Shanghai International Circuit

The Shanghai International Circuit is a permanent racing facility located in the outskirts of Shanghai, China. Since 2004, it hosts the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix yearly. It has also hosted various endurance championships, like the 4 hours of Shanghai for the World Endurance Championship, and races for the GT World Challenge Asia.

2 configurations are featured in the game, the Grand Prix configuration which is the most used one, and the Intermediate configuration, which is used for the World Touring Car Championship, the V8 Supercars and various national race classes.

**Shanghai International Circuit (GP)**
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 Main Race Class
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**Shanghai International Circuit (Intermediate)**
 Location
 Main Race Class
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## General Info

Shanghai International Circuit is a no-expense-spared facility, conceived by the Shanghai authorities as a way to showcase the city to the world, perhaps in retaliation to Beijing's securing of the Olympic Games.

A 5.3 sq km site was chosen in the Jiading District in the north west of the city, close to major car parts manufacturing facilities and a budget of 2.6 billion yuan ($450 million) raised though a government-funded joint-venture company. Herman Tilke was chosen to design the track and associated buildings, and between April and May 2003, engineers visited the site to draw up their plans.

The site was actually a swampland, previously used as rice paddy fields, and extensive groundworks had to be completed to construct the circuit. For 18 months some 3,000 workers were on site daily to complete the facility – a remarkable feat of both engineering and logistics.

When it opened, visitors found a vast complex, dominated by the main grandstand and pit complex, which featured wing-like viewing platforms crossing the circuit at either end.  This can hold 30,000 spectators alone, and others around the circuit take the total capacity to 200,000.  Paddock facilities were also unique – each of the F1 teams had its own building, arranged like pavilions in a lake to resemble the ancient Yuyan-Garden in Shanghai. It creates an amazingly tranquil spot for such a high-octane environment!

The track layout has also been inspired by Chinese culture, with the designers claiming to have drawn inspiration from the Chinese 'shang' symbol (上) for the overall configuration – though you do have to stretch your imagination quite a bit to see it in the final layout.

Driver reaction has been mixed – the never-ending turn one tends to divide opinion, and much of the course is quite twisty, until you reach the 1.2km back straight. Motorcycle racers use a different, and less severe, turns 5-6 complex, while the WTCC and V8 Supercars (on their lone visit in 2005) have made use of the intermediate layout which bypasses this section altogether.

## Trivia

* The circuit is the 5th Asian circuit to host a Formula One Grand Prix, after Fuji, Suzuka, TI Circuit Aida, and Sepang.
* The circuit is inspired by the Chinese Shang symbol.
* The circuit costs 450 million dollars, and is the most expensive racing facility ever build.

## See Also

* Formula One World Championship
* World Endurance Championship
* World Touring Car Championship
* Shanghai Pudong Circuit
* Shanghai Tianma Circuit
* Sepang International Circuit
* Bahrain International Circuit