Bahrain International Circuit
 
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| Location | Sakhir, Bahrain |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC+03:00 |
| Coordinates | 26°1′57″N 50°30′38″E / 26.03250°N 50.51056°ECoordinates: 26°1′57″N 50°30′38″E / 26.03250°N 50.51056°E |
| Capacity | 70,000 |
| FIA Grade | 1 |
| Broke ground | December 2002 |
| Opened | 17 March 2004 |
| Construction cost | 56.2 million Dinars ($150 million) |
| Architect | Hermann Tilke |
| Major events |
Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix and Testing FIA WEC 6 Hours of Bahrain V8 supercars FIA GT |
| Grand Prix Circuit (2005–2009, 2012–2016) | |
| Length | 5.412 km (3.363 mi) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Lap record | 1:31.447 (Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 2005) |
| Endurance Circuit (2010) | |
| Length | 6.299 km (3.914 mi) |
| Turns | 23 |
| Lap record | 1:58.287 (Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 2010) |
| Grand Prix Circuit, Original layout (2004) | |
| Length | 5.417 km (3.366 mi) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Lap record | 1:30.252 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004) |
The Bahrain International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة البحرين الدولية) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series and the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Beginning in 2006, Australian V8 Supercars raced at the BIC, with the event known as the Desert 400. However, the V8 Supercars did not return for the 2011 V8 Supercar season. 24 Hour endurance races are also hosted at BIC. The circuit has a FIA Grade 1 license.
The construction of the Bahrain circuit was a national objective for Bahrain, initiated by the Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. The Crown Prince is the Honorary President of the Bahrain Motor Federation. TRL was asked to build the circuit, headed by Patrick Brogan.
Race organizers were worried that the circuit would not be complete in time for the 2004 Bahrain Grand Prix and attempted to cancel the event; however, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone refused this request. In the end, the circuit was not quite fully complete, but was good enough for the grand prix to go ahead.
After the 2004 race and ahead of the 2005 race the track was realigned at turn four, decreasing the circuit's overall length by 5 metres.
In 2007 the circuit became the first Grand Prix circuit to be awarded the distinguished FIA Institute Centre of Excellence award, given for excellent safety, race marshal, and medical facilities, and for the high standards of technology required to maintain these.
At the 2009 Grand Prix, BIC announced a collaboration with @bahrain to develop land next to the circuit. @bahrain is part of the Mumtalakat group of companies. @bahrain will dedicate more than 1 million square meters of business, entertainment and educational space with a value in excess of US$2bn (BHD 850million), making it one of the largest investment projects to take place in Bahrain in the past five years.
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