The circuit was designed by German designer Hermann Tilke, who subsequently designed circuits in Shanghai, Sakhir, Istanbul, Marina Bay, and Yas Marina. As part of a series of major infrastructure projects in the 1990s under Mahathir Mohamad's government, Sepang International Circuit was constructed between 1997 and 1999 close to Putrajaya, the then-newly founded administrative capital of Malaysia, with the intent of hosting the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Malaysian climate means the circuit is known for its unpredictable humid tropical weather, varying from clear furnace-hot days to tropical rainstorms.
The circuit was officially inaugurated by Mahathir Mohamad on 7 March 1999. The first MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix followed on 20 April 1999, and the inaugural Formula One Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix was held on 17 October 1999.
The main circuit is raced in a clockwise direction and is noted for its sweeping corners and wide straights ranging from 16–22 m (52–72 ft). Its layout features a 0.927 km back straight separated from the pit straight by a single tight hairpin. Turn 1 is a long, slow corner taken in second gear, leading directly into Turn 2, a tight left hairpin that goes downhill. Turns 5 and 6, known locally as the Genting Curve, form a high-speed chicane that places high G-force stress on both tyres and drivers. Turns 7 and 8, the KLIA curve, make up a long double-apex right-hander. Turn 9, the Berjaya Tioman Corner, is a slow left-hand hairpin. Turns 11 and 14 require simultaneous braking and steering. Turn 15 is a left-handed hairpin off the long back straight.
Two shorter configurations also exist: the north circuit (2.706 km), comprising the first half of the main circuit, and the south circuit (2.609 km), comprising the second half. The venue additionally features kart racing and motocross facilities.
In 2016, the track was completely resurfaced with support from Italian designers Dromo, with several corners reprofiled to emphasise mechanical grip over aerodynamic grip. The final corner was raised by approximately 1 metre, which officials stated would force drivers to take a later apex and explore different racing lines through the hairpin.
Sepang hosted the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 to 2017, a total of nineteen World Championship Grands Prix. In October 2016, it was rumoured that the circuit might be dropped from the Formula One calendar due to dwindling ticket sales. The race contract was due to expire in 2018, but the future had already been under threat from rising hosting fees and declining attendance. The circuit held its final Formula One race in 2017. The official lap record is 1:34.080, set by Sebastian Vettel during the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix.
On 23 October 2011, Italian motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli died following a crash at Turn 11 on Lap 2 of the MotoGP Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix; the race was abandoned. Mohamad Izzat died in a crash during the 2013 Malaysian Super Series. Afridza Munandar died during the 2019 Sepang Asia Talent Cup round.
Current annual events include the GT World Challenge Asia, Asia Road Racing Championship, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia (April); Formula 4 South East Asia (July); the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Thailand Super Series, and Moto4 Asia Cup (August); the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Moto4 Asia Cup, Sepang 1000 km, Sepang 12 Hours, and China GT Championship (November); and the TCR Asia Tour and TCR China Touring Car Championship (December). Notable former events include the A1 Grand Prix (2005–2008), the Asian Le Mans Series, the Superbike World Championship (2014–2016), the GP2 Asia Series (2008–2009), and Formula Nippon (2004).
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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