Gran Premio Telefonica de Espana

 
The very first Spanish Grand Prix in 1913 was not actually run to the Grand Prix formula of the day, but to touring car rules, taking place on a 300-kilometre road circuit at Guadarrama, near Madrid, on the road to Valladolid.


Motor racing events had taken place in Spain prior to that - the most notable among them being the Catalan Cup of 1908 and 1909, on roads around Sitges, near Barcelona. Both of these events were won by Jules Goux, establishing a strong racing tradition in Catalonia, which has continued to this day. This enthusiasm for racing led to the plan to build a permanent track at Sitges - a 2-kilometre oval which became known as Sitges-Terramar, and was the site of the 1923 Spanish Grand Prix.


The Spanish Grand Prix was confined to Jarama until 1981, after which it was dropped from the racing calendar. In 1985, the Mayor of Jerez commissioned a new racing circuit in his town to promote tourism and sherries. The track, the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, was finished in time for the 1986 championship, which saw a furious battle between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, with the two cars finishing side by side. The stewards awarded the win to Senna, by 0.014 seconds - one of F1's closest finishes.

The 1990 Spanish Grand Prix was the last in Jerez (although Jerez did stage the European Grand Prix in 1994 and 1997). During the practice, Martin Donnelly's car was destroyed in a high-speed collision, and Donnelly was severely injured.

Work on the Circuit de Catalunya was underway in Barcelona, and in 1991, the event moved to this new track, where it has remained since. The 1992 event was advertised as the Grand Prix of the Olympic Games.