The Montjuic circuit was a street circuit in Barcelona that was compared to Monaco in terms of difficulty and beauty and was found (is found?) on one of the hills of Barcelona, and can be walked.
I would agree with the previous assessment as I decided to walk around it – it runs among parks, so while there is a feel of nature, it also offers a beautiful view to the city (from many different points). Even if someone is not a motorsport fan, it is a really nice walk (it has quite some elevation, though not levels of Spa), just because of its beauty.
It only hosted 4 Grands Prix between 1969-1975, alternating hosting the Spanish GP with Jarama, and while Jackie Stewart won here twice and Emerson Fittipaldi once, in the fated year of 1975, the race ended prematurely because of a horrible accident that claimed the life of 4 people (Jochen Mass was declared winner).
Before the race, the drivers saw that the safety of the circuit was subpar: the barriers that were supposed to protect the spectators were not properly screwed, which was a main concern as just two years ago a driver died in Watkins Glen because of not properly secured barriers. They threatened with a strike, so some of the problems were hastily fixed (team members going around and doing the fixing, including Ken Tyrell). Because the organizers and the FIA threatened legal actions (like locking down the cars) and financial penalties in case of not participating, the race went ahead.
Except for one very badass person, Emerson Fittipaldi, who was the reigning champion at that time, so it was a very bold statement. (I am wondering if maybe Lauda also drew some strength from this when he got out of his car in the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix.) After 3 very slow laps in qualifying, Fittipaldi got out of his car and effectively left the circuit for home, and there were two other drivers, Wilson Fittipaldi (Emerson’s brother) and Arturo Merzario, who got out of their car after the first lap of the race. The world champion’s decisions got mixed reactions (organizers were obviously unhappy and some of the fans disappointed as they couldn’t see their hero), but the tragedy unfortunately proved this decision right.
On lap 26 (out of 75) Rolf Stommelen suffered a rear wing failure and his car was launched into the barriers and eventually into the spectator zone and killed 4 and left many injured, including Stommelen (who eventually recovered and went back to racing). This accident put an end to the racing at Montjuic and also accelerated the improvement of safety measures in F1.
Although this race will forever be infamous for the tragedy, it was also historic in the sense that it was the first race in the history of F1, where the points available were halved, and also it was the race, where a woman, Lella Lombardi first scored points in the sport – she finished six, so with the half points, she actually got half a point).
The start/finish was at Avinguda de’l Estadi, near the Olympic Museum where there is also a plaque dedicated to the circuit. It went anticlockwise and was 3,79 kilometers long so it can be walked in about an hour – I used the map on Wikipedia to navigate.
Here are some more pictures of the track that I have shot, but I have also found this video of Carlos Sainz driving the track in Asetto Corsa – if you cannot personally visit, it is a pretty good reference to how beautiful it is.
And if I already mentioned the Olympic and Sports Museum, let’s talk about that a bit more as well, because it is very much worth visiting. It goes through all Olympic sports and a lot of non-Olympic sports like high altitude mountain climbing (that was one of my mania before F1) and motorsports, of course – it was the main reason for me going. It is a modern museum, and for 5,8 euros, you can learn a lot. I spent about 2 hours there.
There is a focus on motorsports and some of the greatest are mentioned, also a Mika Hakkinen McLaren (showcar) is displayed and a Red Bull race suit along with some information on the different types of motorsport.
Downstairs there is another section of motorsport with the most successful Spanish drivers, along with a rally car and some motorbikes. I have found it really weird that Alonso was not mentioned at all. And not that I am thinking about it, Carlos Sainz Jr was also missing!! (Senior was there, at least.)
It is an interesting museum, if you have time, take a visit there, and combine it with a walk on the Montjuic circuit. (If you have even more time, all the Olympic buildings are nearby, too!)
Let me know if you have any questions and I’m also very interested to know what you think of the history of the race on the Montjuic circuit in 1975.
Sources:
The Race In Spain That Turned Into A Nightmare | F1 Stories
F1 TV – 1975 Review
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