The Guia Circuit, or Circuito da Guia, is a 6.120 km (3.803 mi) street circuit located at the southeast region of the Macau Peninsula in Macau. It is the venue of the Macau Grand Prix and Guia Race of Macau. The circuit consists of long straights and tight corners, and features the characteristics of a typical street circuit - narrow, bumpy and limited overtaking opportunities. However, there are two special features that can rarely be found in other street circuits - variation in altitude and an ultra long main straight that allows top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph) on Formula Three cars. As a result, the circuit is recognised as one of the most challenging circuits in the world in terms of both driving and tuning, as cars have to maintain competitive speed to overcome hill-climbing, twisty corners and long straights in a single lap.
Architectural model of the Guia Circuit at the Grand Prix Museum
The Hotel Lisboa Curve
Grandstand at the Guia Circuit
A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the paddock, pit boxes, fences and grandstands are usually installed temporarily and removed soon after the race is over but in modern times the pits, garages, race control and main grandstands are sometimes permanently constructed in the area. Since the track surface is originally planned for normal speeds, race drivers often find street circuits bumpy and lacking grip. Run-off areas may be non-existent, which makes driving mistakes more expensive than in purpose-built circuits with wider run-off areas.
Racing on a street circuit is also called "legal street racing".
The Monaco Grand Prix, held at the Circuit de Monaco, is one of the world's most prestigious and famous auto races.
The Toronto Indy street circuit has run at Toronto’s Exhibition Place since 1986.
The St. Petersburg street circuit held its first race in 1985, and was integrated into the IndyCar Series in 2003.
Punta del Este Street Circuit, Uruguay was the first ePrix of Formula E in the Americas. It runs along Punta del Este's harbour – nicknamed the Monte Carlo of South America.