The Lusail International Circuit (, sometimes rendered Losail International Circuit) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. The track is in length, with a main straight of . It is surrounded by artificial grass intended to stop the sand encroaching on the track.

History

Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers at the cost of million, the track opened in 2004 and hosted the inaugural Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix in the same year, won by Sete Gibernau. 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 The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is a 5.281 km (3.281 mi) motorsport circuit situated on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. It has hosted the season-ending Formula One ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. The first night race in

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

history was the

2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix The 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix was the opening round of the 2008 MotoGP championship. It took place on the weekend of 7–9 March 2008 at the Losail International Circuit located in Doha, Qatar. The race was historic in that it was the fir ...

in March 2008. In February

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, a

GP2 Asia Series The GP2 Asia Series was a form of open wheel motor racing as a result of a spin-off from the GP2 Series. History The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco GP2 Series round. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel com ...

nighttime race took place. The World SBK visited Lusail 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 The Qatar Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event which is held in Qatar. It was held for the first time on 21 November as part of the championship at the Lusail International Circuit, and after not taking place during the season due ...

. Before the second edition of the Grand Prix, the circuit was renovated, the facilities upgraded, and the capacity was increased from 8,000 to 52,000. Beginning in 2024, the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

is set to host its season opener at Lusail, the

Qatar 1812 km The Qatar 1812 km is an endurance race for sports cars held at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar. It is the opening round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. History On 12 December 2022, it was announced that Lusai ...

, in addition to the Prologue, the championship's pre-season testing sessions.

Layout history

Events

Current

* February:

'',

Formula Regional Middle East Championship The Formula Regional Middle East Championship is an FIA-certified Formula Regional racing series, started in 2023. This championship races in the Emirati venues from the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship and Kuwait Motor Town. The promo ...

F4 Middle East Championship The F4 Middle East Championship is an FIA-certified Formula 4 racing series, started in 2025. Previously known as Formula 4 UAE Championship The Formula 4 UAE Championship was an FIA-certified Formula 4 racing series. It was launched by the F ...

, Classic Endurance Racing * April:

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix The Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix () is a motorcycling event that is part of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The Lusail International Circuit, Lusail race track in Qatar represents the deb ...

'',

Asia Talent Cup The Asia Talent Cup is a motorcycle racing, motorcycle road racing competition intended for young riders in Asia and Oceania. Organized by Dorna Sports, the promoter of the international Grand Prix motorcycle racing and Superbike World Championsh ...

* November:

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

'',

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

Former

Asia Road Racing Championship The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (known as Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship for sponsorship reason) is the regional motorcycle road racing championship for Asia, held since 1996. This championship is part of the production-based ...

(2010–2015) *

F1 Academy F1 Academy is a female-only, Formula 4-level Formula racing, single-seater racing championship founded by the Formula One Group. The championship is a One-design racing, spec series, meaning that all teams compete with an identical Tatuus F4-T4 ...

(2024) * F4 Saudi Arabian Championship (2024) *

FIM Endurance World Championship The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...

** ''8 Hours of Doha'' (2007–2012) *

(2009) *

Grand Prix Masters Grand Prix Masters was a one-make motor racing series featuring retired Formula One drivers. The inaugural (and sole 2005) event, at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa, took place on 11–13 November, but the series folded after a ...

(2006) *

** ''

Doha motorcycle Grand Prix The 2021 Doha motorcycle Grand Prix (officially known as the Tissot Grand Prix of Doha) was the second round of the 2021 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It was added to the calendar as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held at the ...

'' (2021) *

Motocross World Championship The FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps ...

(2013–2017) * MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship (2014) *

Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The c ...

(2024) *

Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship The Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East was the Middle East motor racing series based on the famous Porsche 911 GT3 Cup launched in 2009. Due to summer temperatures in the Middle East, the races are held in the winter to have regular temperatu ...

(2012–2015) *

Speedcar Series The Speedcar Series Championship was a stock car racing series that was active from January 2008 to June 2009 across two championship seasons. Races were held across several countries, spanning the Middle East and Asia. It featured up to 24 driv ...

(2009) *

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

(2005–2009, 2014–2019) *

Supersport World Championship The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600& ...

Supersport 300 World Championship The Supersport 300 World Championship (or short abbreviated as WorldSSP300) is a motorcycle racing competition on paved surfaces, for production-based motorcycles. Created in 2017, the championship runs as a support class to the Superbike World C ...

(2019) *

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...

** '' FIA WTCC Race of Qatar'' (2015–2017)

Lap records

The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:22.384, set by

Lando Norris Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...

driving for

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

in the

2024 Qatar Grand Prix The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race held on 1 December 2024 at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar. It was the twenty-third and penultimate ...

. As of April 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Lusail International Circuit are listed as:

Racing history

Formula One

MotoGP

FIA World Endurance Championship

Superbike World Championship

World Touring Car Championship

FIM Endurance World Championship

Motocross World Championship

Speedcar Series

GP2 Asia

References

External links

Official website
{{Navboxes , list1 = {{MotoGP circuits {{F1 circuits {{FIA WEC circuits {{Formula 2 circuits {{SBK circuits {{FIM EWC circuits {{Asia Road Racing Championship circuits {{WTCC circuits {{GP2 Asia circuits Grand Prix motorcycle circuits Superbike World Championship circuits Motorsport venues in Qatar World Touring Car Championship circuits Qatar Grand Prix Formula One circuits