Subic International Raceway was a

racing circuit 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 ...

at the Subic Freeport Zone in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It was built in 1993, through the efforts of famed race car driver Pocholo Ramirez.

History

The eruption of

Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains in Luzon in the Philippines. Located on the tripoint of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga provinces, most people were unaware of its eruptive history before the pre-eruption volc ...

in 1991 led to the United States abandoning their base in Subic. The Subic International Raceway was established at the site of the former

Naval Air Station Cubi Point U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. When the base closed, the air station became Subic Bay International ...

's refuelling area for fighter jets. Former Filipino race car driver Pocholo Ramirez with the help of other figures in Philippine racing including Mandy Eduque, Mike Potenciano, Macky Carapiet, Louis Camus, Freddy Masigan set up Sports Values Incorporated (SVI) so that they could convert the existing paved roads and taxiways into a racing circuit. The Subic International Raceway was opened in 1994 with SVI initially only able to secure a three-month lease for the racing circuit's site. The lease was extended multiple times during the racing circuit's 17-year operation. It gained approval from the

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme The International Motorcycling Federation (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) or (FIM) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 123 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six continent ...

(FIM) in 1997 and secured a grade four

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...

(FIA) license in 1998 which certified the racing circuit's suitability for international automotive and motorcycle races including the Asian Touring Car Series and

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

races. The racing circuit was also open to amateur racers. Subic Bay has hosted South East Asia's Premier motorcycle, touring car and formula car events. The Marlboro Asia Pacific Road Racing Championship, Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) featuring the Southeast Asian Touring Car Zone Challenge (SEATCZC) and the Asian Formula 2000 have all raced here, and it also hosted the Asian 1600 Touring Car Invitational Cup, the Philippine Japan Invitational Historic Car Races and the Hong Kong Classic Car Races. The major visitor to the track was the Asian F3 Series. The racing circuit closed in July 2010 with the three-day "The Last Lap" held as the last racing event.

Racing track

At the time of its closure, the Subic International Raceway had a total length of with 15 turns. It had long straights that allowed for a long and short circuit setup.

Lap records

The fastest official race lap records at the Subic International Raceway are listed as:

References

{{Central Luzon attractions Defunct motorsport venues Motorsport venues in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Bataan 1994 establishments in the Philippines Sports venues completed in 1994 Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone