Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Lore & Background

The circuit was built in 1991 and began hosting the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix that same year. Construction also coincided with the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games scheduled to take place in Barcelona the next year, where the circuit acted as the start and finish line for the road team time trial cycling event and road team time trial para-cycling event. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya should not be confused with the Montjuïc circuit, which hosted the Spanish Grand Prix four times between 1969 and 1975 and is actually located within the city of Barcelona. The circuit has hosted a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1992, originally the European motorcycle Grand Prix from 1992 and later the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix since 1996. It hosted two rounds in 2024, with the season-ending one-off Solidarity motorcycle Grand Prix replacing Valencia because of flooding in the Valencia area. The circuit hosted many other international racing series, including the FIA Sportscar Championship (1999–2002), European Touring Car Championship (2003), FIA GT Championship (2003), Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2006–2009), European Le Mans Series (2008–2009, 2019, 2021–present), and World Series Formula V8 3.5 (2002–2004, 2006–2013, 2016), GT World Challenge Europe (2017–present), 24h de Barcelona Trofeu Fermí Vélez, and FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX of Catalunya; 2015–2022). Since 2016, the racetrack hosts the 24h BiCircuit Festival, an ultra-distance cycling event. The track was resurfaced in 2018 as a result of calls by MotoGP riders to improve grip; previously it had been resurfaced in 2004. Barcelona has the 3-star FIA Environmental Accreditation and the ISO 14001 certification. In a 2021 report, it was ranked the second most sustainable racetrack in the world, together with Circuit Paul Ricard and behind Mugello Circuit.

Reader's Guide

The track is demanding of a car's aerodynamic qualities. The wind direction at the circuit can change drastically during the day, making it difficult to find a good setup. In Formula 1, Turn 1 is arguably the most popular place for overtaking. In motorcycling, riders are known to overtake in at least five points on the track (turns 1–2, 4, 5, 10 and 14). The 2007 season saw the first of the two final sweepers replaced with a slow chicane to reduce speeds through the final corner; from the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, Formula One stopped using that chicane, reverting the final corners to a sweeping fast configuration. Through 2015, MotoGP used the layout used the 1995–2003 version of the Grand Prix circuit.

Did You Know?

• The circuit has been the site of two debut wins in Formula One: Pastor Maldonado in 2012 and Max Verstappen in 2016.
• At the 2009 motorcycle Grand Prix, teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo fought all race long for first place, culminating in an overtake on the final corner by Rossi, described as 'historic' and 'genius'.
• On 3 June 2016, during Moto2 Free Practice for the 2016 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Luis Salom crashed in turn 12 and later died of his injuries.