The Circuito Ascari resort is a private motorsports club for automotive enthusiasts and manufacturers with a long motor racing circuit near

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

, a city in the Spanish Province of Málaga. It was founded, designed, and built by , a racing enthusiast and owner of

Ascari Cars Ascari Cars Ltd. was a British automobile manufacturer based in Banbury, England, and founded by Klaas Zwart. Zwart was the former chairman and majority owner of oil and gas company Petroline, which designed and manufactured its own downhole ...

; the track was completed in 2003. In 2022, Zwart sold the facility to two companies in Switzerland and Argentina.

History

Vista aérea del Circuito Ascari en Ronda

After making his fortune in the oil industry, Zwart participated in various racing events, including the

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where he finished third in 1995 and

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, where he was champion in 2003, 2006, and 2007; he purchased the Ascari Cars marque in 1999 and began considering where he and others could drive their

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s safely away from road traffic, which led him to purchase land near Ronda, in the southern part of Spain. Construction of the track began in 2000, and Zwart designed the track to conform with the existing contours of the site. It was completed in 2003. Final cost was estimated at million. The site was formerly used as a sheep farm. After building the track, Zwart opened up membership to 500 wealthy motorsports enthusiasts, including

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, and

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. In March 2022, CEO Jesús Gijón confirmed that two companies, one from Switzerland and one from Argentina, had purchased the Ascari site from Zwart. The new owners expressed concern that nearby proposed photovoltaic energy developments could cause "irreparable damage for the landscape and environment in the area".

Design

The site is approximately from Ronda, the nearest town, located between the hills and a military training base so noise is not an issue. Because of its location, it is favored by European car manufacturers for product launches. Vista del cortijo-casa Club de Ascari Race Resort

Vista del cortijo-casa Club de Ascari Race Resort

In addition to the track, the clubhouse features a complete restaurant and pool reminiscent of a Spanish villa. Ascari Circuit Daniel Atalaya

Many of the full circuit's 26 curves are deliberately reminiscent of famous turns at other tracks around the world. The track is wide, featuring ascending and descending grades of up to 12%, and banked turns of up to 18%. Visitors may choose to rent a car at the track, ranging from race-prepared regular production sports cars to ex-Formula 1 racing machines.

Lap times

Klaas Zwart set the overall record of 1:38.46 in an ex- F1 Jaguar R5 (2004) in 2019. Pål Pettersen Berg set the record for roadgoing vehicles in 2020 at 2:14.078 in a Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2).

In popular media

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

used Ronda and the Ascari resort to launch their

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

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'' in 2013. It is a playable track in the game.

References

External links