Shah Alam Circuit (حلبة شاه عالم) or Batu Tiga Speedway Circuit was a racing circuit in

Shah Alam Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The circuit layout was designed by Dutchman John Hugenholtz.

History

The circuit was opened in 1968. The 1968 Malaysian Grand Prix was held there on 8 September as a

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

race and was won by Indonesian Hengkie Irawan driving an Elfin 600. The circuit was the venue for the

Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...

until 1982, with the starting field consisting alternately of vehicles from the

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. The last Malaysian Grand Prix race held in Shah Alam was held for

Formula Brabham In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

in 1995. The circuit was closed in 1977 after an accident that killed six children, although it later reopened after improvements of fences and guard rails around the track were carried out. In 1985 the track was lengthened from to with the addition of the curve 11.Tracks: Shah Alam, Batu Tiga
/ref> In the same year, the first international racing event was held. Titled as the

1985 800 km of Selangor Selangor Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north ...

, the race was the tenth and final round of the 1985 World Endurance Championship, and was won by

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...

and Jochen Mass driving a

Porsche 962C The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in its Group C form) is a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the Euro ...

. The circuit hosted rounds of the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

in the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, and from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

it hosted the

Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix The Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix is a round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship. The event is due to take place at the Sepang International Circuit until at least 2024. History The first Malaysian Grand Prix was held ...

Mick Doohan Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Biography Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended ...

is the all-time leader in motorcycle Grand Prix victories at the venue, winning the event four times. The motorcycle Grand Prix was later moved to the

Johor Circuit Johor Circuit is the motorsport race track in Johor, Malaysia. It was the first motosport track in Malaysia located in Pasir Gudang. History The construction of the circuit began in 1985 and was officially opened on 1986 by Sultan Iskandar. ...

, and later to the

Sepang International Circuit The Sepang International Circuit ( ms, Litar Antarabangsa Sepang) is a motorsport race track in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located approximately south of Kuala Lumpur, and close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It hosted the Fo ...

. In 2003 the circuit was sold by Selangor state government to a property developer, which then developed the area into a luxury housing project by the name D'Kayangan.

Details

The Batu Tiga Speedway Circuit Track Details In Brief: *Total Area: *No. of Pits: 57 units, 42 units concrete pit (22' x 17'), 15 units wooden pits (22' x 7') *Spectator capacity: Covered grandstand - 8000, Uncovered grandstand - 18,000 *Track length: (1968–1984) / (1985–2003) *No. of Turns: 14. Left -4, Right -10 *Straights: 3. The longest straight was *Gate Entrances: 3

Lap records

The official race lap records at the Shah Alam Circuit are listed as:

In popular culture

The track was used as one of the shooting locations for

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's 1995 film ''

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

''.

References

{{Asian Touring Car Series circuits Motorsport venues in Malaysia Grand Prix motorcycle circuits Defunct motorsport venues Shah Alam Malaysian Grand Prix Sports venues in Selangor Sports venues completed in 1968 1968 establishments in Malaysia 2003 disestablishments in Malaysia

History

Details

Lap records

In popular culture

See also

References