Spanish Formula One Grand Prix
Often referred to simply as 'Barcelona', the Circuito de Catalunya near the town of Montmelo was opened on September 10th, 1991, with strong backing of the Catalan Government and the RACC-Reial Automobil Club de Catalunya. The very first Formula One Grand Prix to be held there, will always be remembered for the head-to-head dual between Ayrton Senna in his McLaren, and Nigel Mansell in his Williams, that lasted the full length of the start/finish straight, iconic photographs taken capture the two with 'sparks-a-plenty' flying into the air.
The race track is characterised by its exceptionally long starting straight and 16 highly demanding bends. A typical lap starts with a lengthy burst down the start/finish straight, and into a right turn at Elf Corner and then a fast left on to the extended Renault swooping right-hander. The track then keeps right onto the double apex Respol bend, then straightens briefly before the slow left-hand Seat Bend, after which it dips to Wurth and climbs up again to the left-handed Campsa, before entering a fast downhill section that ends with the slow left uphill turn at Caixa. Drivers then face an even stiffer challenge as they enter the Bank Sabadell complex of turns before passing through the fast right-hander at New Holland to return to the start/finish straight to complete the lap. A much talked about aspect of the race weekend here at Catalunya, is the wind, which can abruptly change direction during the day and throw the cars very sensitive aerodynamics set-ups into disarray!. |
CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA
LOCATION: Barcelona, Spain
CIRCUIT TYPE: Permanent circuit
CIRCUIT LENGTH: 2.91 Miles
LAP RECORD: 1:21.670 - K.Raikkonen 2008
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