Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto (formerly known as Circuito de Jerez and Circuito de Velocidad Jerez), is a racing circuit located close to the city of

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

, south of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and deep within the

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

-producing region in the south of Spain. The project was led by the Spanish engineer Manuel Medina Lara, based on a preliminary idea from Alessandro Rocci.

Circuit history

The circuit opened on 8 December 1985. During 1986 the circuit hosted the first international motorcycle event in Spain in March and the

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Spanish Grand Prix in April. The circuit's relatively remote location hindered significant spectator turnout, although up to 125,000 can be accommodated. Because of this, F1 moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

following the 1990 race. In 1992, the track eliminated four corners to create the long right hander ''Curva Sito Pons''. Due to the hosting of the European Grand Prix in 1994, a new chicane was created (the ''Senna'' curve) at the corner where Martin Donnelly had a career-ending accident during qualifying for the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix. Jerez also hosted the

1997 European Grand Prix The 1997 European Grand Prix (formally the XLII European Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 October 1997 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Spain. Originally scheduled as the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril circuit, ...

, which was the championship decider between

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

and

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...

, who collided during the race. During the podium celebrations of the 1997 race, Jerez's Mayor Pedro Pacheco disrupted the podium celebrations by presenting a trophy that was supposed to be presented by a dignitary from Daimler-Benz. This incident resulted in the track being banned from hosting a Grand Prix ever. It has not hosted another Grand Prix since, but continued to be used for winter testing until 2015. During 2005, the track was resurfaced. It was expected that the

Champ Car World Series Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), ...

would race there in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

until the series was cancelled early in the year after merging with the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

On 2 May 2013, it was announced that the final corner would be renamed after Spanish then four-time and reigning world champion (250cc -

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

; MotoGP -

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

)

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three List of 500cc/MotoGP Motorcycle World Champions, MotoGP World Championships ...

. In 2017, FIA Formula 2 hosted a stand-alone event on October 7 and 8 at the circuit. On 3 May 2018, the circuit was renamed in honor of the former motorcyclist Ángel Nieto, who died in 2017. On 3 May 2019, the sixth corner (formerly ''Curva Dry Sac'') was renamed after Dani Pedrosa, retired three-time world champion (125cc -

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

; 250cc -

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

) and three-time runner-up in the MotoGP class.

Layout history

Events

; Current * February: Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship, F4 Spanish Winter Championship * March: * April:

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

'' Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix'', Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup * June: FIM JuniorGP World Championship, FIM Moto2 European Championship * September:

Eurocup-3 Eurocup-3 is a formula racing series regulated according to Formula Regional regulations. The series is founded for levelling up the competition for all drivers, with each team committing on a maximum budget of €400,000 every season. History ...

, F4 Spanish Championship, Campeonato de España de GT, , * October:

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...

, Supersport World Championship, Supersport 300 World Championship, FIM Women's Motorcycling World Championship * November: , , ; Former * BPR Global GT Series (1995) * Eurocup Clio (2014) * Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014–2015) *

Euroformula Open Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...

(2013–2018) * Euroseries 3000 (2002–2004, 2008) * Ferrari Challenge Europe (2016, 2024) *

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

(2017) *

FIM Endurance World Championship The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...

(1986–1987) * FIM Intercontinental Games (2024) *

** '' European Grand Prix'' (1994, 1997) ** '' Spanish Grand Prix'' (1986–1990) * Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2014–2015) * Formula Winter Series (2023–2024) *

French F4 Championship French F4 Championship, formerly known as Formula Renault Campus France, Formula Campus, Formul'Academy Euro Series, F4 Eurocup 1.6 is a form of open wheel racing founded in 1993 by Louis Drouet. It is based in France and aims at karting gradua ...

(2014, 2018) *

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

(2017) *

** '' Andalusian motorcycle Grand Prix'' (2020) ** '' Expo 92 motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1987) * International Formula 3000 (1988–1991, 1997) * International GT Open (2013–2014) * Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final (2019, 2024) * MotoE World Cup ** ''Spanish eRace'' (2020–2022) *

Renault Sport Trophy The Renault Sport Trophy was a One-Design, one-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. The series has raced with the Renault Sport R.S. 01 in 2015 and 2016 as part of the Renault Sport Series (formerly World Series by Renault), b ...

(2015) *

Sidecar World Championship FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949. It was formerly named Supersi ...

(1987–1988, 1990–1992) *

Superleague Formula Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...

(2008) * TCR Europe Touring Car Series (2016) * World Series Formula V8 3.5 (1998–1999, 2004, 2014–2017) *

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

(1986–1988)

Lap records

The all-time outright track record is 1:15.651, set by Pedro de la Rosa in a McLaren MP4-20, during Formula One testing in April 2005. As of April 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuito de Jerez are listed as:

Weather and climate

Jerez racetrack is located near the airport where the city's official weather station is located. The site has a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Csa'' with mild and rainy winters coupled with hot summers with pronounced drought. As a result, all of Jerez' Formula One and MotoGP races have been held during shoulder seasons when the air temperatures normally are gentler. The current placement of the MotoGP event in early May has reduced rainfall risk compared to the previous April date, as well as raising the likely average temperature by several degrees. Formula One races used to be held in latter parts of the autumn, but were discontinued after 1997. Jerez used to be a primary winter testing venue for Formula One and remains so for both MotoGP and the

, in part due to the favourable temperatures in winter mimicking potential conditions during the race season farther north in Europe even in January.

Fatalities

* Dean Berta Viñales, 15, Spanish motorcycle racer, crashed 25 September 2021. * Ismael Bonilla, 41, Spanish motorcycle racer, crashed 5 July 2020. *Marcos Garrido, 14, Spanish motorcycle racer, crashed March 2019. * Nobuyuki Wakai, 25, Japanese motorcycle racer, crashed 1 May 1993. *Javier Moreno, 21, Spanish motorcycle racer, crashed 1990.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerez Formula One circuits Grand Prix motorcycle circuits Spanish Grand Prix Motorsport venues in Andalusia Superbike World Championship circuits Buildings and structures in Jerez de la Frontera Sports venues in Andalusia Sport in Jerez de la Frontera FIM Women's Motorcycling World Championship circuits