The 'Spanish Grand Prix' (''Gran Premio de España'') is a
Formula One race currently held at the
Circuit de Catalunya in
Barcelona,
Spain, as part of the annual Formula One championship season.
History
The first Spanish
Grand Prix in
1913 was not actually run to the Grand Prix formula of the day, but to touring car rules, taking place on a 300-kilometre road circuit at
Guadarrama, near
Madrid, on the road to
Valladolid.
Motor racing events had taken place in Spain prior to that - the most notable among them being the Catalan Cup of
1908 and
1909, on roads around
Sitges, near
Barcelona. Both of these events were won by
Jules Goux, establishing a strong racing tradition in
Catalonia, which has continued to this day. This enthusiasm for racing led to the plan to build a permanent track at Sitges - a 2-kilometre oval which became known as
Sitges-Terramar, and was the site of the
1923 Spanish Grand Prix.
After this first race, the track fell into financial difficulties, and the main race in Spain moved to the
Circuito Lasarte track on the northern coast (called the
San Sebastian Grand Prix). Following the
1936 race, Spain descended into
civil war and racing stopped. In 1946, racing returned to Spain in the form of the
Penya Rhin Grand Prix at the
Pedralbes Circuit in
Barcelona.
Spain did not return to the international calendar until
1951, joining the list of races of the
Formula One championship, on the
Pedralbes Circuit. In
1955, a
terrible accident at the
24 Hours of Le Mans resulted in regulations governing spectator safety, and the pedestrian-lined street track at Pedralbes was dropped from the racing calendar.
Comeback
In the
1960s, Spain made a bid to return to the world of international motor racing - the
Royal Automobile Club of Spain commissioned a new circuit north of Madrid at
Jarama, and
Cataluña refurbished their circuit at
Montjuïc circuit in
Barcelona. A non-championship
Grand Prix took place at Jarama in
1967, which was won by
Jim Clark racing in a
Lotus.
In
1968, Jarama hosted the Spanish Grand Prix, near the beginning of the F1 season. It was agreed, following this event, that the race would alternate between Jarama and Montjuich.
The
1975 Grand Prix at Montjuich was marked by tragedy. There had been concerns about track safety during practice races, and double-winner
Emerson Fittipaldi retired in protest after a single lap. On the 26th lap of the race,
Rolf Stommelen's car crashed when the rear wing broke off, killing four spectators. The race was stopped later and won by
Jochen Mass, though only half the points were awarded.
The Spanish Grand Prix was confined to Jarama until
1981, after which it was dropped from the racing calendar. In
1985, the Mayor of
Jerez commissioned a new racing circuit in his town to promote tourism and
sherries. The track, the
Circuito Permanente de Jerez, was finished in time for the
1986 championship, which saw a furious battle between
Ayrton Senna and
Nigel Mansell, with the two cars finishing side by side. The stewards awarded the win to Senna, by 0.014 seconds - one of F1's closest finishes.
The
1990 Spanish Grand Prix was the last in Jerez (although Jerez did stage the
European Grand Prix in
1994 and
1997). During the practice,
Martin Donnelly's car was destroyed in a high-speed collision, and Donnelly was severely injured.
Work on the Circuit de Catalunya was underway in
Barcelona, and in
1991, the event moved to this new track, where it has remained since. The 1992 event was advertised as the Grand Prix of the
Olympic Games.
Sponsors
Gran Premio
Talbot de Espãna '1981'
Gran Premio
Tio Pepe de Espãna '1986-1992'
Gran Premio
Marlboro de Espãna '1993-2005'
Gran Premio
Telefónica de Espãna '2006-'
Winners of the Spanish Grands Prix
''Events which were not part of the Formula One World Championhip are indicated by a pink background.''
''A cream background indicates an event which was part of the pre-
war European Championship.''
External links
★
Circuit de Catalunya official website
★
Spanish Grand Prix Statistics
★
Catalunya F1 statistics
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