Shanghai International Circuit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Shanghai International Circuit
	Main straight and pit lane area
Location	Shanghai, China
Time zone	GMT +8
Opened	2004
Construction cost	$450 million
Architect	Hermann Tilke
Major events	FIA Formula One; Chinese Grand Prix; V8 Supercars; A1 Grand Prix; Grand Prix of Nations, China
Length	5.451 km (3.387 mi)
Turns	16
Race lap record	1:32.238 ( Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)

The Shanghai International Circuit is a Chinese motor racing venue. It is in the district of Jiading near Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. It was the venue of the first Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on 26 September 2004.

History

The circuit costing about $450 million (USD). It was paid for by a government-funded joint-venture company. This company was made up of the Shanghai Juss Corporation, Shanghai National Property Management Co Ltd, and Shanghai Jia'an Investment and Development Co Ltd. Architectural and design experts began visiting the site by April 2003. The site was transformed from swampland to an international racetrack in 18 months. A team of 3000 worked around the clock to finish the construction.

Other events held at the circuit include a round of the MotoGP world championship, the Australian-based V8 Supercar championship, and also the final round of the A1 Grand Prix in 2006 and 2007.

The 2008 MotoGP race was the last one at Shanghai International Circuit. The FIM didn't select the circuit for 2009 because of overcrowding problems.

Layout

Like many new Formula One circuits, Shanghai International Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. It features his trademark track feature: a long back straight followed by a hairpin turn. Current-generation F1 cars can easily exceed 300 km/h (186 mph) on the long straight between corners 13 and 14. The track layout was inspired from the Chinese character shang (上). Shang is the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, and means "above" or "ascend".

Records

Times below are driven over a distance of 5.451 km.

Category	Record	Driver/Rider	Car/Bike	Date
Formula One	1:32.238	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	26 September 2004
GP2 Asia Series	1:46.470	Kamui Kobayashi	DAMS	18 October 2008
A1GP	1:51.832	Darren Manning	Team Great Britain	1 April 2006
MotoGP	1:58.139	Colin Edwards	Tech 3 Yamaha	3 May 2008
250cc	2:04.543	Jorge Lorenzo	Fortuna Aprilia	5 May 2007
125cc	2:11.572	Mika Kallio	Red Bull KTM GP 125	13 May 2006
V8 Supercars	1:51.056 *	Todd Kelly	Holden VZ Commodore	12 June 2005