Until the recently closed 2024 season, FANATEC GT World Challenge Asia dedicated its calendar to permanent circuits in all six countries that appear in its history books, but with a vacant spot in China to choose a venue for the 2025 calendar, SRO decided to confirm a street circuit at Beijing to close the season.
Obviously, this will be the first street circuit in GTWC Asia’s history, but this will add the tally of Chinese circuits in the series history to four, as Zhejiang and Ningbo hosted rounds once while the Shanghai International Circuit was the preferred destination with four appearances, including the 2024 season finale that marked the return of SRO competition in China following a four year hiatus due to the health and safety measures placed in the country due to the COVID-19, which cancelled two seasons in 2020 and 2021 and kept China away in 2022 and 2023.
Although having its fair share of permanent circuits, with Zhuhai, Ordos and Goldenport also being former hosts of SRO events while Shanghai Tianma was part of the WTCC calendar, China also does plenty of street racing, with BPR Global GT having a round at Zhuhai before the the permanent circuit was done, while Wuhan held a WTCR round and Haitang Bay in Sanya had a Formula E race. Beijing is quite a recurring destination for street course events, with the Olympic Park hosting Formula E’s Beijing e-Prix, the Shunyi Park located circuit that hosted a Superleague Formula round and the controversial Jingkai circuit that hosted A1GP.
The new layout was created by the renowned Apex Circuit Design with 4.9 kilometers in the E-Town region and surrounded by the Tonghuihe and Liangshui rivers in a simple layout, with the usual collection of 90-degree corners with sweeping high speed sections that should favor some overtaking between the walls.
The 2025 GTWC Asia calendar starts on 12 and 13 April at Sepang while the season finale at Beijing will be held on 18 and 19 October.
IMAGE: SRO
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