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Sepang International Circuit

Coordinates: 2°45′38″N 101°44′15″E / 2.76056°N 101.73750°E / 2.76056; 101.73750
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Sepang International Circuit
Litar Antarabangsa Sepang
File:Sepang International Circuit logo.png
LocationSepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Time zoneUTC+08:00
Coordinates2°45′38″N 101°44′15″E / 2.76056°N 101.73750°E / 2.76056; 101.73750
Capacity130,000
FIA Grade1[N 1]
Broke ground1 November 1997; 27 years ago (1997-11-01)
Opened7 March 1999; 25 years ago (1999-03-07)
Architect1998 Hermann Tilke - 2016 Jarno Zaffelli
Major eventsCurrent:
MotoGP
Malaysian Grand Prix
(1999–2019, 2022)
GT World Challenge Asia
(2017–2019, 2022)
Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race
Formula 4 South East Asia Championship (2016–2019, 2022)
Former:
Formula One
Malaysian Grand Prix
(1999–2017)
FIA WTCR Race of Malaysia (2019)
World SBK (2014–2016)
FIM EWC (2019)
Asian Le Mans Series
(2013–2020)
F3 Asia (2018–2020)
GP2 (2012–2013, 2016)
GP2 Asia (2008–2009)
GP3 (2016)
Super GT (2008–2013)
TCR International (2015–2016)
A1 Grand Prix (2005–2008)
Formula Nippon (2004)
Sepang 12 Hours (2000–2017)
Websitehttps://www.sepangcircuit.com/home
Main Circuit (1999–present)
Length5.543 km (3.445 miles)
Turns15
Race lap record1:34.080 (Germany Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF70H, 2017)
North Circuit
Length2.706 km (1.681 miles)
Turns9
South Circuit
Length2.609 km (1.621 miles)
Turns8
Sepang International Circuit Sdn Bhd
Company typeGovernment-linked company
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
HeadquartersJalan Pekeliling, 64000 Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Key people
Mohamed Azman Yahya, Chairman
Azhan Shafriman Hanif, Chief Executive Officer
ParentMinister of Finance Incorporated
Websitewww.sepangcircuit.com

The Sepang International Circuit (Malay: Litar Antarabangsa Sepang) is a motorsport race track in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located approximately 45 km (28 mi) south of Kuala Lumpur, and close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It hosted the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix between 1999 and 2017, and is also the venue for the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race and other major motorsport events.

History

Sepang International Circuit Grandstand.

The circuit was designed by German designer Hermann Tilke, who would subsequently design circuits including in Shanghai, Sakhir, Istanbul, Marina Bay and Yas Marina. As part of a series of major infrastructure projects in the 1990s under Mahathir Mohamad's government, the Sepang International Circuit was constructed between 1997 and 1999 close to Putrajaya, the then-newly founded administrative capital of the country, with the intent of hosting the Malaysian Grand Prix. Similar to other of the country's circuits, the circuit is known for its unpredictable humid tropical weather, varying from clear furnace hot days to tropical rain storms.

The circuit was officially inaugurated by the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad on 7 March 1999 at 20:30 MST (UTC+08:00). He subsequently went on to inaugurate the first Moto GP Malaysian Grand Prix on 20 April 1999 (see 1999 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix) and the first Formula One Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix on 17 October 1999 (see 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix).

Petronas sponsored the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix as the title sponsor since its inaugural race in 1999.

On 23 October 2011, on the second lap of the MotoGP Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix, the Italian motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli died following a crash in turn 11 on Lap 2, resulting in an abandonment of the race.

The track was completely resurfaced in 2016 with the support of italian designers Dromo, with several corners reprofiled to emphasize mechanical, rather than aerodynamic grip. Notably, the final corner was raised by approximately 1 meter[1], which officials claimed would force drivers to take a later apex and explore different racing lines through the hairpin.

In October 2016 it was rumored that the Sepang circuit may be dropped from the Formula One calendar due to dwindling ticket sales, and held its nineteenth and last World Championship Grand Prix in 2017.[2] The race's contract was due to expire in 2018, but its future had been under threat due to rising hosting fees and declining ticket sales.

Layout

View from Mall Area, Main Grandstand North, Lower Tier.

The main circuit, normally raced in a clockwise direction, is 5.543 km (3.444 mi) long, and is noted for its sweeping corners and wide straights.[citation needed] The layout is quite unusual, with a 927 m (1,014 yd) long back straight separated from the pit straight by just one very tight hairpin.

Other configurations of the Sepang circuit can also be used. The north circuit is also raced in a clockwise direction. It is basically the first half of the main circuit. The course turns back towards the pit straight after turn 6 and is 2.706 km (1.681 mi) long in total.

The south circuit is the other half of the racecourse. The back straight of the main circuit becomes the pit straight when the south circuit is in use, and joins onto turn 8 of the main circuit to form a hairpin turn. Also run clockwise, this circuit is 2.609 km (1.621 mi) in length.

Sepang International Circuit also features kart racing and motocross facilities.

Track configurations

  • Sepang GP Circuit
    Sepang GP Circuit
  • Sepang North Circuit
    Sepang North Circuit
  • Sepang South Circuit
    Sepang South Circuit
  • Sepang Kart Circuit
    Sepang Kart Circuit

A lap in a Formula One car

Lewis Hamilton during the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Sepang starts with a long pit straight where the DRS zone exists – crucial for drivers to get a good exit out of the last corner to gain as much speed as possible. Turn 1 is a very long, slow corner taken in second gear. Most drivers brake incredibly late and lose speed gradually as they file round the corner, similar to Shanghai's first turn but slower. Turn 1 leads straight into Turn 2, a tight left hairpin which goes downhill quite significantly. The first two corners are quite bumpy, making it hard to put power onto the track.[3] Turn 3 is a long flat out right hander which leads into Turn 4 – known locally as the Langkawi Curve[4] – a second gear, right-angle right-hander. Turns 5 and 6 make up an incredibly high-speed, long chicane that hurts tyres and puts a lot of stress on drivers due to high G-Force. It is locally known as the Genting Curve.[4] Turns 7 and 8 (the KLIA curve) make up a long, medium-speed, double-apex right hander, and a bump can cause the car to lose balance here.[3] Turn 9 is a very slow left-hand hairpin (the Berjaya Tioman Corner[4]), similar to turn two but uphill. Turn 10 leads into a challenging, medium-speed right hander at turn 11, requiring braking and turning simultaneously. Turn 12 is a flat-out, bumpy left which immediately leads into the flat right at turn 13, then the challenging 'Sunway Lagoon'[4] curve at turn 14. Similar to turn 11, it requires hard-braking and steering at the same time. It is taken in second gear. The long back straight can be a good place for drivers to overtake as they brake hard into turn 15, a left-handed, second-geared hairpin but drivers are advised by experts to be careful not to get re-overtaken as they come into turn 1.

Lap records

The official lap record for the Sepang International Circuit is 1:34.080, set by Sebastian Vettel during the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. The official race lap records at the Sepang International Circuit are listed as:

Category Time Driver Vehicle Event
Grand Prix Circuit (1999–present): 5.543 km
Formula One 1:34.080 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari SF70H 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix
GP2 1:45.066 Sergio Canamasas Dallara GP2/11 2016 Sepang GP2 Round
A1 GP 1:48.550 Neel Jani A1 GP "Powered by Ferrari" 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Malaysia
GP3 1:51.520 Antonio Fuoco Dallara GP3/16 2016 Sepang GP3 Round
LMP2 1:54.205[5] Ben Barnicoat Dallara P217 2020 4 Hours of Sepang
Super GT (GT500) 1:57.031[6] Michael Krumm Nissan GT-R GT500 2008 Sepang Super GT round
MotoGP 1:59.661 Valentino Rossi Yamaha YZR-M1 2019 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
LMP3 2:00.525[7] Josh Burdon Ligier JS P3 2018 4 Hours of Sepang
Formula 3 2:01.151[8] Ye Yifei Tatuus F.3 T-318 2019–20 2nd Sepang F3 Asia Winter Series Round
World SBK 2:03.637[9] Tom Sykes Kawasaki ZX-10R 2016 Sepang World SBK round
GT3 2:03.812[10] James Calado Ferrari 488 GT3 2019 4 Hours of Sepang
Moto2 2:05.860 Álex Márquez Kalex Moto2 2019 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
Super GT (GT300) 2:06.594[11] Kota Sasaki Subaru BRZ GT300 2013 Sepang Super GT round
500cc 2:06.618 Valentino Rossi Honda NSR500 2001 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
250cc 2:07.597 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda NSR250 2009 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
World SSP 2:09.178[12] Kev Coghlan Yamaha YZF-R6 2014 Sepang World SSP round
Formula Nippon 2:09.302[13] Richard Lyons Lola B03/51 2004 Sepang Formula Nippon round
Formula 4 2:11.629[14] Isyraf Danish Mygale M14-F4 2016-17 3rd Sepang F4 SEA round
Moto3 2:12.775 Adam Norrodin Honda NSF250RW 2017 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
125cc 2:13.118 Álvaro Bautista Aprilia RS125 2006 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
TCR Touring Car 2:16.338[15] Daniel Lloyd Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 2020 3rd Sepang TCR Malaysia round
FIM EWC 2:17.817[16] Franco Morbidelli Yamaha YZF-R1 2019 8 Hours of Sepang
GT4 2:18.681[17] Reinhold Renger Mercedes-AMG GT4 2018 Sepang Blancpain GT Series Asia round

Fatalities

Events

Current
Former

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Sepang International Circuit's Grade 1 license expired 1 October 2020.

References

  1. ^ "Take a trip around the world's toughest F1 circuit with our composite race track". Red Bull. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Malaysian Grand Prix: Sepang could leave F1 calendar over ticket sales". www.bbc.com/sport. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Sepang Track Guide". F1 Fanatic. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "Sepang International Circuit". Super GT. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  5. ^ "2019-2020 4 Hours of Sepang Best laptimes per driver" (PDF). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  6. ^ "2008 Super GT International Series Malaysia". Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  7. ^ "2017-2018 4 Hours of Sepang Best laptimes per driver" (PDF). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  8. ^ "2019–20 F3 Asian Championship Winter Series Round 3 Race 1 Results" (PDF). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Malaysian Round, 13-14-15 May 2016 World Superbike - Results Race 1" (PDF). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  10. ^ "2018-2019 4 Hours of Sepang Best laptimes per driver" (PDF). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  11. ^ "2013 Super GT International Series Malaysia". Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Sepang, 6-7-8 June 2014 Supersport - Results Race" (PDF). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  13. ^ "2004 Sepang Formula Nippon". Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  14. ^ "2016-2017 Asian Le Mans Series Round 4 F4 Race 4 Results" (PDF). Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  15. ^ "TCR MY 2020 » Sepang International Circuit Round 5 Results". Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  16. ^ "FIM EWC 2019 8 Hours of Sepang Final Results". Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  17. ^ "SRO Asia Sepang 2018". Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Afridza Munandar, Rider Indonesia Berprestasi yang Tewas di Asia Talent Cup Sepang". www.bola.net (in Indonesian). Retrieved 3 November 2019.
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