MotoGP in Thailand: The Prince's Circuit Before Buriram

Since 2018, with the exception of the pandemic emergency period, MotoGP has raced at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram. In Thailand, they discovered an imposing, modern facility, although it wasn't always like this in the country. Racing took place everywhere, with the only circuit named after a Prince who even competed in Formula 1.

In fact, up to 40 years ago there were no permanent circuits in Thailand. With motorcycles, people trained and raced anywhere: parking lots, airports, open squares. Whether closed to urban traffic or not. With Cubs, the everyday local “scooters,” to some extent it’s still that way.

Everything changed in 1986 when a track was created on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand near the city of Pattaya. A circuit named after the recently deceased Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, better known simply as Prince Bira. A member of the Thai royal dynasty, he was also a racing driver (mostly with Maserati), competing in Formula 1 in the early 1950s, with 19 Grands Prix and two fourth-place finishes to his name, before dedicating himself to sailing, even appearing at the Olympic Games.

The Bira International Circuit represented a revolution for local motorsport: a nearly 2.5 km permanent facility with all the necessary structures to get on track and learn the craft. The project began in 1984, finding a suitable area near the road that still connects Pattaya to Bangkok, with construction completed in 1985, enough to organize a test race weekend on January 11–12, 1986, open to both two- and four-wheeled vehicles. The official inauguration, with the “Grand Opening Event,” took place later on the weekend of April 26–27, with the facility swarmed by a public of enthusiasts and the simply curious.

The opening of the Pattaya track was a turning point for motorcycling. Local riders gradually managed to bridge a gap of over half a century with traditions in other places, finally being able to train on a real track. Ratthapark Wilairot also rode his first laps at Bira Circuit and, on the kart track built in the same area, you can still occasionally see Somkiat Chantra training.