racing

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari Formula One Team Driver, together with the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, have set on Thursday the symbolic first stone of the company’s first theme park in Europe, which will be an expansion of PortAventura, the main amusement resort in Catalonia, located on the Costa Daurada and near Tarragona. Ferrari Land is expected to be ready by the end of 2016, after an initial investment of €100 million. It is likely to become PortAventura’s main attraction and is expected to make the Catalan holiday and amusement resort reach 5 million visitors per year. Once Ferrari Land is operational, it will employ about 150 people, in addition to PortAventura’s staff. The project also includes a 5-star hotel themed around the Ferrari brand, but this will be built during a second stage.

The Tour of Catalonia, known as ‘La Volta’, was born in 1911 and is the 3^rd oldest cycling competition in the world, just behind the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. Its Director, Rubèn Peris, is proud of the event and says that “‘La Volta’ is something bigger than a race” and is an ambassador for showing Catalonia to the rest of the world, included in the UCI World Tour calendar. From the 23^rd to the 29^th of March, this competition will hold its 95^th edition with the presence of some of the best riders in the world such as Chris Froome, Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodríguez and Alberto Contador. The CNA interviewed Peris a few days before the start of the race, which "has reached an extremely high level and which is always co-ordinated by amateurs", showing "how strong the associations’ network in Catalonia is".

The 2015 Formula 1 World Championship is about to begin and the teams finalised their preparations at the Circuit de Catalunya. 20 racers will be in the spotlight in two weeks’ time for the start of the season, but Formula 1 is not just about the drivers themselves. Apart from the household names of Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, there is a little known world that every two weeks travels from one side of the world to the other. On the one hand, there are the people who work around the F1 team itself such as the press officers, who manage communication between the different parts of the team and also with the media. On the other, all the circuits mobilise an army of volunteers who sacrifice their day job to be "marshals" at the circuit to take care of the drivers’ safety.

German manufacturer Mercedes AMG Petronas have confirmed during the last Formula 1 tests at the Circuit de Catalunya that they are two steps ahead of the rest of the teams. Nico Rosberg notched on Friday the quickest time of the second week of tests, with a time of 1:22.792, with British driver Lewis Hamilton also dominating Saturday’s time trials. Williams seem to be the second-best team in the paddock according to these test days that have also confirmed problems with the McLaren. After two weeks of tests at the Circuit de Catalunya marked by the accident suffered by Fernando Alonso last week, the teams will now take a break until 13 March, when the first round of the F1 World Championship will be held at the Albert Park track in Melbourne (Australia).

Former two time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso had to be kept in hospital last Sunday night after he was involved in a serious accident at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Greater Barcelona. The Spaniard suffered head injuries and concussion and had to be airlifted from the circuit to hospital via helicopter. Alonso was given the all clear after undergoing a series of scans and tests but was kept in hospital overnight for observation because of the nature of his injuries. The Spaniard was completing the 21st lap of the day for his new McLaren team when the accident happened at turn four on the fourth and final day of the test. According to his team, Alonso was “conscious” upon his arrival at the circuit’s medical centre and able to talk to doctors before being airlifted to hospital.

Two Catalan drivers made history this weekend at the end of the Dakar Rally 2015. Motorbike rider Marc Coma won his fifth Dakar, equalling the five titles of French drivers Cyril Neveu and Cyril Despres. Coma has become the second driver with the most triumphs in the category, just one victory less than Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel. Rider Laia Sanz finished ninth, the best position for a woman of all time. In addition, Catalonia had a large representation in this edition, with racers in all four categories, especially in motorbikes. Of the 25 Catalan racers that started the Rally on the 4^th of January, almost half made it to Buenos Aires last Saturday, after covering 9,000 kilometres in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. 

Moto2 World Champion Pol Espargaró is disputing the MotoGP World Championship for the first time this year after winning the Moto2 competition last season. Born in Granollers (Greater Barcelona) in 1991, he climbed on his first motorcycle at just 3 years old and just a year later he started competing. He has been competing at Championship level since 2006 and in his international debut he became the youngest rider to obtain points in a Grand Prix. He competed with different teams and brands such as Derbi, Kalex and Yamaha. His eldest brother Aleix Espargaró has also competed at the highest level –MotoGP- since 2009.

Between Friday 30th May and Sunday 1st June, Lleida-Alguaire Airport will play host to the first ever European race in the Air Race F1 competition , a long-established American flying competition. The event, called the Lleida Air Challenge, will also include a race of the Spanish aerobatic flying championship and other aeronautical activities. Practice started on Wednesday but the actual races will start on Friday and end on Sunday with the Air Race F1 event. 8 aircraft fly at 10-15 metres above ground level at 400km/h. The CEO of Air Race F1, Jeff Zaltman, said that he wants the competition to grow in Europe and Catalonia to act as its base for operations.

This weekend Lewis Hamilton won the F1 race in Barcelona followed by Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. The two drivers fought hard for the victory and Hamilton finished only 0.6 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Daniel Ricciardo, from Red Bull, completed the podium. Sebastian Vettel ended in fourth position, after starting the race 15^th. Hamilton is now leader of the championship. More than 200,000 people went to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit to watch the F1 Grand Prix over the three days, 60% of which came from abroad.  

Barça want to leave this weekend's 2-3 defeat to Valencia behind. The match presents a good “opportunity to vindicate the team” declared FC Barcelona’s Manager Tata Martino on Tuesday. Martino called up all available players, but he must cut four players from the squad before kick off, scheduled this Wednesday at 10 pm CET. Catalans and Basques will duke it out for a spot in the final of the Copa del Rey, a competition the Blaugrana recently won in 2012 and 2009. On paper the tie looks fairly levelled despite the 4-1 result from the Spanish League match between the two sides. Both Barça and Real Sociedad, since the new year, have practically identical records.

He’s one of the youngest riders to race at the highest level in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the youngest to win a race at the MotoGP category and unquestionably a youngster with promise. Marc Márquez, who is racing professionally since 2008, is now only twenty years old and is already competing against the greatest motorcycle riders in the world. The youngest pilot to win a race in MotoGP answers some questions for CNA.

Car dealers are satisfied with this year’s Motor Show as several brands posted solid sales balances. However, some visitors were disappointed as major car manufacturers were absent, attendants were not very enthusiastic about the worldwide premiers and there was a lack of glamour. Driving simulators and luxury-car payment tours were the main alternative for those who wanted something other than the regular exhibition. The organisers are optimistic and aim to restore the splendour of past shows as the economic situation improves and Barcelona becomes a more important city for motor events.

The Catalan capital is ready to celebrate the first X-Games on European soil. The event, which is being held from May 16th to the 19th, is expected to host 120,000 spectators that will generate an income of 40 million euros for the city of Barcelona. Among international stars like stunt performer Travis Pastrana, the BMX rider Kevin Robinson or the skater Paul Rodríguez, toplevel Catalan stars like rally competitor Nani Roma or the Moto X riders Laia Sanz and Edgar Torronteres will also be present.