Sochi was the circuit which brought a Grand Prix to Russia in 2014. Designed by Hermann Tilke and constructed at a cost of around $200 million, the track is built around the complex which was used to stage the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The Black Sea resort city announced its deal to build the 5.848 kilometre FIA grade 1 circuit in 2010, with funding coming directly from the Russian government.

Whilst the pitlane and paddock facilities are permanent, the circuit utilises (notably wide) public roads which are converted into the racetrack when motorsport is scheduled.

The first F1 race was staged in 2014, with touring car action following later in the year with the Russian Circuit Racing Series (RCRS), followed in 2015 by the TCR International Series in its inaugural season.

TCR returned a year later, but the mainstay of the circuit’s calendar has been the RCRS, of which TCR Russia forms a part (although even this series is noted to not return every year).

FIA World Touring Cars arrived in 2021 when venues were required to replace the cancelled Asian leg of the calendar. WTCR was set to return in 2022 until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw the plans hastily dropped.

There have been no changes to the circuit configuration since it opened in 2014.