The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 led to the United States abandoning their base in Subic. The Subic International Raceway was established at the site of the former Naval Air Station Cubi Point's refuelling area for fighter jets. Former Filipino race car driver Pocholo Ramirez with the help of other figures in Philippine racing including Mandy Eduque, Mike Potenciano, Macky Carapiet, Louis Camus, Freddy Masigan set up Sports Values Incorporated (SVI) so that they could convert the existing paved roads and taxiways into a racing circuit.
The Subic International Raceway was opened in 1994[2] with SVI initially only able to secure a three-month lease for the racing circuit's site. The lease was extended multiple times during the racing circuit's 17-year operation.[3]
Subic Bay has hosted South East Asia's Premier motorcycle, touring car and formula car events. The Marlboro Asia Pacific Road Racing Championship, Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) featuring the Southeast Asian Touring Car Zone Challenge (SEATCZC) and the Asian Formula 2000 have all raced here, and it also hosted the Asian 1600 Touring Car Invitational Cup, the Philippine Japan Invitational Historic Car Races and the Hong Kong Classic Car Races. The major visitor to the track was the Asian F3 Series.
The racing circuit closed in July 2010[3] with the three-day "The Last Lap" held as the last racing event.[4]
Racing track
At the time of its closure, the Subic International Raceway had a total length of 2.900 km (1.802 mi) with 15 turns. It had long straights that allowed for a long and short circuit setup.[3][5][6]
Lap records
The fastest official race lap records at the Subic International Raceway are listed as: