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Shanghai International Circuit facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Shanghai International Circuit is a famous place in China where exciting motor racing events happen. It's located in the Jiading area, close to the big city of Shanghai. This circuit hosted its very first Formula One race, the Chinese Grand Prix, on September 26, 2004.

Quick facts for kids
Shanghai International Circuit
Shanghai F1 Circui 01.jpg
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
Shanghai International Racing Circuit track map.svg
Length 5.451 km (3.387 mi)
Turns 16
Race lap record 1:32.238 (Germany Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)

How the Circuit Was Built

The Shanghai International Circuit cost about $450 million to build. This huge project was paid for by a special company supported by the government. Experts in design and building started planning the circuit in April 2003.

It's amazing to think that this world-class racetrack was built on what used to be swampland! It took only 18 months to change the swamp into a racing circuit. A team of 3000 people worked day and night to finish the construction quickly.

What Races Happen Here?

Besides Formula One, the circuit has hosted many other exciting races. These include:

  • A round of the MotoGP world championship, which is for motorcycles.
  • The V8 Supercar championship from Australia.
  • The final races of the A1 Grand Prix series in 2006 and 2007.

The last MotoGP race at the Shanghai International Circuit was in 2008. The FIM (the group that runs motorcycle racing) decided not to have races there in 2009 because too many people came, causing overcrowding.

Circuit Design and Layout

Like many modern Formula One tracks, the Shanghai International Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. He is famous for designing racetracks around the world.

One of his special design features is a very long straight section followed by a sharp turn called a hairpin turn. On this long straight, between corners 13 and 14, Formula One cars can go faster than 300 kilometers per hour (about 186 miles per hour)!

The shape of the track was inspired by a Chinese character. It looks like the character "shang" (上), which is the first part of the city's name, Shanghai. This character means "above" or "ascend."

Racing Records

Here are some of the fastest lap times set at the Shanghai International Circuit. These times are for the full track, which is 5.451 kilometers long.

Category Record Driver/Rider Car/Bike Date
Formula One 1:32.238 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 26 September 2004
GP2 Asia Series 1:46.470 Japan Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 18 October 2008
A1GP 1:51.832 United Kingdom Darren Manning Team Great Britain 1 April 2006
MotoGP 1:58.139 United States Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 3 May 2008
250cc 2:04.543 Spain Jorge Lorenzo Fortuna Aprilia 5 May 2007
125cc 2:11.572 Finland Mika Kallio Red Bull KTM GP 125 13 May 2006
V8 Supercars 1:51.056 * Australia Todd Kelly Holden VZ Commodore 12 June 2005
  • This record was set on a shorter version of the circuit (4.600 km).

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Circuito Internacional de Shanghái para niños

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