Zhuhai International Circuit(ZIC)

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For some, life is either a daring adventure or nothing. People living in the sun-drenched”City of Hundred Islands” born to ride the waves. Zhuhai hosted the China Sailing Championships, ranking among the largest and most influential national competitions in China, for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017. The year 2018 saw the success of the Jiuzhou Cup Wanshan Sailing Regatta held in the city’s Wanshan Archipelago. The city’s unique marine resources and winding coastlines are ideal for professional training of yachting sports and water leisure.

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Zhuhai International Circuit(ZIC)

ocated in Jinding Town, the circuit is designed by Australian company, Kinhill Engineers Pty Ltd, the same group which created the Formula One circuit in Adelaide, and is an FIA Grade II certified circuit. The original circuit contained 16 corners.

Running clockwise only, the circuit is 4.3 kilometers long and has 14 turns, 9 of them being right turns, with 5 left turns. The longest straight-away is at the start/finish section, and is 900 meters long and 14 meters wide at its widest. Alexandre Imperatori, Al Team Switzerland’s rookie driver, observed that there are lots of overtaking places in the circuit because of the combination of straightaways, hard braking areas for hairpins, and tight corners, followed by the need for rapid acceleration on the long straight-aways. A kart circuit was added to the ZIC facility in 2004.

The first international race held at the circuit was the BPR Global GT Series, with the circuit soon becoming a hotbed of local motorsports, with teams from Hong Kong and Macao setting up their bases inside the circuit garages.

The fastest qualifying lap ever at the circuit was set by a Lola-Zytek A1 Grand Prix car on the fourth round on December 16 2007 during the 2007-08 Al Grand Prix season, driven by Michael Ammermuller and managing a lap of 1: 23.203. However, this is not considered the lap record since lap records are taken from racing laps and not qualifying. The fastest unofficial lap ever at the circuit was set by a 2007 Panoz Champ Car on November 30, 2006, driven by Roberto Moreno.

The circuit is also a prominent motorspor event organizer and promoter in China. It has organized and promoted the FIA GT Championship in China and, in 2007, signed a contract with China Motorcycle Sports Association to promote the inaugural China Superbike Championship The circuit is the promoter of the China Superbike Championship, established in 2007 and sanctioned by the China Motorcycle Sports Association, CMSA.

ZIC also organizes the Circuit Hero and Circuit Hero GT race series, which allows Chinese citizens to participate. The Hong Kong Touring Car Championship and the Macao Touring Car Championship have both run the majority of their races at ZIC since they began.

AFOS has been held at the circuit many times since its inception in 1994. The 2006 Asian Festival of Speed(AFOS)drew a record 33,000 people flocking to watch the races.

The Asian Formula Three Championship and the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship races are also hosted by the circuit annually.

In May 2004, the Endurance World Championship Zhuhai 6 Hours race was held at the circuit. This was the first time an international motorcycle race was held here. In November 2004, the circuit was fully renovated and once again the FIA GT Championship was staged.

On 10 June 2010, the Aco announced that the Chinese round of the 2010 Le Mans Intercontinental Cup-The 1000 km of Zhuhai, would be held at ZIC.

On 13 November 2011, the ACO organized the 2011 6 Hours of Zhuhai at the circuit as the finale of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season.

Since 2005, the circuit has become a hive of track activities, with a large number of auto-related launches and events held at the circuit, as the battle for car sales in China has heated up. Auto dealers and manufacturer do their best to lure more customers by allowing them to drive freely on the track and pampering them off it.

ZIC has also been simulated on the racing simulator, Project CARS. In March 2018, the track was released for Raceroom Racing Experience.