Lusail International Circuit

**Losail International Circuit**
Location	Lusail, Al Daayen, Qatar
Time zone	UTC+03:00
Coordinates	25°29′24″N 51°27′15″E / 25.49000°N 51.45417°E
Capacity	52,000
FIA Grade	1
Broke ground	2003
Opened	30 September 2004; 20 years ago
Construction cost	US$58 million
Major events	Current:; Formula One; Qatar Grand Prix (2021, 2023); Grand Prix motorcycle racing; Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix; (2004–present); Doha motorcycle Grand Prix (2021); Future:; FIA World Endurance Championship; Qatar 1812 km (2024); Former:; World SBK; (2005–2009, 2014–2019); WTCC Race of Qatar; (2015–2017); Motocross World Championship (2013–2017); FIM EWC 8 Hours of Doha; (2007–2012); GP2 Asia (2009)
Website	https://www.circuitlosail.com/
Grand Prix Circuit (2023)
Length	5.418 km (3.367 miles)
Turns	16
Grand Prix Circuit (2004–2022)
Length	5.380 km (3.343 miles)
Turns	16
Race lap record	1:23.196 ( Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, 2021, F1)

The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar.

Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers at the cost of US$58 million, the track opened in 2004, named Losail International Circuit, to the inaugural 2004 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix, won by Sete Gibernau.^[1]

The track is 5.418 km (3.367 mi) in length, with a main straight of 1.068 km (0.664 mi). It is surrounded by artificial grass to stop the sand encroaching on the track.

In 2007, Lusail added permanent outdoor lighting for night races. At the time, the lighting of the Lusail Circuit by Musco Lighting was the largest permanent venue sports lighting project in the world, a distinction that now belongs to another Persian Gulf motorsport venue, Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The first night race in MotoGP history was the 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix in March 2008.

In February 2009, a GP2 Asia Series nighttime race took place. The World SBK visited Losail in 2005–2009 and 2014–2019; and the WTCC visited there in 2015–2017.

The circuit hosted the 20th race of the 2021 Formula One season, the inaugural edition of the Qatar Grand Prix.^[2]

Before the second edition of the Qatar Grand Prix in 2023, the circuit is renovated, the facilities are upgraded, and the capacity will be increased from 8,000 to 52,000.^[3]

Lap records

The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:23.196, set by Max Verstappen driving for Red Bull Racing in the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix. As of March 2022, the fastest official race lap records at the Lusail International Circuit are listed as:

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Event
Grand Prix Circuit: 5.380 km (2004–2022)
Formula One	1:23.196^[4]	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RB16B	2021 Qatar Grand Prix
GP2 Asia	1:38.699^[5]	Davide Rigon	Dallara GP2/05	2009 Qatar GP2 Asia Series round
GP Masters	1:49.116^[6]	Pierluigi Martini	Delta Motorsport GP Masters car	2006 Losail Grand Prix Masters
MotoGP	1:54.338	Enea Bastianini	Ducati Desmosedici GP21	2022 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
World SBK	1:56.687^[7]	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR	2019 Losail World SBK round
Moto2	1:58.711	Thomas Lüthi	Kalex Moto2	2019 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
MRF Challenge	1:59.519^[8]	Toby Sowery	Dallara Formulino Pro	2014 Losail MRF Challenge round
Porsche Carrera Cup	2:00.322^[9]	Clemens Schmid	Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup	2015 2nd Losail Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship round
TC1	2:01.628^[10]	José María López	Citroën C-Elysée WTCC	2015 FIA WTCC Race of Qatar
World SSP	2:01.832^[11]	Kenan Sofuoğlu	Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R	2017 Losail World SSP round
Stock car racing	2:04.508^[12]	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Speedcar V8	2009 Losail Speedcar Series round
Moto3	2:05.403	Romano Fenati	Honda NSF250RW	2019 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
Supersport 300	2:13.798^[13]	Ana Carrasco	Kawasaki Ninja 400	2019 Losail Supersport 300 round
Asia Productions 250	2:24.177^[14]	Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin	Yamaha YZF-R25	2015 Losail ARRC round
Asia Underbone 130	2:31.934^[15]	Ferlando Herdian	Yamaha T-150	2014 Losail ARRC round

Events

Current

October: Formula One Qatar Grand Prix (2021, 2023)
November: Grand Prix motorcycle racing Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix, Asia Talent Cup

Future

FIA Formula 2 Championship (2024)
FIA World Endurance Championship Qatar 1812 km (2024)

Former

Asia Road Racing Championship (2010–2015)
FIM Endurance World Championship 8 Hours of Doha (2007–2012)
GP2 Asia Series (2009)
Grand Prix Masters (2006)
Grand Prix motorcycle racing Doha motorcycle Grand Prix (2021)
Motocross World Championship (2013–2017)
MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship (2014)
Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship (2012–2015)
Speedcar Series (2009)
Superbike World Championship (2005–2009, 2014–2019)
World Touring Car Championship FIA WTCC Race of Qatar (2015–2017)

Racing history

Formula One

Year	Winning driver	Winning team
2021	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

MotoGP

Year	MotoGP	250cc/Moto2	125cc/Moto3
2004	Sete Gibernau	Sebastián Porto	Jorge Lorenzo
2005	Valentino Rossi	Casey Stoner	Gábor Talmácsi
2006	Valentino Rossi	Jorge Lorenzo	Álvaro Bautista
2007	Casey Stoner	Jorge Lorenzo	Héctor Faubel
2008	Casey Stoner	Mattia Pasini	Sergio Gadea
2009	Casey Stoner	Héctor Barberá	Andrea Iannone
2010	Valentino Rossi	Shoya Tomizawa	Nicolás Terol
2011	Casey Stoner	Stefan Bradl	Nicolás Terol
2012	Jorge Lorenzo	Marc Márquez	Maverick Viñales
2013	Jorge Lorenzo	Pol Espargaró	Luis Salom
2014	Marc Márquez	Esteve Rabat	Jack Miller
2015	Valentino Rossi	Jonas Folger	Alexis Masbou
2016	Jorge Lorenzo	Thomas Lüthi	Niccolò Antonelli
2017	Maverick Viñales	Franco Morbidelli	Joan Mir
2018	Andrea Dovizioso	Francesco Bagnaia	Jorge Martín
2019	Andrea Dovizioso	Lorenzo Baldassarri	Kaito Toba
2020	Cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns	Tetsuta Nagashima	Albert Arenas
2021 Qatar	Maverick Viñales	Sam Lowes	Jaume Masiá
2021 Doha	Fabio Quartararo	Sam Lowes	Pedro Acosta
2022	Enea Bastianini	Celestino Vietti	Andrea Migno

Superbike World Championship

Year	Race	Winning driver	Winning team
2005	Race 1	Troy Corser	Alstare Suzuki
2005	Race 2	Yukio Kagayama	Alstare Suzuki
2006	Race 1	James Toseland	Winston Ten Kate Honda
2006	Race 2	Troy Corser	Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra
2007	Race 1	Max Biaggi	Alstare Suzuki
2007	Race 2	James Toseland	Ten Kate Honda
2008	Race 1	Troy Bayliss	Ducati Xerox Team
2008	Race 2	Fonsi Nieto	Team Alstare Suzuki
2009	Race 1	Ben Spies	Yamaha WSB
2009	Race 2	Ben Spies	Yamaha WSB
2014	Race 1	Sylvain Guintoli	Aprilia Racing Team
2014	Race 2	Sylvain Guintoli	Aprilia Racing Team
2015	Race 1	Jordi Torres	Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
2015	Race 2	Leon Haslam	Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
2016	Race 1	Chaz Davies	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
2016	Race 2	Chaz Davies	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
2017	Race 1	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Racing Team
2017	Race 2	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Racing Team
2018	Race 1	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
2018	Race 2	Race cancelled
2019	Race 1	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
	SR	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
	Race 2	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
2020	Race cancelled

World Touring Car Championship

Year	Race	Winning driver	Winning team
2015	Race 1	José María López	Citroën Total WTCC
2015	Race 2	Yvan Muller	Citroën Total WTCC
2016	Race 1	Gabriele Tarquini	Lada Sport Rosneft
2016	Race 2	Mehdi Bennani	Sébastien Loeb Racing
2017	Race 1	Tom Chilton	Sébastien Loeb Racing
2017	Race 2	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda Racing Team JAS

Motocross World Championship

Year	Race	MXGP	MX2
Year	Race	MX1	MX2
2013	Race 1	Clément Desalle	Jeffrey Herlings
2013	Race 2	Tony Cairoli	Jeffrey Herlings
2014	Race 1	Maximilian Nagl	Dylan Ferrandis
2014	Race 2	Gautier Paulin	Jeffrey Herlings
2015	Race 1	Maximilian Nagl	Jeffrey Herlings
2015	Race 2	Maximilian Nagl	Jeffrey Herlings	WMX
2016	Race 1	Tim Gajser	Jeffrey Herlings	Courtney Duncan
2016	Race 2	Tim Gajser	Jeffrey Herlings	Courtney Duncan
2017	Race 1	Tony Cairoli	Pauls Jonass
2017	Race 2	Tony Cairoli	Pauls Jonass

Speedcar Series

Year	Race	Winning driver	Winning team
2009	Race 1	Gianni Morbidelli	Palm Beach
2009	Race 2	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Union Properties

GP2 Asia

Year	Race	Winning driver	Winning team
2009	Race 1	Nico Hülkenberg	ART Grand Prix
2009	Race 2	Sergio Pérez	Barwa International Campos

References

^ "Losail International Circuit". RacingCircuits.info. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
^ "F1 to hold first Qatar Grand Prix at Losail this November". Motor Sport Magazine. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
^ Horton, Phillip (30 May 2023). "Qatar GP organisers reveal Lusail renovations". motorsportweek.com. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
^ "Qatar Grand Prix 2021". Formula1.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^ "Lusail International Circuit, Qatar 2009 – GP2 Asia results". autoevolution.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011.
^ "2006 Losail Grand Prix Masters". Retrieved 20 April 2022.
^ "World Superbike Motul Qatar Round, 24-26 October 2019 Results Tissot Superpole Race" (PDF). World Superbike. Dorna. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ "Qatar Superbike1-QCH1-MRF Challenge 17th Friday October QSBK-1 QCH-1-MRF Challenge – MRF Challenge Race-2". 16 October 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^ "QCH R5-Porsche G3 CUP-Radical Car Feb.6,2015- QCH4-GT3 Cup-Radical Car – GT3 Cup Race 2". 4 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^ "WTCC 2015 » Losail International Circuit Round 23 Results". Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ "Qatar Round, 2-3-4 November 2017 World Supersport – Results Race" (PDF). World Superbike. Dorna. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ "2009 Losail Speedcar – Round 5". Retrieved 19 July 2022.
^ "Motul Qatar Round, 24-26 October 2019 Race Results" (PDF). World Superbike. Dorna. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
^ "Asia Road Racing Championship Saturday 3rd October 2015 Asian Production 250 CC Race 2 Race (9 Laps) started at 21:30:53". 3 October 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^ "2014 Asia Road Racing Championship Round 6 Losail International Circuit, Qatar December 14, 2014 Underbone 130cc Race 1" (PDF). 14 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

External links

[1] "Losail International Circuit". RacingCircuits.info. Retrieved 2020-07-16.

[2] "F1 to hold first Qatar Grand Prix at Losail this November". Motor Sport Magazine. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

[3] Horton, Phillip (30 May 2023). "Qatar GP organisers reveal Lusail renovations". motorsportweek.com. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

[lap_record-4] "Qatar Grand Prix 2021". Formula1.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.

[GP2-5] "Lusail International Circuit, Qatar 2009 – GP2 Asia results". autoevolution.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011.

[6] "2006 Losail Grand Prix Masters". Retrieved 20 April 2022.

[7] "World Superbike Motul Qatar Round, 24-26 October 2019 Results Tissot Superpole Race" (PDF). World Superbike. Dorna. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2022.

[8] "Qatar Superbike1-QCH1-MRF Challenge 17th Friday October QSBK-1 QCH-1-MRF Challenge – MRF Challenge Race-2". 16 October 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

[9] "QCH R5-Porsche G3 CUP-Radical Car Feb.6,2015- QCH4-GT3 Cup-Radical Car – GT3 Cup Race 2". 4 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

[10] "WTCC 2015 » Losail International Circuit Round 23 Results". Retrieved 16 June 2022.

[11] "Qatar Round, 2-3-4 November 2017 World Supersport – Results Race" (PDF). World Superbike. Dorna. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2022.

[12] "2009 Losail Speedcar – Round 5". Retrieved 19 July 2022.

[13] "Motul Qatar Round, 24-26 October 2019 Race Results" (PDF). World Superbike. Dorna. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2021.

[14] "Asia Road Racing Championship Saturday 3rd October 2015 Asian Production 250 CC Race 2 Race (9 Laps) started at 21:30:53". 3 October 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

[15] "2014 Asia Road Racing Championship Round 6 Losail International Circuit, Qatar December 14, 2014 Underbone 130cc Race 1" (PDF). 14 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2023.

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