Zhuhai International Circuit
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| Zhuhai circuit layout | |
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| Location | Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China |
| Time zone | GMT+8 |
| Major Events | FIA GT Championship and A1GP |
| Circuit Length | 4.3 km (2.7 mi) |
| Turns | 14 |
| Banking | No |
| Lap Record | 1:23.203 (Michael Ammermüller, A1 Team Germany, 2007, A1GP) |
| Lap Record | 1:30.661 (Christophe Bouchut, Russian Age Racing, 2005 GT1) |
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.
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[edit] Track 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 900 metres (0.56 mi) 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.
[edit] Event Organizer
Zhuhai International Circuit Co Ltd is also a prominent motorsport event organizer and promoter in China. It has organized and promoted the FIA GT Championship in China and in 2007, it has also signed a contract with China Motorcycle Sports Association to promote the inaugural China Superbike Championship.
[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.
On 1 Aug 2007, A1GP announced that Zhuhai International Circuit will be staging the fifth round of the 2007/08 A1GP series. [1] This took place on 2007-12-16.
[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] National Races
Zhuhai International Circuit is the promoter of the China Superbike Championship, established in 2007 and sanctioned by the China Motorcycle Sports Association, CMSA.
ZIC also organizes the Circuit Hero and Circuit Hero GT race series, which allows mainland Chinese nationals are able to take part.
[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. F1 subsequently races in Shanghai, China.
[edit] Champ Car
In May of 2007 Champ Car scheduled a 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. The series had problems with its promoter, which is currently being settle in a court in the US, and replace them with a new promoter. The new promoter did not have enough time to organize the race on the original May date and so the race was provisionally moved to October of 2007. When the series failed to get FIA approval for the October date the 2007 race was cancelled. The series is currently looking to race at Zhuhai in 2008.
[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.
[edit] Kart Circuit
A Kart circuit was also added to the facility in 2004.
[edit] External links
- Zhuhai International Circuit - official website
- FIA GT Championship - official website
- Asian Festival of Speed - official website
- Champ Car World Series - official website
- Trackpedia guide to driving and racing Zhuhai
- A1GP info of Zhuhai International Circuit
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
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