History

The first stone of the Circuit de Catalunya was laid on the 24th February 1989, thanks to the drive of the Consortium formed by the Generalitat de Catalunya (The Catalan Government), the Reial Automòbil Club de Catalunya and the Montmeló Town Council.

Prior to this, on the 3rd October 1986, the Catalan Parliament unanimously approved a green paper requesting the Executive Council to "co-ordinate the relevant bodies in order to conduct a study and join forces to create a new permanent racing circuit".

On the 24th February 1989 the Circuit Consortium was established among the Generalitat, the Town Council of Montmeló and the RACC. That very day the first stone was laid at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Five days after the official opening on the 10th September 1991, the Circuit de Catalunya hosted its first official race, the Spanish Touring Car Championship won by an ex-F1 driver, Luis Pérez Sala. On the 29th September 1991, the 35th F1Spanish Grand Prix took place, 16 years after it was held in Catalonia for the last time. The World Motorcycling Championship was to arrive a year later with the European Grand Prix, which was to change its name to the Catalan Grand Prix in 1995