Lusail International Circuit

Lusail International Circuit

The Lusail International Circuit is a venue that offers a wide range of areas to host different types of events.

The state-of-the-art circuit opened in 2004, hosting major motor-racing events plus public track days. 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.

The Track

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.

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

Beginning in 2024, the FIA World Endurance Championship will host its season opener at Losail, Qatar 1812 km, in addition to the Prologue, the championship’s pre-season testing sessions.

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.