Valencia will stage a Formula One (F1) race on a street circuit for seven years, starting in 2008, if the right-wing Popular Party wins this month’s regional and local elections.
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday that Spain’s eastern port city will hold F1 races, but no contract will be signed until after the May 27 elections.
Valencia regional president Francisco Camps and mayor Rita Barbera are both in the Popular Party.
Reports said Valencia will pay €26-million yearly to Ecclestone for the rights to stage the race.
The street circuit, designed by German racetrack architect Hermann Tilke, will be based around Valencia’s port, which is currently staging the America’s Cup. The deal followed two years of negotiations. Work on the circuit is to begin next month, national news agency Efe said.
Spain already has one F1 race, the Spanish Grand Prix, outside Barcelona. This year’s race is scheduled for Sunday. The Valencia race will be called the European Grand Prix, an event previously held in Nürburgring, Germany.
The agreement follows the recent success of Spanish driver Fernando Alonso, the two-time defending world champion.
With the world indoor athletics championships and sailing’s Volvo Ocean Race also coming to Valencia in 2008, the regional government wanted to bring more world-class events to make use of the city’s facilities.
More than €500 000 has been poured into redeveloping the port area for the America’s Cup, with €2-billion overall spent on the city since it won the right to host the sailing event in 2003. — Sapa-AP