Spanish Grand Prix
The fourth race of the F1 Championship season takes places in sunny Spain, on the Circuit de Catalunya, located just north of Barcelona. Barcelona is known as Spain’s motor racing capital, because of the fact that there are four motor racing circuits in its vicinity: Villafrance, Pedralbes and Mont Juic Park.
For the Spanish Grand Prix, spectators will have to don their sunglasses, sunbloack and hats and enjoy the great Spanish weather, hospitality, atmosphere and food.
The goal of building the Circuit de Catalunya in 1989 was to win back the Spanish Grand Prix from the Jerez and Jarama circuits – up until then the Grand Prix was shared among the various tracks. Catalunya was able to clinch the exclusive rights to the Grand Prix starting 1991, when Martin Donnelly had a near fatal accident on the Jerez circuit in 1990. This was 16 years after the last Grand Prix was held in Catalunya and was a big coup for the cricuit. The 35th Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya in 1991 was won by Nigel Mansell driving for Williams-Renault, after Gerhard Berger’s engine blew and legendary Ayrton Senna chose the wrong tyres.
The Catalunya track is a favorite among fans, as the designer of the track took into account that spectators desire to see action as well as the parade. Because of this, the long straight in front of the grandstand leads into a sharp right turn that requires heavy braking. This is perfect for overtaking and has a large gravel trap to catch those that can’t quite make it and one driver is bound to end up there in every Grand Prix race! Although the track had undergone several modifications over the years, primarily for driver safety, the track is still considered to be quick and a great track for spectators to enjoy the race.