Óscar Maya Belchí |
Sports writing, (EFE).- The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will experience its 33rd edition this weekend. More than 30 million investment to improve the facilities. There will be drinking water, more shaded spaces, renovated grandstands, more parking spaces…
They expect an attendance of 120,00 people on race day. 60% foreigners. They do not chase the 2007 record with 140,707. “It is very good to break the record, but the quality is better,” Josep Lluis Santamaria, director of the circuit, assures EFE. Tickets range from €49.5 for Sunday to €4,000 for VIP packs.
“We expect attendance figures similar to those of last year, of 120,000 people on Sunday. The new stands are being compensated with spaces where other facilities have been located; It is a different configuration with which we are left with 20,000 people from the record ”, the circuit director assures EFE
“We want to manage a comfortable figure to move people. It is very good to break the record, but the quality is better. That whoever comes lives the event with more joy and quality of her stay so that it is an extraordinary experience ”, she adds.
The Spanish GP hosts the seventh round of the calendar of a 2023 season that the Dutchman Max Verstappen dominates with an iron fist, but that has seen how the Spanish Fernando Alonso, two-time F1 world champion in 2005 and 2006, has resurfaced and adds five podiums, stroking victory last weekend in Monaco.
A return to the top positions for Alonso together with the presence of the Spanish Carlos Sainz in Ferrari that has made F1 grow even more in Spain, reaching peak television audiences.
Of course, for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the interest in F1 goes further. “The boom exists. And we also saw it last post-pandemic year. One thing to highlight, when we started selling tickets in November, in one day we sold 40,000 tickets, and Alonso was not yet at Aston Martin nor did he start to do the season that he is doing ”, Josep Lluis Santamaria points out to EFE.
“Having two home riders is very appealing to the staff. Having a national reference is always important. But nowadays everything is global and the public comes from everywhere. There are followers of all the pilots; with stands of Verstappen, Gasly… ”, he points out.
“In addition, I would like to highlight the work that a Spanish team like Campos Racing is doing in F2 and F3. And the figure of Pepe Martí, who has just won in Monaco, a race with special symbols, in F3; We hope to see him in a few years where Alonso and Sainz are ”, he completes.
Attractions for the Spanish fan ahead of a weekend for which the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has prepared thoroughly.
The great sporting novelty, in the layout, is that it will return to the original layout and the last chicane of the circuit disappears; which has forced the organization to make improvements in terms of safety in the first corner due to the high speed at which the single-seaters will arrive.
New protection fences have been installed and the loophole has been increased by 40 meters in width to adapt safety standards to the current situation of a permanent circuit that is more than 30 years old.
More than 30 million euros to put the circuit at the forefront
In addition to the modifications to reinforce security, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has built new and more modern grandstands, prioritizing shaded areas to protect spectators, although, finally, the weather forecast for the first weekend of June be more benevolent than expected.
In addition, drinking water has been enabled for the first time. A ‘luxury’ that not all circuits have and with which, in addition to facilitating the daily life of attendees, they hope to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics in the sale of bottles.
“In these more than 30 years, water from wells was used and the hydrate content was higher than that allowed for human consumption, which is why it was not drinkable. This year a significant investment has been made to connect us to the public network”, points out Josep Lluis Santamaría.
In continuity with the idea of reducing environmental impact, the circuit is committed to energy self-sufficiency, and for this reason it has installed photovoltaic panels on the roofs of the buildings.
In addition to these advances, a process of reform and modernization of the toilets has been carried out, more restaurant areas have been included and the marker on the main straight has been renewed, which will consist of giant LED screens on which to follow the race. .
A total investment that exceeds 30 million euros. “In the circuit’s strategic plan there is talk of 30 million euros, and we are somewhat above these figures. You have to transform the circuit. A large investment has been made in recent years, giving an important turnaround to the facilities and we are going to continue so that the circuit is the number one of the circuits”, assures the director of the same.
How to get to the circuit
A problem that occurs in most Grand Prix are traffic jams. To try to avoid them as much as possible, the Circuit de Barcelona -Catalunya is committed to sustainable mobility. Last year, 75,000 spectators arrived by public transport, a figure that they hope will increase as 4,000 more parking spaces are enabled, reaching 16,000.
Buses will be chartered from different points in the city, such as the North Bus Station, Lloret de Mar and the Montmeló station itself. In addition, Renfe will reinforce its train cadence and will enable more ticket self-sale points to speed up the process.
Experience beyond F1
In 2022, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was only without activity for nine days. A faithful reflection of the idea pursued by its current management to go beyond racing and use its 55,000 square meters of paddock, as well as the rest of the versatile facilities, for all kinds of events such as vehicle tests, company presentations, concerts and exhibitions.
An idea that is transferred to the F1 weekend itself. “You have to give everyone the experience they want. Those who are race technicians, those are only going to see the race and the technical part. Later, others come to live a VIP experience such as attending different events. We have been evolving and we have different hospitality products”, comments Josep Lluis Santamaría.
“This is something that is changing. We have seen how they work in the US and other countries and the trend is to go there. Today you go to the paddock and there are not only the trucks, there are large buildings with two or three floors that are in the paddock. This is being translated to the public area. We have installed a box area, our new hospitality buildings… all to create these experiences for people who are coming for something more than the race”, she points out.
Within the circuit itself, ‘hospitalities’ have also been created for external companies that rent a space to set up their meeting place and give a VIP experience. As is the case of the Panorama Village organized by WNOT, a company that organizes musical experiences that has seen in the motor world an opportunity to unite both worlds.
“We had noticed a terrible lack of events on the circuit and that is why we wanted to radically change this through our experience to offer special experiences to spectators; that they are going to enjoy F1 and experiences outside the competition”, Adrián Clavero, one of the project directors, points out to EFE.
To do this, it has built a 2,000-square-meter building located at the end of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya straight, in which they offer a range of leisure, gastronomy and music with prices ranging from €199 for Fridays to the complete VIP experience. in exchange for €4,000 from Friday to Sunday.
A line of experiences that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya follows with its own ‘hospitalities’ and at the same time transfers them to the center of the city, to Port Vell in Barcelona, where they have set up a 4,000 square meter space with free admission where fans can enjoy different activities, experiences, performances and purchase points for F1 merchandising; between, apparently on social networks, the ‘Alonsomanía’ and the green Aston Martin take the cake.