The Circuito de Madrid Jarama - RACE, formerly known as ''Circuito del Jarama'' and ''Circuito Permanente del Jarama'' is a motorsport racetrack located in

San Sebastián de los Reyes San Sebastián de los Reyes (, colloquially called "Sanse") is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1492, it is located north of Madrid. Geography It forms an urban continuum with the neighboring Alcobendas, Transpor ...

, north of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. It was home to the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix (, ) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating its centenary in 2013. The race had modest beginnings ...

nine times between 1968 and 1981, and the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix 15 times between 1969 and 1988. Designed by John Hugenholtz (who also created Suzuka), the circuit was built by Alessandro Rocci in 1967 on

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

scrub land.

History

It has a short main straight and most of the course consisted of tight, twisty corners so overtaking was extremely difficult. An example of this came when

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (; 18 January 1950 – 8 May 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Villeneuve was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won six Grands ...

successfully defended his lead throughout the

1981 Spanish Grand Prix The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 June 1981 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama, Jarama, Spain. It was the seventh race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. Summary The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix featu ...

, despite a tail of four potentially faster cars. Villeneuve's turbocharged Ferrari 126CK, while powerful and fast on the straight, did not have as efficient ground effect aerodynamics as his pursuers -

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Laffite won six Formula One Grands Prix across 13 seasons. Born and raised in Paris, Laffite trained as ...

( V12

Ligier Ligier () is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Cham ...

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

), John Watson (

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

- Ford),

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver and politician, who competed in Formula One from to and served as the Governor of Santa Fe from 1999 to 2003. Reutemann was runner-up in the Form ...

( Williams-Ford), and

Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis (26 March 1958 – 15 May 1986) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . De Angelis won two Formula One Grands Prix across eight seasons. De Angelis competed in Formula One for Shadow, Lotus and Br ...

( Lotus-Ford) and was slower through the turns. This victory was to be the last one of Villeneuve's career. Jarama hosted its last Formula One race in 1981 when it was deemed too narrow for modern racing. It still holds

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

and

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

races. The circuit was lengthened in 1991, and then upgraded in 2015. In 1987, Jarama hosted Round 2 of the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...

for

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

cars, the 1987 Jarama 4 Hours. The race was won by

Roberto Ravaglia Roberto Ravaglia (born 26 May 1957) is an Italian former racing driver, who currently runs ROAL Motorsport, who operate a Chevrolet operation in the World Touring Car Championship. Before retiring in 1997, he was one of the most successful tourin ...

and

Emanuele Pirro Emanuele Pirro (; born 12 January 1962) is an Italian racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Pirro is a List of 24 Hours of Le Mans winners, five-time winner of the 24 Hours of L ...

driving a

Schnitzer Motorsport Schnitzer Motorsport was a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team mostly operated an auto racing, automobile racing squad for BMW, and had remarkable results in touring car rac ...

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

M3. Pole position for the race had been taken by triple

Le Mans 24 Hour The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with the Monaco Grand ...

winner

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. He had a very successful career winning a total of 118 races. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' (" King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car r ...

in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth turbo with a time of 1:31.434, while the fastest lap was by England's

Andy Rouse Andrew Ernest Rouse (born 2 December 1947) is a British racing driver, most notably in the British Saloon Car Championship. He won the BSCC in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Andy Rouse is one of the most successful drivers ever to appear in the ...

(also in a Sierra Cosworth) with a time of 1:33.710. Since February 2022, the circuit's name is changed as Circuito de Madrid Jarama - RACE.

Layout history

Events

; Current * June: SuperCars Endurance Series ''Jarama Classic'' * October: FIA European Truck Racing Championship ''GP Camiones de España'' ; Future *

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars ...

'' Madrid ePrix'' (2026) ; Former *

BPR Global GT Series The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The ...

(1994–1996) *

EuroBOSS Series The BOSS GP Racing Series is a motor racing series in Europe. The category originated in 1995 as the BOSS Formula series and evolved into the EuroBOSS Series. BOSS is an acronym that stands for Big Open Single Seaters. History The BOSS serie ...

(2008) *

European Formula Two Championship The European Formula Two Championship was a Formula Two motor racing series that was held between 1967–84. The races were held across Europe, and were contested both by drivers aiming to compete in Formula One in the future as well as curr ...

(1967–1969, 1971, 1983) *

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

(1968–1972, 1974–1979, 1985–1986, 1988, 2001–2002) * F4 Spanish Championship (2016, 2020, 2024) * FIA European Formula 3 Championship (1977–1984) * FIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup (2022) *

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

(2001–2002) *

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) ...

(1969, 1983) *

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopte ...

(1974, 1976–1978) *

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 ...

** ''

'' (1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976–1979, 1981) * Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup (1994, 1996, 1998–1999, 2001–2002) * French Formula Renault Championship (1986, 1994) *

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 ...

** '' European motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1991) ** '' FIM motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1993) ** '' Madrid motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1998) ** '' Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1987) ** '' Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix'' (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977–1986, 1988) * GTR Euroseries (1998) * IMSA European Le Mans Series (2001) * International Formula 3000 (1986–1987) * International Sports Racing Series (1997) *

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

** '' 1000 km of Jarama'' (2006) *

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 ...

(1981, 1991) *

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 ...

(1991–1992) *

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 ...

(2009–2010) *

TCR Europe Touring Car Series The TCR Europe Touring Car Series is an annual touring car racing event that is held at various locations across Europe. The series is run in accordance with the TCR Touring Car regulations with production-based cars that are front-wheel drive and ...

(2020) * (2021–2022, 2024) *

World Series by Nissan The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...

(1998–2004) *

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 ...

** ''360 km of Jarama'' (1987–1989) *

(1987)

Lap records

held the unofficial lap record with a lap of 1:16.994 with Jaguar R5 in a demonstration event in 2017. As of June 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama - RACE are listed as:

Notes

References

External links

*
Circuito del Jarama at Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarama Formula One circuits Formula E circuits Spanish Grand Prix Motorsport venues in the Community of Madrid Sports venues in the Community of Madrid Grand Prix motorcycle circuits Superbike World Championship circuits World Touring Car Championship circuits American Le Mans Series circuits San Sebastián de los Reyes