2011 European Grand Prix

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May 15, 2013

The good, the bad and the could-have-been ugly | JEV's blog May 15, 2013

JEV Spain Grid

Jean-Eric Vergne sufffered more than his share of bad luck at the Spanish Grand Prix, but he intends to take it in his stride as he makes steps toward Monaco...

May 14, 2013

Small windows - Daniel's blog May 14, 2013

Dan Spain Juggling.jpg

With upgrades on the STR8, Toro Rosso looked stronger in Barcelona, and after productive practice sessions, Daniel qualified 11th. In the race he advanced on that to finish 10th and snatch the final...

May 1, 2013

The enduring passion of karting | JEV's blog May 1, 2013

JEV and the cheerleaders

In the week since the Bahrain Grand Prix, Jean-Eric Vergne has gone back to college and taken some of the Toro Rosso team karting for his birthday...

Apr 22, 2013

The ups and downs of F1 - Daniel's blog Apr 22, 2013

Daniel Bahrain portrait.jpg

After a career-best result last week in China, this week Daniel Ricciardo experienced the other side of things as his Bahrain Grand Prix was ruined by a suspiciously reluctant Toro Rosso STR8.

Apr 18, 2013

A little desert rain storm | JEV's blog Apr 18, 2013

Vergne Bahrain brolly

The rain in Bahrain falls mainly on Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne as he reveals in his latest blog...

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Motor Sports has a new home

Event Details

Location
Valencia, Spain (Map this address )
Start
JUN 22, 2012 at 12:00 AM
End
JUN 24, 2012 at 12:00 AM
About
The European Grand Prix has had a long and complex journey. It was originally created as an honorific title by the AIACR, the FIA's predecessor in the organisation of motor racing events. The first race to receive the title was the Italian Grand Prix, in 1923, it fell away during the war and was revived in 1947. In 1977 the British Grand Prix became the last race to receive the honorific title.

In 1983, the Formula One schedule originally featured a race near Flushing Meadows Park in New York. When the race was cancelled three months before the event, track organisers at Brands Hatch moved quickly to replace it with a European Grand Prix. The success of the event led to it returning on the schedule the following year. In 1990, a wealthy Japanese businessman built an extravagant race track called Nippon Autopolis with the idea of hosting a Formula One race. In 1992, plans were made to have an Asian Grand Prix added to the schedule. However, these plans failed to materialise and Bernie Ecclestone added a race at Donington Park, which brought back the European Grand Prix moniker. Several countries hosted the European Grand Prix until in 2008 when it took place in Valencia, the following year they signed a 5 year deal which puts them on the calendar until at least 2014.

The Valencia Street Circuit is a semi-permanent street circuit which utilises roads around the city's port area, including a section over a 140 metre long swing bridge. The track is 5.419km (3.367m) long and incorporates a total of 25 turns – 11 right-handers and 14 left-handers. It's estimated that the track has a top speed of around 323kph (201mph), with a lap record of 1:38.683, held by Timo Glock and set during the 2009 European Grand Prix.