The Catalan Minister of Business and Labour and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (car racing track in Spain) President, Roger Torrent i Ramió, accompanied by the Circuit’s General Manager, Josep Lluís Santamaría y Romero, presented the Strategic Plan of the Circuit recently, which aims at making it more environmentally and economically sustainable, with a clear commitment to innovation, digitization and for it to become a key infrastructure for the industry of the country. In order to modernize and adapt the Circuit to the new needs, an investment plan of about 30 million euros has been designed until 2024.
‘Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’ stated that during the launch of the Strategic Plan, Ramió explained that the Circuit “Will continue to be a world benchmark in the field of competition, as we have ensured the same with the renewal of the contracts with Formula 1® and MotoGP™ World Championships (Grand Prix motorcycle racing) until 2026. But, at the same time, we also want it to be a driving infrastructure for projects linked to Green mobility, innovation and entertainment. A Circuit open and at the service of the country through a change that has to be boosted by an unequivocal commitment to sustainability, public-private collaboration and joint work with the territory.”
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a 4.675 km motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands with a capacity of 140,700. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license.
St James’s Market, London (UK)-based Formula One is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
‘Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’ further stated that the new plan aims at turning Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya into the leader in environmental commitment and in the transformations that this kind of facilities have to carry out in view of rising global warming and drastic climate change. Currently, the Circuit is already a worldwide benchmark for its commitment to sustainability and respect for its environment, but the aim is to go further.
Three major investment projects aimed at this objective have been planned: The installation of 18,480 square meters of photovoltaic (PV) panels in the control areas and in the buildings, including the roof of the Main Grandstand, the implementation of a pioneering storage system to guarantee the energy sufficiency of the Circuit and several investments in electric chargers.
In addition to environmental sustainability, the plan is also to commit to diversification in order to generate new modes of revenues. The aim, therefore, is to improve the direct generation of economic resources and to be more efficient through digitalization. In addition to the 4,675 meters of track, the Circuit has 25 hectares of green areas that make it possible to organize singular events linked to the world of entertainment and healthy leisure. In this sense, the organizational capacity and the experience in holding mass events is an added value of the Circuit when it comes to diversifying the business lines throughout the year.
Likewise, the Circuit will become a tool for the dynamization of the industry and technological innovation in Catalonia, especially those related to green mobility and the automotive industry, which is facing the challenge of decarbonizing its production. A tool aligned with the Government’s objective of reindustrializing Catalonia.
The Plan defines five actions to take advantage of the uniqueness of the site:
- Reindustrialization, transition towards sustainable and digital mobility and Industry 4.0 in the automotive sector. The Circuit offers a unique infrastructure, ideal to promote the transition towards sustainable mobility in the automotive sector and to seek alliances with the world of research and innovation to create a unique ecosystem;
- Trade fairs, congresses and business tourism. The Circuit can become a great test bench that enhances the user experience at trade fairs and congresses, a highly sought-after asset in today’s trade fairs. In this sense, the e-Mobility Experience will take place at the Circuit where the main brands of electric mobility vehicles will be exhibiting their products and visitors will be allowed to test the vehicles on the Circuit’s track. The aim is to turn e-Mobility into the most important electric mobility fair in Southern Europe;
- Unique events linked to live music. The large capacity of the Circuit and its proximity to Barcelona make it a facility with great potential for organizing large outdoor events;
- Activities to promote various sporting events such as cycling, climbing or running; and
- e-Sports. An emerging field in which Barcelona’s leadership in the video game sector must be exploited to host top-level competitions, seeking alliances with the audiovisual and digital hub of the Three Xemeneies (historical landmark in Barcelona, Spain).
Industry 4.0 has both expanded the possibilities of digital transformation in automotive and increased its importance to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, dealers, captive finance organizations, and others working in the mobility ecosystem.
The above five business lines, focused on the diversification of the offer, will, at the same time, make it possible to advance in the objective of making the Circuit a space more open to the society, closer to the territory and to the citizens.
Impact of the Circuit
The Circuit has an occupancy rate of 83 percent (year 2021) and its main events are the Formula 1® and MotoGP™ World Championships, which generate a large volume of activity and attract a large number of visitors and users.
The activities carried out at the Circuit translate into income generation in different sectors, not only in one, but in the whole economy of the country, especially related to transport, accommodation, catering, commerce, and leisure.
Below are the main figures for a typical year of operation:
- The activities carried out in a year entail an output of 326 million euros and generate a gross domestic product (GDP) of 181 million and a total of 2,670 annual full-time equivalent jobs;
- A total of 68 percent of the employment and 62 percent of the GDP remained in Catalonia, which shows the country’s retention capacity;
- In the case of Catalonia, the Circuit is responsible for 0.05 percent of the country’s GDP and employment, percentages that increase to 0.13 percent of the GDP and 0.18 percent of employment in the case of the Vallès Oriental region (county in Catalonia, Spain); and
- It generates a tax return for the administration to the tune of 49.3 million euros.
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