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43-582: By 1908 international motorsport was conducted at the Circuit Baix Penedès with the Copa Catalunya . In 1923 the first Great automobile Prize of Spain in the permanent Sitges Terramar circuit was run near Barcelona. In 1932 a race was held on a street circuit with the start in the Montjuïc Park, wooded parkland on a hill above the city's harbour. The course of the 1933 east circuit of that race became

86-436: A Miller , with a winning speed of 96.91 mph (155.96 km/h). No prize money was awarded. Unpaid construction overruns caused the builders to seize the gate receipts, leaving the organizers with no money to pay the drivers. As a result, the track was forbidden to host international races again. Drivers also complained about the entry and exit from the bankings claiming the transition from straight to banking and back again

129-519: A cultural dimension, which was reflected in the magazine Terramar, published between 1919 and 1921 by the cultural dynamizer Josep Carbonell i Gener, who also promoted other relevant headlines of the time, such as Monitor (1921) and The Friend of the Arts (1926–29). Francesc Armengol himself was one of the promoters of the construction of the Autòdrom in 1923 in the midst of the garden city development, in which he

172-682: A return to classical forms. The Autòdrom was one of these services incorporated into the Terramar project, as was a casino which was eventually not carried out, a hotel, the Noucentista gardens or, years later, the golf club. These facilities complemented the mansions built along the Paseo Marítimo in Sitges since 1919, with buildings designed by the architects Josep Maria Martino, Miquel Utrillo , Josep Renom and Josep Artigas. The urbanization project also had

215-457: A son; Maurice . She never identified the father, and was known to have had other lovers. In 1885, after travelling to Belgium and Germany, he joined his father in Madrid . Three years later, he was part of a team of engineers who helped prepare the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition . The following year, he returned to Paris, as a correspondent for the newspaper, La Vanguardia , to report on

258-479: A visit to Spain to experience the challenging, steeply sloped track of the Autòdrom. The incredible bank was enough to cause Clarkson and May to burst into a typical fit of expletives , and Hammond to begin making "squeeky noises." In 2016, the Grand Prix group, which specializes in horse world events, presented the project to reopen the Autòdrom after being closed for sixty years. The initiative consists of adapting

301-478: A wide social, cultural and economic representation of Sitges, Sant Pere de Ribes and Barcelona . King Alfonso XIII was even invited, but delegated the representation to the Captain General of Catalonia , Miguel Primo de Rivera , Marquis of Estella. The opening ceremony was held on 28 October 1923. The event was for 2-litre GP cars and was won by Albert Divo in a Sunbeam defeating Count Louis Zborowski in

344-559: Is a former racing circuit located in the small village of Rocamar , in Sant Pere de Ribes near Sitges in Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain. It was built in 1923 within 300 days, and was one of the first racetracks in the world. At the time, Europe had only two racetracks, Brooklands and Monza , and the United States only had Indianapolis . Although minor races were sporadically held on

387-469: The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition , where he helped design and create the architectural museum known as the " Poble Espanyol ". In 1930, his friend Rusiñol made efforts to rehabilitate Utrillo's reputation, as part of converting his home into what is now known as the Cau Ferrat Museum . Rusiñol died in 1931, followed by his wife Lola, in 1932. During that time, he was working on a history of

430-516: The Exposition Universelle . He would stay there to work as an art critic. In 1890, he met Suzanne, who was now calling her son "Maurice Utrillo Valadon". In 1891, after much contention, he agreed to sign papers declaring his paternity. That same year, he worked on a theatrical production, with music provided by Erik Satie . Two years later, after discovering that she was having an affair with Satie, he left France for Chicago, to participate in

473-524: The Legion of Honor in 1916. The year 1921 saw the beginning of what would be known as the "Affaire Deering". Among many other complaints, it involved accusations that Utrillo had stolen parts of the old building for his personal use. The issues were never resolved. His reputation was tarnished but, ultimately, he was affected more by the European economic crisis. This was alleviated somewhat by his participation in

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516-679: The World's Columbian Exposition . Chicago was not to his liking, however, so he went to back to Paris when the exposition closed. After two years there, he returned to his homeland; moving in with Santiago Rusiñol , a friend from his previous stay in Spain, who had become part of a growing artistic community in Sitges. There, he worked to develop his talents as a painter, while once again providing art criticism for La Vanguardia . Later, their collective launched an annual "Festes modernistes de Sitges", for which he provided scenography and posters. He also worked with

559-562: The Autòdrom was known as Mas Clot, in reference to the Clot dels Frares, the 18th-century building that dominates the area. The surface - of 25 hectares - was located within the municipal term of Sant Pere de Ribes, next to the one of Sitges and the urbanization Terramar. According to the deed of acquisition of the property, registered before the notary of Vilanova i la Geltrú , the land was “house, donkey, field-vineyard and woods with barrels, vats and presses, pipes and other containers and furniture with

602-458: The Autòdrom will be free for all visitors, who will be able to see the equestrian activities that will take place, especially in the autumn and winter months, when this hobby stops in the countries of central and northern Europe . Already 2021 saw more than 500 legitimate tourists visit the site, despite the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The track and surrounding land is currently an operating chicken farm. The fastest official race lap records at

645-587: The Autódromo de Sitges-Terramar are listed as: Miquel Utrillo Miquel Utrillo i Morlius (16 February 1862, Barcelona – 20 January 1934, Sitges ) was a Spanish art critic, scenographer , painter and engineer. He was born to the lawyer, Miquel Utrillo i Riu, originally from Tremp , a liberal republican who lived in exile in France from 1867 to 1882, and his wife, Ramona Morlius i Borràs, from Lleida . He and his mother followed his father into exile, and Miquel

688-567: The Easter Cup (1932), motorcycle, cycling and aviation races, organized by the Aereo Club de Catalunya. Between November 1933 and 1936, however, there are no races held at the venue. A car show was scheduled for May 1936, but was not held. The outbreak of the Civil War , two months later, stopped the activity of the Autòdrom. During the conflict, the circuit hosted a military recruitment centre. After

731-716: The Franco-American art collector, Charles Deering , commissioned Utrillo to design a space near Sitges to house his collection. For this purpose, Deering bought the Hospital de Sant Joan Baptista  [ ca ] , dating from the Middle Ages. He would work on this project until 1919. In the meantime, however, he continued his usual activities, which included helping to organize the Exhibition of French Arts in Barcelona. This earned him

774-665: The Montjuïc Circuit proper, holding the Penya Rhin Grand Prix . In 1968, Montjuïc was selected as the venue for the Spanish Grand Prix , which had been held at the Jarama circuit in Madrid , with the inaugural Grand Prix being held there on 4 May 1969. The variable character of the anticlockwise course (with one half slow and the other very fast) made setting the cars up correctly a challenge. The 1975 Spanish Grand Prix

817-536: The Seat brands, Peugeot or Aston Martin , which have held various events, tests and presentations. In 2012, Carlos Sainz Snr set a new lap record of 0:42.600 seconds in an Audi R8 LMS during filming of a promotional video for Red Bull . 2018 saw British automobile journalist Jeremy Clarkson , whilst hosting the Amazon Prime series The Grand Tour , and his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond take advantage of

860-547: The Sitges Prize was held and in the spring of 1927 the motorcycle tournaments were held in category 250, 350 and 500 cc, convened again by the Peña Rhin , which organized a second edition in the spring of 1929. The economic problems, however, meant that in 1929 the state seized the estates of Mas dels Frares and Clot d’en Sidós and, later, the whole circuit. The following year, Czechoslovak racer Edgar de Morawitz and Frank took over

903-564: The Tour of Catalonia by Car (1955) or a motorcycle competition organized by the Penya Maricel and the Moto Club Sitges (1955). At that time, the interiors of the track housed the installation of poultry farms and the site changed its orientation towards agricultural activity. The facilities began to suffer a gradual abandonment and the track was also damaged by the passage of trucks that accessed

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946-490: The accesses… The project presented by the company has been designed with the premise of respecting the environment and integrating it into the landscape. They claim it is very important that to be conscious of their impact on the environment, and aspire to enhance the area’s natural legacy, even pledging to clean up the nearby riverbed. In fact, the Autòdrom has given up 40% of building land, to avoid overcrowding and ensure its environmental sustainability. Once reopened, entry to

989-523: The author of the project of the track. The director was Frederic Fric Armengué. The Board of Directors was chaired by Joan Pich i Pon, who had been a member of Parliament in 1919 and 1920 and who would later become mayor of Barcelona in 1935. The Autòdrom had an Honorary Committee chaired by the Duke of Alba , then president of the Royal Automobile Club of Spain . The area where it was decided to build

1032-475: The bodywork of the floats at the Pruelles Industrial Park. In 2009, the track was cleaned and minimal adaptations were made, which led to some car brands conducting corporate tests, vehicle presentations or spot filming. Former Formula 1 driver Marc Gené (2005), former rally champion Carlos Sáinz (2013) and former Moto GP champion Jorge Lorenzo (2013) have starred in various tests, as well as

1075-781: The circuit itself. After the inaugural events, the first race was held, won by Alberto Divo with his Sunbeam, who did the marked route in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 5 seconds, at an average of 142 kilometers per hour. Divo received five trophies: the King’s Cup, the Italian Ambassador’s Cup, the Omnia Cup, the RACE Cup and the Liceu Circle Cup. Motorcycle and motorcycle races were also held during the following days. The high expectation of its inauguration was, however, immediately affected by

1118-563: The circuit through the 1950s, it was largely abandoned after the inaugural season of 1923. Now, it has seen use only as the backdrop to a selection of car advertisements, an outing of The Grand Tour , and as a chicken farm. The Autodrome of Terramar was one of the jewels born from the creation and development of the Terramar Residential Development in Sitges. Promoted by the Sabadell industrialist Francesc Armengol, Terramar

1161-589: The city council of Barcelona decided to mark the layout of the old circuit. On 13–14 October 2007 the circuit was used for the Martini Legends, to honour the 75th anniversary of the circuit. Signalling the return of Formula One cars to Montjuïc, Emerson Fittipaldi (re-)appeared in his Lotus 72 , and Marc Gené drove a contemporary Ferrari . The official race lap records at the Montjuïc circuit are listed as: Sitges Terramar The Autòdrom de Sitges-Terramar

1204-576: The economic problems caused by the construction company, which was unable to raise the capital to cover construction costs. However, in the following years there were still races, such as the Spanish Motorcycle Championship, organized by the royal Moto Club of Catalonia in May 1925, and which was attended by Alfonso XIII, and the president of the Government, the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera . In

1247-430: The exception of those of the settler and existing family memories in it ”. The project designed by the architects provided, in addition to the circuit, the construction of two smaller runways, one for horses and the other for motorcycles, as well as a football field and a field for the landing of small planes, which were thought to later become a golf course. The presentation of the works was held on 17 September 1922, with

1290-553: The facilities to host activities and equestrian events of international projection and, at the same time, take advantage of the circuit to carry out specific tests in the world of motoring, which provide continuity to its value as a historical piece of motorsport. The project has been approved by both the City of Sant Pere de Ribes and the Generalitat de Catalunya , after four years of work with contributions and improvements by technicians from

1333-437: The first and only female driver to score world championship points, taking 0.5 points for 6th place. Formula One never returned to the circuit after the accident. The circuit of Montjuïc was also the scene of the 24 hours of Montjuïc, a motorcycle endurance race from 1960 to 1982. The area where the circuit was located is now part of Anella Olímpica , where many Venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics are now located. In 2004,

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1376-454: The following years, the circuit was the subject of several sales operations and passed through the hands of Miquel Soler and Elias (1949), Margarida de Udaeta and Gil (1952) and Maria Teresa Lloret Teisseire (1956). In those years, the life of the circuit was practically non-existent, although it hosted some sporadic events, such as a stage of the Cycling Tour of Catalonia (1954), a session of

1419-606: The interior to transport poultry goods. This use continued until the 1980s. It was rediscovered by Canadian Peter Schomer in the 1990s, his plan was to build a Motorsport Resort on the property. Shortly afterwards, the space below the tiers hosted, for several months a year, the construction of the Carnival floats of the El Retiro Recreational Society of Sitges, until in 2001, the City Council of this town decided to build

1462-440: The poet, Joan Maragall , to produce illustrations for his translation of Iphigénie en Tauride , an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck . From 1899 to 1903, together with Rusiñol and Ramon Casas , he helped produce Pèl & Ploma , an artistic and literary journal. In 1910, he married Lola Vidal, a sister of the painter Lluïsa Vidal , and a widow with a grown son, whom he had known for fifteen years. Around that same time,

1505-559: The property, with the aim of reactivating the circuit and serving the motor world. De Morawitz erected a building inside the enclosure that became a piston factory of the Champion brand. Pieces were also built for the Sitjes National brand. In August 1931, the Autòdrom resumed activity with various speed tests (such as competition between a vehicle and a small plane) and acrobatic flights. In the following months, new events were held, such as

1548-656: The same year, 1925, other races were carried out, such as the one organized by the Penya Rhin, where a Bugatti was presented for the first time, the 10 km race, organized by the RACC and the Penya Rhin itself, and the 80-lap race on the circuit, promoted by the Sabadell Velocipèdic Club. The RACC and the Penya Rhin repeated their races in the following months, both in November 1925 and January 1926. In December of that year

1591-401: The various administrations involved (urban planners, environmentalists, architects, naturalists…). As of 2022, the Autòdrom is scheduled to reopen in 2023, after adapting the facilities to the approved project. The Autòdrom area as a whole has 65 hectares, of which only 5.3 are buildable and 14.4 are green areas. The rest are intended for the equestrian area, the track of the circuit, the tiers,

1634-405: The war, the critical economic and social situation of the country made it impossible to reactivate the facilities. In addition, the growing capacity of the new vehicles was an obstacle in the characteristics of the circuit, which had steep slopes, which were a danger when speed increased. On the death of Edgar de Morawitz (1945), his widow and children sold the property to Dolors de Nadal de Llinàs In

1677-535: Was an innovative garden city inspired by the urban and cultural model of Nice and the French Riviera : a resting place on the seafront, with large green spaces, with villas. and stately buildings and a series of complementary services in line with the social and cultural parameters of the place and time. Terramar, as a whole, was one of the greatest expressions of Noucentisme in Catalonia: order, urbanity, quality and

1720-632: Was given a bilingual education, initially in Avignon . Later, from 1880 to 1882, he studied engineering at the Institut National Agronomique . When his parents returned to Spain, he remained in Paris and was attracted to the artistic milieu in Montmartre . He was a frequent visitor to the cabaret, Le Chat Noir , where he met the artist, Suzanne Valadon , and became her lover. In 1883, she gave birth to

1763-472: Was marked by tragedy. Many drivers felt that the circuit was unsafe, and two time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi withdrew in protest before the start of the race. On lap 26 the Embassy Hill - Lola car of Rolf Stommelen left the track, killing four people. The race was subsequently stopped before half distance and half points awarded, with Jochen Mass being recorded as the winner. Lella Lombardi became

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1806-492: Was poorly designed. Catalunyan Automobile Club and the Penya Rhin continued to hold races in 1925 with little success. The works lasted only 300 days and the inaugural ceremony of the facilities was held on 28 October 1923, with the assistance of the infant Alfonso de Borbón , representing the Royal House. Despite the heavy rain that fell that day, the inaugural events brought together thousands of people who arrived in Sitges and

1849-404: Was the managing director for the first years of the existence of Terramar. The racing track was to respond to the growing interest in motor activities, which appeared in the early twentieth century. Built in just 300 days and at a cost of 4 million pesetas, the Autòdrom had the participation of two architects: Josep Maria Martino Arroyo for the grandstands and the market and Jaume Mestres i Fossas as

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