The Sokol International Circuit (also known as CTK Sokol - , ) is a

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

northwest of

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. The circuit was designed by

Hermann Tilke Hermann Tilke (born 31 December 1954) is a German engineer, racing driver and circuit designer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits. His son is architect Carsten Tilke. Racing During the 1980s, Tilke competed in touring ...

and is marketed as an FIA Grade 2 track.

History

In July 2012, Kazakh businessman

Alijan Ibragimov Alijan Rahmanuly Ibragimov (, also known as Alidjan or Alidzhon Ibragimov; 5 June 1953 – 3 February 2021) was a Kazakh oligarch of the Uyghur descent. He was born in Fergana, Uzbek SSR, and was a member of a well-known circle of oligarchs in K ...

announced plans to build a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

40 million ( KZ₸19 billion) motorsport facility on the outskirts of Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, with construction scheduled to commence in September. RacingLoop were brought in as consultants and Hermann Tilke was charged with the design of a circuit intended to draw 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 ...

and the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, commonly abbreviated as the DTM, is a sports car racing series sanctioned by ADAC. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The series currently races a modified version of Group GT3 gra ...

, however ground was not broken until 2014. By 2016 a go-kart track and a drag strip had been opened with

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three List of 500cc/MotoGP Motorcycle World Champions, MotoGP World Championships ...

in attendance, as circuit construction was well underway. Construction had progressed as far as electronic and timing installation by early 2019 before it ground to a halt due to political issues. On 27 September 2022, it was announced that the circuit would host the

Kazakhstan motorcycle Grand Prix The Kazakhstan motorcycle Grand Prix was a proposed motorcycle race expected to be part of MotoGP at the Sokol International Racetrack in Kazakhstan. A five-year contract was agreed and set to start with a scheduled event in 2023. The initial e ...

until at least 2028 starting in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. However, due to ongoing homologation works at the circuit, paired with global operational challenges, the inaugural event was expected to be pushed back to 2024. However in 2024, the event was firstly postponed, then cancelled due to the on-going damages caused by Central Asian floods near to the circuit. It was also not included in the 2025 calendar.

References

External links

Official website
Sports venues in Kazakhstan

Sokol Sokol, Sokół or SOKOL may refer to: Sports * Sokol movement, a Pan-Slavic physical education movement, and its various incarnations: ** Czech Sokol movement, the original one ** Polish Sokół movement ** Russian Sokol movement ** Sokol mov ...

Unbuilt sports venues {{kazakhstan-sports-venue-stub