In addition, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship race at ZIC in December annually.

[edit] HTCC and MTCC

The Hong Kong Touring Car Championship and the Macau Touring Car Championship both run the majority of their races at ZIC since they begun.

[edit] Formula 1 ambitions

ZIC was included in the provisional 1999 F1 calendar. But the circuit subsequently lost its place in the calendar due to logistical problems. In May of 2007 Champ Car will race at Zhuhai. A multi year deal was announced in 2006 that will bring this American version of F1 to China for the first time. F1 subsequently races in Shanghai, China.

[edit] Track Rentals

Since 2005, the circuit has become a hive of track activities, with a large number of auto-related launches and events held at the circuit, as the battle for car sales in China heat up. Auto dealers and manufacturers try to lure more customers by allowing them to drive freely on the track and pampering them off it.