Officially opened on March 9, 1999, Sepang Circuit was completed in a record of 14 months and with the recognition of its ultramodern facilities, it was given the honour to incorporate the F1 logo in its name.
Situated 85km from Kuala Lumpur city centre, it is accessible via modern North-South Expressway, Railway Links and a network of Highways. being closely situated to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport makes it an ideal place for world-class international events.
Sculptured on a 260-hectare of ex-oil plantation, and built with a concept of natural stadium, it required more than 9 million cubic meters of earth to be removed. To retain its scenic green, more than 5,000 palm trees were planted around the circuit.
With the length of 5.543km, the track features 15 turns and 8 straights including two high-speed stretches with access speed of more than 300km/hr, the track allows ample opportunities for overtaking, ensuring a suspense and thrills of the race.
The unique criterion of the circuit is that it can be split into two circuits when the time requires. The split circuits are situated on both side; the north and south side with the length of 2.8km and 2.6km respectively, thus allowing two races running concurrently.
The track is built using a specially formulated bitumen compound, which is smooth and not too abrasive to suit the Malaysian climate and all-year round use. The smooth river stones are used for the gravel beds along the track.
In all, the track can accommodate up to 130,000 spectators at a time. It can fill up the grand stand with 32,000 spectators at the Main Grand Stand and 18 corporate suites. Grandstands K and F, which can fill up another 18,500 spectators facing, Turn 1 and Tun 7 respectively.
The 1.3km length of double frontage grandstand affords a view of the circuit's longest straight. The grandstand is constructed along the east-west highway alignment to ensure shade from the sun's glare at all times.
The heart of the circuit and focal point is the three-storey Pit Building, facing the main grand stand. All the main facilities are housed here. 33 Pits, Race Control Room, Timekeeping Room, paddock hospitality suites and management offices.
Each of the fully air-conditioned pit-box is 8 meters wide and 24 meters long. Each block of two pits has three air-conditioned office equipped with telecommunication lines, a glass-walled hospitality area and attached kitchen.
The exclusive paddock clubs, on the first floor, comes with their own parking and private access. For the Royal guests and VVIPs, there is the Perdana Suite, situated on the second floor and can accommodate 250 people.
The administrative block for Sepang Circuit is the Welcome Centre, which also serve as the gateway to the Main Grand Stand. Apart from the offices, it also housed the Sepang Circuit shoppe, a restaurant and the National Automobile Museum.
For comfort and enjoyment of the spectators, a landscaped mall area has been designed with the purpose of connecting the north and south side of the Main Grandstand and also as the place for the trade and vending, exhibitions, food and beverages, amenities and souvenir outlets activities during a race event.
The track is electronically linked through a network of fibre optic cabling system along the track to 27 closed circuit TV cameras, which is centrally monitored at the Race Control Room. Every incident along the 5.543km circuit is recorded by the cameras and will be closely watched by the clerk of course during events.
Safety is the utmost importance and for that Sepang Circuit has a special block dedicated for its Medical Centre. It is situated next to the Pit Building and during major events; this block will be transformed into a fully equipped mini hospital.
SEPANG STATISTICS
Pole Position : Left
Length : 5,548 meters / 3.447 miles
Width : up to 25 meters
Right Corners : Ten
Left Corners : Five
Longest Straight : 920 meters / 0.572 miles
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