Korea International Circuit
34°44′N 126°25′E / 34.733°N 126.417°E
 | |
| Location | Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea |
|---|---|
| Time zone | GMT +9 |
| Major events | FIA Formula One Korean Grand Prix Formula Three Korea Super Prix |
| Website | http://www.koreacircuit.kr |
| Length | 5.621 km (3.492 miles) |
| Turns | 18 |
| Race lap record | 1:39.605 ( Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing, 2011) |
The Korea International Circuit[1] is a 5.62 km (3.49 mi) motorsport circuit located in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea, 400 kilometres south of Seoul and near the port city of Mokpo. It is the venue for the F1 Korean Grand Prix after a $264 million (250 billion won) deal between Bernie Ecclestone and the Korean F1 promoter Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO – a joint venture between M-Bridge Holdings and Jeollanam-do regional government).[2][3]
History
German designer Hermann Tilke was given the responsibility of the design of the track. It is part permanent, part temporary. The temporary part is along the harbour side of the province where spectators from the promenade, hotels and yachts can view the race. Part of the city with possible exhibition facilities, shops, restaurants and cafes are utilized as the pit lane during the F1 Grand Prix weekend.
The first Formula One race was held at the track in 2010. The deal is for seven years, with a five-year option after that which would take the race until 2021.[4] The circuit is also set to mark the return of the Korea Super Prix in 2011. The Formula Three event, previous held at the Changwon City Raceway, last raced in 2003.[5][6]
It was announced on 2 September 2009, that the funding was in place to start construction at the site, and officials were confident the work would be completed in time to hold a Grand Prix in 2010. On 10 December 2009, the organisers of the event announced that they were on schedule, with a plan to finish the circuit on 5 July 2010, though they admitted that their largest problem lay in finding accommodation for all Formula One staff and spectators. The organisers also ruled out the possibility of staging the race at night until they have more knowledge of and experience in running a Grand Prix.
The inaugural Korean Grand Prix was run on 24 October[7] for the 2010 Formula One season. The event was the 17th out of 19 events during the season, after the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit. The capacity of the venue is 135,000 spectators.[8]
In the midst of speculation that the race would be aborted because the circuit would not be completed in time, organisers for the race announced the circuit's opening date to be 5 September 2010.[9]
On 4 September 2010, in an event called ‘Circuit Run 2010’, a Red Bull Racing Formula 1 show car using a V10 version of the current Renault engine, with Karun Chandhok at the wheel, completed 14 laps of the all new Korean Formula One Grand Prix circuit. Four thousand spectators travelled to the new track for the event.[10][11]
The final track inspection was delayed multiple times. Originally, the FIA technical delegates were due to inspect the circuit on 28 September 2010 in order to grant permission for F1 races to be held there, however the date was later moved to the 11 October, only 11 days before the first cars were scheduled to start first practice. Following a two-day track inspection, FIA race director Charlie Whiting described the Yeongam circuit as ‘satisfactory’ and announced the mandatory license would be issued through the Korea Automobile Racing Association (KARA).[12]
According to the Chonnam Yeongam Korean Formula One Grand Prix circuit, around 77 million dollars (88 billion won) was needed for the construction cost of the circuit, the amount requested by the scholarship that was used in the 52.8 billion won. However, it was difficult to secure the remaining 35.2 billion won this year, and was reported to be virtually no prospect of government aid to the Formula 1 project by the Korean government.[13]
The pit lane has been controversial due to its entry and exit. In 2010 the pit lane entry was deemed dangerous by drivers such as Robert Kubica because it is on the racing line on the exit of a 150 mph corner, so people pitting will be going significantly slower but still on the racing line. Kubica stated "it might be quite tight" and Jarno Trulli said that he was "worried about someone going into the back of him" when he was forced to pit in because he was stuck in gear.[14] The wall at Turn 17 was moved back in 2011 to improve visibility at that part of the track, so drivers on a hot lap can see drivers slowing to go into the pits.[15] The pit lane exit has also been criticised. It feeds into the outside of Turn 1. Although it is off the racing line, if a drivers locks up at the turn and runs wide, they could hit someone exiting the pits. This happened during practice for the 2010 Korean Grand Prix when Mercedes' Nico Rosberg ran wide and hit Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari. The exit was criticised by several drivers as well as Mercedes GP's team principal Ross Brawn. He said 'I have to say it's a little frustrating, with a brand new circuit like this, that we have that problem. Look at the number of cars that went off at turn one in first practice. With wet, difficult conditions, I think it was 20 or 30.' Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was 'an accident that was going to happen' given the poor design of the exit.' Nico Rosberg and Jarno Trulli also felt that the exit 'needed to be improved'.[16] Despite the problems, there is little room for improvement to the exit. The only solutions could be extending the pit lane right around the run off at turn 1 and feeding it into the straight between turns 2 and 3, or feeding the pit lane under the track and getting it to exit after turn 2.
A lap in a Formula One car
The circuit starts with a double left hander, turn 1 is a tight left hander taken in gear 2, and then you accelerate all the way around turn 2.[17] This leads onto the longest Formula One straight in Asia, at about 1.2km[18] Then there is a tight right hander, the slowest on the circuit, taken in gear 2. This is a good overtaking opportunity because you can out brake your opponent. This leads onto the support pits straight. Turn 4 is another good overtaking spot, for the same reason as turn 3. It is a left hander, taken in gear 2. Turn 5 follows immediately after. It is a tight right hander taken in gear 2, before another slow gear 2 left hander. Turns 7 and 8 make up a fast right-left chicane. Turn 9 is taken in gear 5 and is a fast, flowing left hander. Turn 10 is yet another slow turn, this time a right hander. Walls run very close to the entry here. Then turn 11 is a long medium speed left hander, and the walls on the right hand side make it street-circuit like. Turn 12 is a short right hander. Walls run very close to the circuit once again by the entry of turn 13, which is a tight left hander. Turn 14 is a right hander and turn 15 is a very slow left hander, taken in gear 2. Turn 16 is a short left hander, then turn 17 is a long, right hander surrounded by walls. It is taken in gear 5. Turn 18 is a left handed kink which leads onto the pit straight.
Construction Issues
Although completion of the circuit was due July 2010, excessive rainfall caused delays in soil improvement. The delay of the construction caused the inspection by FIA to be delayed for 20 days to 11 October, 10 days before the Korean Grand Prix. However, some facilities were still incompleted, and the pavement was only paved up to the 1st layer.
Issues in the first Korean Grand Prix
Although the circuit is close to the city centre, it is more than 400km away from the main international airports, causing F1 Personnel to travel more than 4 hours by car. Also, accommodation were a big issue, as there were a extremely small number of hotels nearby. Therefore, F1 teams such as Scuderia Ferrari had to stay in a Sex Mall.
See also
References
- ^ "About KIC". KAVO. Korea Auto Valley Operation. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ "Korean F1 – Formula 1 in South Korea". seoulkoreaasia.com. 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ "South Korea to host F1 race from 2010". rediff.com. 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ "South Korea confirms". grandprix.com. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Freeman, Glenn (ed.) (2009-12-17). "Pit & Paddock: Brazil wants big F3 race". Autosport. 198 (12): p. 22.
{{cite journal}}:|first=has generic name (help);|page=has extra text (help) - ^ http://www.f3brazilopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Autosport-F3-article.jpg
- ^ "2010 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar". formula1.com. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ "Korean International Circuit". espnf1.com. 2009-Nov. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Korean GP track to open on September 5th". f1fanatic.co.uk. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ "F1: Red Bull Formula 1 Car Turns a Wheel in Korea with Karun Chandok Driving". fisa.com. 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ "F1 Showrun South Korea circuit with Chandhok". youtube.com. 2010-09-07. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ "FIA to give green light to Korean Grand Prix circuit". formula1.com. 2010-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
- ^ "전남 F1대회 국고 예산반영 또 좌절…정부 뒷짐 `우려'". NAVER.com. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- ^ "F1 drivers criticise 'dangerous' new Korea track". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ "Improved visibility at Korea's pit lane entrance". GP Update.net. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ "Mercedes have fears over pit lane safety". MailOnline. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ "Korean International Circuit - Circuit diagramurl=http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/korea_879/circuit_diagram.html". Formula 1™.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ "Korean International Circuit Guide". Formula 1™. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
External links
