Chinese Grand Prix Facts & Figures

By Andrew Hooper
September 17 2004

	Facts & Figures
	- The Shanghai International Circuit is built on 5.3 square kilometres of marshland, approximately one hour's drive from the city centre. Hermann Tilke, the renowned architect of tracks such as Malaysia and Bahrain, designed the circuit. - The Shanghai circuit was built within 18 months, but the constructors faced some extreme conditions. To make the swampy terrain suitable for development, concrete piles, 40 to 80 metres deep, were driven into the ground before a metre thick layer of polystyrene was placed on top. A two metre layer of soil then completed the foundation for the asphalt. - The track comprises seven right and seven left hand corners. (The radiuses of the individual turns vary, which is why other figures are also quoted.) The layout is based on the Chinese character "Shang", which translates as "high" or "above" and gives Shanghai its name. - The circuit measures 5.451 kilometres making it the fifth longest circuit on the Formula One calendar. Race distance will be 305.256 kilometres (56 laps). - Unusually, the longest straight is not the start/finish straight but one which lies between turns 13 and 14. This full throttle section extends to almost 1.2 kilometres. - The futuristic pits and grandstands emulate traditional Chinese design features. The circuit seats up to 200,000 spectators. - China has lobbied for many years to stage a Grand Prix. The first circuit built for Grand Prix racing was in Zhuhai in the south of China, but it never became a Formula One venue. - Shanghai, a port city and free trade zone on the east coast of the country and near the Yangtze Delta, is China's boom town with a population of 14.6 million. - BMW's sales in the Chinese markets (mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) have grown to 16,620 cars in the first eight months of 2004, an increase of 23.9% compared to the same period last year. Almost half the cars sold (7,440) are manufactured in China. They stem from the local BMW production joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd, which has for the last year been turning out 3 and 5 Series models. - Over the Grand Prix weekend, rounds 11 and 12 (out of 14) of Formula BMW Asia will be held on Saturday and Sunday respectively. BMW's international series is a proving ground for young talent where drivers compete at speeds of up to 230 km/h in single seater cars with 140 bhp engines. The best known driver in the field is Han Han (22, Shanghai). Marchy Lee (Hong Kong, Team Meritus) has already claimed the Championship for the 2004 season. - The first Chinese Grand Prix, round 16 of the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship, will take place on Sunday 26th September at 14:00 hrs local time (06:00 hrs UK time, GMT + 8 hrs).

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