Montjuic Park
I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this stunning
looking,extremely challenging and extremely dangerous roadtrack located in
Barcelona.It held the Spanish GP 1969,1971,1973, and 1975
I would appreciate any info there is,pics,altitude data,memories,anything...


Thanks

Welcome to TNF, OPA!

Use the search facility for "Montjuich Park" or "Montjuïc", we've discussed that recently!

Glad to see another Montjuich fan, great circuit isn't it?

Maybe you would find interesting to go this thread:


http://www.atlasf1.com/bb/showthread.php?threadid=12004

OPA,

I'm from Barcelona and a great fan of the Montjuïc circuit, in spite of my nickname. I've recently added to my book collection a huge 600+ pages on the Montjuïc story, so if I can help you on any question about the track, his story or so, please let me know.

Jarama, that sounds like one VERY expensive book.

I definitely want a copy, so can you tell me how much it costs? And did you say the text is in English as well as Spanish?

Barry,

Maybe the book isn't so expensive as you're thinking, so it costs merely 7800.-pts. -at around US$40.

IMHO, is a very good book, worth of its prix. Well documented and researched is written by an spanish well-known journalist-historian, one of the handful of spanish reporters being IRPA members. About the text, is in spanish as well as english.

I was a nice track and dangerous.

The best, it seems, were... Bremgarten, Lobethal, Nurburgring, Spa, Mount Panorama... the real ones of the latter, of course.

jarama,
What's the name of the book and the writer?
Where did you get it?

Thanks.

Montjuïc :40 Years of Racing History at the Park Circuit 1933-1975
Javier del Arco de Izco

You can probably obtain copies emailing Santiago at info@lallibreriadelmotor.com


Felix

Thank you very much Felix & jarama!
When I'll get it and read it I'll post my review.

I've contacted Mr. Santi Aleixandre and ordered the book. I hope I'll get it soon, because my wife and I are planning on visiting Barcelona during the next few months and I want to know as much as possible about the track. The last time we were there I didn't know enough. This time I want to take pictures of the road as it is today comparable to good pictures I'll find in the book, like motosport do on their track reports.

BTW, jarama / Felix,
Is it possible to find and recognize the old Pedrebalas (I'm sorry if I got the name wrong)track?
I'd love to do the same over there too.

Pinchevs,

You will need jarama to come into your rescue!
I mean, I can provide a couple of shots of some of the points, and the names of the old 3 sides of the triangle, but of course it´s highly improbable that those names had remained (basically because two of them made direct mention to subjects related to our Civil War).

But I am sure jarama should be quite familiar with the venue, so let´s just wait for him...


Felix

I would love to see a map of the Pedralbes area as it is now, to see if some of the circuit is still recognisable.

I know that the Diagonal used to be the Avenue Generalissimo Franco and that was the main straight, but having travelled up and down it a few times back in 1997, I think that it would be totally unrecognisable today. Certainly there is nothing that I saw that looks anything like the fantastic picture from Chris Nixon's Rivals book.

If anyone has not seen the book, it is almost worth buying for that picture alone!

pinchevs,

You can walk or drive around the Montjuïc circuit for a whole lap, and with the trackmaps you'll find in the "Montjuïc" book I think it'll be an easy task. Anyway, I'll try to give you a little help:

It's very easy to find the circuit. Once in Barcelona city, ask for the Plaça de Espanya, then you must walk no more than 200 meter to be in the one and only straight, worth of this name, of the track -an avenue named Rius i Taulet, usually showed in the lower part of the trackmaps, measuring around 350 meter long-. This was the start/finish line when the first races were held at the park back in the '30s. Then you must take right, anti-clockwise, and you'll find a left-hander -La Pérgola-, where the circuit begins his running up the hill, through the sweeping fast bends named Poble Espanyol and Sant Jordi until you'll reach the long, slight left-hander that would be the start/finish line through the 60's and 70's. Just after this spot, in front of the main door of the Estadi Olímpic, there is the famous crest where the crashes of G.Hill, Rindt and six years later Stommelen happened. Then, the track begins his running down the mountain through the sharp left Miramar hairpin, Rosaleda, Font del Gat, Teatre Grec, Vías or Técnica and Guàrdia Urbana, being this left-hander right-angle the corner with the Rius i Taulet Av. again.

Later, I'll come back with the Pedralbes circuit.

Thanks so far guys.
I'm sure I could recognize the MontjuicPark track. It's the Pedralbes track that is the problem like Barry said. I just need to know the current names of the streets if they still exist.

pinchevs,

let's go with Pedralbes. There were two layouts. The first, 4.4645 km long, was used for the '46 and '48 Penya Rhin GP's, was rounded anti-clockwise, and formed by only three street legs. The start/finish straight, 1.3 km long, is the Av.Diagonal, from the point that nowadays is the entrance to the city to the spot where you'll find at your right the Hotel Princesa Sofía (Pius XII Square). The second steet leg is the entire Av.de Pedralbes -beginning at the Plaça Pius XII and finishing at the Creu (Cross) de Pedralbes. Then, the third leg is the Av.d'Esplugues, from the Creu de Pedralbes to the Diagonal Av. again. The first half of the Esplugues Avenue -from the cross to the only roundabout- is pretty close to the original circuit, while the second half -from the roundabout to the bridge over the Diagonal- is utterly new.

The second layout, 6.31588 km long, was used for the '50 Penya Rhin GP, and the '51 and '54 Spanish GP's. It was rounded clockwise. The start/finish straight, 2.0 km long, is again the Av.Diagonal, from the corner with Numància Street to the bridge crossing the avenue, in the environs of the city. Then, the Av.d'Esplugues -same leg that in the shorter layout of the track, in the opposite direction-. The third leg would be the Av.de Pedralbes, from the Creu de Pedralbes to the corner with Paseig Manuel Girona. Then, this street until the corner with Carrer Numância, and finally this street until the corner with Diagonal Avenue again.

Jarama,
I'm printing out your two track discriptions. I'll try to locate the Pedralbes track's streets that you've mentioned.

Although you've said something about this, I'd like to ask how much of the Pedralbes track is recignizable today?

Thanks!

Now its going to be a long wait untill I actually go there.

pinchevs,

the streets and the layout are the same, excepting the Av.d'Esplugues from the bridge over the Diagonal Av. to the first roundabaout you'll find walking the track in clockwise direction. From the roundabout to the square with the cross already mentioned, the avenue layout and his general look is pretty the same. The rest of the track's streets are still the same, but this area back in the '50's was nearly the outskirts of Barcelona, so there were few buildings, while today's there are hotels, shopping centers and is one of the business districts in Barcelona, so isn't an easy task to imagine Fangio, Ascari & company, flat out at nearly 280 kmh...

PS: with his main straight 2 km long, Pedralbas was the fastest urban circuit of his day.

When I was in Barcelona in the mid 80s I naturally visited Montjuïc, but wasn't aware of Pedralbes back then. When I saw a track map of the latter some years later, I immediately went to check a Barcelona city map and very easily recognized the whole circuit.

It always intrigued me that, by watching from the view on the Montjuïc hill I must have completely overlooked (in both senses of the word!) the other marvellous circuit of this wonderful city!

Did anyone else see the final part of today's Tour de France stage?

It turned right onto the racing circuit on the bottom straight opposite the fountain and wound its way up the hill to finish just about where the Grand Prix grid was in the early 70s.

The hill finished off poor David Millar, who had led, on his own for most of the second half of the stage.

Are some still running on illegal fuel?

Montjuich park is a nice park. Many happenings there and when you visit Barcelona a must.

Being an avid Tour de France fan I watch every minute of every stage and it was great to see Montjuic today even though it finished off Dave Miller.

Just watching the highlights on Eurosport, wondered if any part of old track would be used, will keep an eye out

Isn't there a thread on tracks visited by the TdF du Cyclisme?

We walked Montjuich when we were in Barcelona a few years ago. Unless you knew it was there, you wouldn't know it was there , the only trace I could find were a couple of armco post holes around one of the hairpins. It must have been a spectacular race, I've only ever seen pictures.

The best place to start is to go to the football stadium, that's just about the start/finish line.

Another Montjuich Park thread with 5 pages of discussion and numerous photos past and present:

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?show...tjuich&st=0

Brian

Dave Millar made an impressive performance yesterday and everyone of the hundred thousands street -wet!-watchers will kept memory of his sporty demostration longtime. Sadly, the stage finish line was uphill, close were it was during the 70's f1 races, and Dave is a fine flat road runner, not a climber! Thank you Dave!

Yes. it was: From the bottom straight and, going up anticlockwise, until the uphill Olympic Stadium. i.e. some 45% of the classic motoracing circuit

We drove around the Montjuich Circuit on 22 September 1970, according to our travel diary, in a totally inappropriate vehicle, a Bedford Dormobile, with a fibreglass body like an ice-cream van!

Finding the circuit was absolutely no problem, because, by a happy coincidence, the roads were being prepared for motor-cycle races at the weekend, and the hay-bales and advertising banners were already in place on most of the lap.

Truly a daunting and spectacular circuit. In a 21st century context, it would make a great super-special Rally Stage.