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| Main straight and pit lane area | ||
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| 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 |
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| Circuit Length | 5.451 km (3.387 mi) | |
| Turns | 16 | |
| Lap Record | 1:32.238 ( Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004) |
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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.
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.
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".
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 |
*Intermediate circuit (4.600 km/2.858 mi)
Exterior of main grandstand
Main grandstand
View from the main grandstand
Covered grandstand H & K
Grandstand H & K
Pit
