It may not have corners as famous at Spa-Francorchamps. It may not have the weather of Melbourne, but was this race track in a small town in southern Spain has, is the ability to make an impact on people whilst it has only played host to 6 Grand Prix.
One of the most famous moments Jerez has seen. The infamous Schumacher/Villeneuve crash
Jerez is a track located in rural Spain, and has played host to both the Spanish and European Grand Prix. The track opened in 1985 and hosted it's first Grand Prix in 1986, hosting the Spanish Grand Prix for 4 years till 1990, before the FIA decided that, due to Jerez being so isolated they would replace Jerez with the current venue of the Spanish Grand Prix, Circuit De Catalunya in Barcelona in hopes of increasing spectator sales. 1991 saw Jerez disappear from the calendar for 3 years before returning as the "European Grand Prix" in 1994, and then disappearing again, before swooping in to be the last round of the 1997 calendar, which proved to be a cracking race, which you can read about here: http://greenflagf1.blogspot.co.nz/2015/05/legends-of-f1-jacques-villenueve.html
Circuito de Jerez from above.
Jerez is described as a fast flowing track originally with 13 medium to fast corners. It has a relatively big elevation change with a well recognized run up into turn 1. The track runs in a clock wise direction with a total track length at 4.428km. The lap record is currently held by Heinz-Harold Frentzen with a 1:23.135 in 1997 driving for the Williams-Renault team. Even though Jerez is no longer past of the Formula One calendar, it is a highly important track because of the massive role it plays in pre-season testing. It holds the first pre-season test of the season and is the first indication of pace in the season. This season it was our first glimpse at 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel driving for Ferrari, and McLaren with there new Honda power units.
The Layout of Jerez, with the newly added chicane in grey.
Though Jerez has only hosted 6 Grand Prix at the track it has created history for itself as a classic Formula One track. The events of 1997, the thrilling season finale stay etched in our minds forever. An interesting fact as due to team orders David Coulthard was ordered to let Mika Hakkinen pass him for the lead. It was the first ever win for Mika Hakkinen and he would go onto win the 1998 and 1999 titles. I hope Jerez can remain a classic track and will stay on as a testing track for years to come.
A lap onboard with Jacques Villeneuve with Martin Brundle provided commentary.
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