The Lusail International Circuit (, sometimes rendered Losail International Circuit) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. The track is in length, with a main straight of . The circuit has an FIA Grade 1 license. 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 in Abu Dhabi. The first night race in MotoGP history was the 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix in March 2008.
In February 2009, a GP2 Asia Series 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. 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 hosted its season opener at Lusail, the Qatar 1812 km, in addition to the Prologue, the championship's pre-season testing sessions.
Layout history
Events
Current
February: Formula Regional Middle East Trophy, UAE4 Series, Ferrari Challenge Middle East Prologue November: Formula One Qatar Grand Prix, FIA Formula 2 Championship Lusail Formula 2 round, Grand Prix motorcycle racing Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix, Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East, Moto4 Asia Cup December: F4 Saudi Arabian Championship
Future
Ferrari Challenge Middle East (2027) FIA World Endurance Championship Qatar 1812 km (2024–2025, 2027)
Former
Asia Road Racing Championship (2010–2015) Classic Endurance Racing (2024–2025) F1 Academy (2024) FIM Endurance World Championship 8 Hours of Doha (2007–2012) GP2 Asia Series (2009) Grand Prix Masters (2006) Grand Prix motorcycle racing Doha motorcycle Grand Prix (2021) Motocross World Championship (2013–2017) MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship (2014) Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship (2012–2015) Speedcar Series (2009) Superbike World Championship (2005–2009, 2014–2019) Supersport World Championship (2005–2009, 2014–2019) Supersport 300 World Championship (2019) World Touring Car Championship 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 driving for McLaren in the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix. The fastest qualifying lap was 1:19.387, set by Oscar Piastri driving for McLaren in the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix. As of February 2026, the fastest official race lap records at the Lusail International Circuit are listed as:
Category Time Driver Vehicle Event Grand Prix Circuit (2023–present): Formula One 1:22.384 Lando Norris McLaren MCL38 2024 Qatar Grand Prix FIA F2 1:37.997 Oliver Bearman Dallara F2 2024 2024 Lusail Formula 2 round LMDh 1:39.748 Matt Campbell Porsche 963 2024 Qatar 1812 km LMH 1:41.259 Alessandro Pier Guidi Ferrari 499P 2025 Qatar 1812 km Formula Regional 1:48.180 Emanuele Olivieri Tatuus T-326 2026 Lusail Formula Regional Middle East round MotoGP 1:52.561 Marc Márquez Ducati Desmosedici GP25 2025 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix GT3 1:53.529 Alessio Rovera Ferrari 296 GT3 2024 Qatar 1812 km Formula 4 1:54.996 Doriane Pin Tatuus F4-T421 2024 Lusail F1 Academy round Ferrari Challenge 1:56.741 Fouad Alghanim Ferrari 296 Challenge 2026 Ferrari Challenge Middle East Prologue Moto2 1:57.366 Sam Lowes Kalex Moto2 2023 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix Porsche Carrera Cup 1:58.024 Caleb Sumich Porsche 911 (992 I) GT3 Cup 2025 Lusail Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East round Supersport 2:02.617 David Munoz Rodriguez Yamaha YZF-R6 2025 1st Lusail QSTK 600 round Moto3 2:03.135 Tatsuki Suzuki Husqvarna FR250GP 2024 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix Supersport 300 2:16.725 Nolann Macary Kawasaki Ninja 300 2026 1st Lusail QSSP 300 round Touring car racing 2:19.360 Ghanim Al Madheed Lotus Elise 2024 5th Lusail QTCC round Original Grand Prix Circuit (2004–2022): Formula One 1:23.196 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing RB16B 2021 Qatar Grand Prix GP2 Asia 1:38.699 Davide Rigon Dallara GP2/05 2009 Qatar GP2 Asia Series round GP Masters 1:49.116 Pierluigi Martini Delta Motorsport GP Masters car 2006 Losail Grand Prix Masters MotoGP 1:54.338 Enea Bastianini Ducati Desmosedici GP21 2022 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix World SBK 1:56.687 Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR 2019 Lusail World SBK round Moto2 1:58.711 Thomas Lüthi Kalex Moto2 2019 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix 250cc 1:59.379 Alex Debón Aprilia RSV 250 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix MRF Challenge 1:59.519 Toby Sowery Dallara Formulino Pro 2014 Lusail MRF Challenge round Porsche Carrera Cup 2:00.322 Clemens Schmid Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup 2015 2nd Lusail Porsche GT3 Middle East Championship round TC1 2:01.628 José María López Citroën C-Elysée WTCC 2015 FIA WTCC Race of Qatar World SSP 2:01.832 Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 2017 Lusail World SSP round Stock car racing 2:04.508 Vitantonio Liuzzi Speedcar V8 2009 Lusail Speedcar Series round Moto3 2:05.403 Romano Fenati Honda NSF250RW 2019 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix 125cc 2:05.695 Scott Redding Aprilia RS125R 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix Supersport 300 2:13.798 Ana Carrasco Kawasaki Ninja 400 2019 Lusail Supersport 300 round Asia Productions 250 2:24.177 Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin Yamaha YZF-R25 2015 Lusail ARRC round Asia Underbone 130 2:31.934 Ferlando Herdian Yamaha T-150 2014 Lusail ARRC round
Racing history
Formula One Year Winning driver Winning team 2021 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2023 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 2024 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 2025 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
MotoGP
Year MotoGP 250cc/Moto2 125cc/Moto3 2004 Sete Gibernau Sebastián Porto Jorge Lorenzo 2005 Valentino Rossi Casey Stoner Gábor Talmácsi 2006 Valentino Rossi Jorge Lorenzo Álvaro Bautista 2007 Casey Stoner Jorge Lorenzo Héctor Faubel 2008 Casey Stoner Mattia Pasini Sergio Gadea 2009 Casey Stoner Héctor Barberá Andrea Iannone 2010 Valentino Rossi Shoya Tomizawa Nicolás Terol 2011 Casey Stoner Stefan Bradl Nicolás Terol 2012 Jorge Lorenzo Marc Márquez Maverick Viñales 2013 Jorge Lorenzo Pol Espargaró Luis Salom 2014 Marc Márquez Esteve Rabat Jack Miller 2015 Valentino Rossi Jonas Folger Alexis Masbou 2016 Jorge Lorenzo Thomas Lüthi Niccolò Antonelli 2017 Maverick Viñales Franco Morbidelli Joan Mir 2018 Andrea Dovizioso Francesco Bagnaia Jorge Martín 2019 Andrea Dovizioso Lorenzo Baldassarri Kaito Toba 2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns Tetsuta Nagashima Albert Arenas 2021 Qatar Maverick Viñales Sam Lowes Jaume Masià 2021 Doha Fabio Quartararo Sam Lowes Pedro Acosta 2022 Enea Bastianini Celestino Vietti Andrea Migno 2023 Fabio Di Giannantonio Fermín Aldeguer Jaume Masià 2024 Francesco Bagnaia Alonso López David Alonso 2025 Marc Márquez Arón Canet Ángel Piqueras
FIA World Endurance Championship
Year Hypercar Winners LMGT3 Winners 2024 No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing Kévin Estre André Lotterer Laurens Vanthoor Alex Malykhin Joel Sturm Klaus Bachler 2025 No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse No. 33 TF Sport Antonio Fuoco Miguel Molina Nicklas Nielsen Jonny Edgar Daniel Juncadella Ben Keating
Superbike World Championship Year Race Winning rider Winning team 2005 Race 1 Troy Corser Alstare Suzuki Race 2 Yukio Kagayama Alstare Suzuki2006 Race 1 James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Race 2 Troy Corser Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra2007 Race 1 Max Biaggi Alstare Suzuki Race 2 James Toseland Ten Kate Honda2008 Race 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati Xerox Team Race 2 Fonsi Nieto Team Alstare Suzuki2009 Race 1 Ben Spies Yamaha WSB Race 2 Ben Spies Yamaha WSB2014 Race 1 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia Racing Team Race 2 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia Racing Team2015 Race 1 Jordi Torres Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils Race 2 Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils2016 Race 1 Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Race 2 Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati2017 Race 1 Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team Race 2 Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team2018 Race 1 Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Race 2Race cancelled2019 Race 1 Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Race 2 Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 2020Race cancelled
World Touring Car Championship Year Race Winning driver Winning team 2015 Race 1 José María López Citroën Total WTCC Race 2 Yvan Muller Citroën Total WTCC 2016 Race 1 Gabriele Tarquini Lada Sport Rosneft Race 2 Mehdi Bennani Sébastien Loeb Racing 2017 Race 1 Tom Chilton Sébastien Loeb Racing Race 2 Esteban Guerrieri Honda Racing Team JAS
FIM Endurance World Championship Year Manufacturer Winning team Winning riders 2007 Suzuki Matthieu Lagrive 2008 Yamaha Yamaha Austria Racing Team Steve Martin Steve Plater 2009 Yamaha Yamaha Austria Racing Team Steve Martin 2010 Suzuki Sylvain Guintoli 2011 Yamaha David Checa Kenny Foray Matthieu Lagrive 2012 BMW BMW Motorrad France Thevent Sebastien Gimbert Damian Cudlin
Motocross World Championship Year Race MX1 MX22013 Race 1 Clément Desalle Jeffrey Herlings Race 2 Tony Cairoli Jeffrey Herlings Year Race MXGP MX2 WMX2014 Race 1 Maximilian Nagl Dylan Ferrandis Race 2 Gautier Paulin Jeffrey Herlings2015 Race 1 Maximilian Nagl Jeffrey Herlings Race 2 Maximilian Nagl Jeffrey Herlings2016 Race 1 Tim Gajser Jeffrey Herlings Courtney Duncan Race 2 Tim Gajser Jeffrey Herlings Courtney Duncan2017 Race 1 Tony Cairoli Pauls Jonass Race 2 Tony Cairoli Pauls Jonass
Speedcar Series Year Race Winning driver Winning team 2009 Race 1 Gianni Morbidelli Palm Beach Race 2 Vitantonio Liuzzi Union Properties
GP2 Asia Year Race Winning driver Winning team 2009 Race 1 Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix Race 2 Sergio Pérez Barwa International Campos
References
External links
Official website