Lihpao Racing Park

Overview

Lihpao Racing Park, also called Lihpao International Circuit, is a permanent circuit in Houli District on the northern outskirts of Taichung in central Taiwan, close to Highways 1 and 4. It occupies the western side of the Lihpao resort, which also includes the Lihpao Land theme park and a hotel, on land that was once a ranch of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. The resort belongs to the Lihpao Group. The circuit holds an FIA Grade 2 licence, has been the main venue of the TCR Taiwan Series since 2022 and also hosts the national Super Touring Series.

Technical Specifications and Track Features

The main course, known as the G2 circuit, is 3.5 km long with 23 turns. Before FIA certification a version with two fewer corners was used, and the full layout came into use in May 2021. The lap can be divided into three shorter tracks, named Wind, Fire and Thunder, which can be used at the same time. The ground changes height noticeably, above all in the Fire section, which drops by about the height of a five-storey building. Jonathan Lester set a race lap record of 1:48.426 in an Audi RS 3 LMS TCR during the 2022 TCR Taiwan Series.

Facilities and Specialized Areas

The circuit was built around an existing karting track, which had opened twelve years before the main course, and the site also has an off-road course. The pit building, called the Event Centre, holds garages for 34 teams, a VIP area, the podium, race control, a media centre and a multi-purpose room, and part of it extends over the start-finish straight in the manner of Jerez or Macau. A separate Welcome Building contains a service centre, exhibition space, car brand boutiques, a children's education centre and a light food area. Spectator capacity is 9,500.

History

Planning for a circuit at the resort took about ten years. In 2015 the developer, Yue-Mei International Development Corp, presented a proposal that included four international events a year, among them a Formula 3 race. Final plans were announced in August 2017 together with Audi Taiwan, which became a sponsor, and in November 2017 the two launched an Audi Driving Experience programme that began with off-road bookings. Construction on the western edge of the theme park was complete by November 2018, and the official opening date is 6 November 2018. Noise complaints from neighbours soon after the opening forced a temporary halt to activity on the track. In 2019 the Taichung environmental protection bureau fined the operator NT$2 million under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, and the operator undertook to lower its maximum noise level from 110 to 105 dB and to add soundproofing. The circuit ran in trial operation for about three years before it received its racing certifications. The first race meeting, a three-day carnival with more than 250 competitors, was held in May 2021, and in 2022 the TCR Taiwan Series made the circuit its main venue.