The Spanish Grand Prix
The Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona built in 1991 is the current venue for the Spanish Grand Prix (Gran Premio de España) but this wasn’t always the case, as prior to its existance spanish F1 racing had its home at the Montjuic Circuit. Despite it being a new addition it carries a great combination of straights and corners making it a new and challenging circuit.
Spainish Racing History
The first ever Spanish Grand Prix took place in 1913, at Guadarrama (near Madrid) on a 300 kilometer circuit where it was actually following touring car rules as opposed to Formula 1. Despite this it’s still considered to be the first official Grand Prix in Spain and certainly not the first ever motor race to be held in Spain.
The Catalan Cup of 1908 and 1909 are two of the more notable events to happen before the 1913 grand prix. Both these events took place on the roads of Sitges with Jules Goux of France winning both years and setting the foundations of Frances racing traditions in motion.
Not only was an official track built in Sitges offering a two kilometer oval shaped circuit known as the Sitges Terramar but the 1923 Spanish Grand Prix also took place there. Unfortunately after the first race the track came under some financial difficulties causing the official grand prix venue to move to Circuito Lasarte on the northern coast of Spain, and in 1926 this race became officially known as the San Sebastian Grand Prix.
The Wallstreet Crash
After much success in the 1920’s at Lasarte the 1930-1932 grand prix’s were all cancelled due to the great Wallstreet crash of 1929, and it wasn’t until 1933 that the grand prix at Lasarte returned with government sponsorship and backing.
Spanish Civil War
Racing continued strongly at Lasarte until 1935 when the Spanish civil war took place, causing racing to stop and not return to Spain until 1946 in the form of the Penya Rhin Grand Prix, which was held at the Pedralbes Circuit in Barcelona.
1951 Onwards
Racing continued at the Pedralbes circuit for a few more years until 1951 when Spain officially returned to the international circuit by joining the Formula One championship still at the Pedralbes. Unfortunately the Pedralbes suffered some negative exposure in 1955 when a major accident during the 24 Le Mans caused it to be dropped from the racing calendar.
Royal Automobile Club - 1960’s
Despite being dropped from the international racing scene, in 1960 the Royal Automobile Club of Spain helped return Spain to international racing by helping build a new circuit at Jarama where a non-championship Grand Prix was held in 1967 (Jim Clark won with a Lotus). At the same time it must be noted that Cataluna also refurbished their Montjuic circuit in Barcelona, and after the 1968 grand prix at Jarama it was agreed that the F1 racing venue would alternate beween Jarama and Montjuic.
Tragedy At Montjuic
Despite some great racing years at Jarama and Montjuic, 1975 marked the end of racing at Montjuic when a fatal crash killed 4 spectators. Concerns about track safety had already been expressed during practice and double winner Emerson Fittipaldi retired in protest after just a single lap. On lap 26 of the race Rolf Stommelen’s car crashed with his rear wing breaking off killing the four spectators. The race was won by Jochen Mass, though only half the points were awarded due to the race being stopped.
Circuito Permanente
Until 1981 Jarama hosted all the standard Spanish Grand Prix’s, but a new circuit was commissioned by the Mayor of Jerez to promote its towns tourism. The new circuit known as Circuito Permanente de Jerez, managed to be completed in time for the 1986 F1 championship and will always be remembered for the amazing showdown between Nigel Mansel and Ayrton Senna which resulted in an photo finish and the judges awarding the win to Senna by just 0.014 seconds.
1990 to Present Day
1990 was the last year at Jerez, after which the venue moved to it’s current location: the circuit de Catalunya where its expected to stay for many years to come.