Racing on the Montjuïc hill dates to 1932, when a race was held on a street circuit using park roads. The permanent circuit configuration was established in 1933 for the Penya Rhin Grand Prix, using 3.791 km of public roads through the park's wooded slopes and twelve turns. The anti-clockwise layout was characterised by a split character: one half slow and technical, the other fast, making car set-up particularly difficult. An alternative 6.033 km layout was used in 1951 and a 4.205 km variant in 1952 before the shorter circuit settled as the standard.
The circuit hosted the Penya Rhin Grand Prix from 1933 to 1936. At the 1936 edition, Tazio Nuvolari set the race lap record of 1:56.000 in an Alfa Romeo 12C-36. After the Second World War, motorcycle racing returned from 1951, with the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix held at Montjuïc intermittently through to 1976 across the 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, and 50cc classes, as well as the sidecar class in some years.
The Spanish Grand Prix moved from the Circuito del Jarama in Madrid to Montjuïc for the first time in 1969, with the inaugural Grand Prix held on 4 May. The circuit hosted Formula One in 1969, 1971, 1973, and 1975 on non-consecutive years, alternating with Jarama. The outright Formula One lap record at the 3.791 km circuit stands at 1:23.800, set by Ronnie Peterson in a Lotus 72E during the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix.
The circuit also hosted rounds of the European Formula Two Championship in 1970 and 1974. At the 1974 Formula Two round, Hans-Joachim Stuck set the Formula Two lap record of 1:25.580 in a March 742.
The 1975 Spanish Grand Prix was held under a cloud of safety concerns. Many drivers considered the circuit too dangerous, and two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi withdrew in protest before the start. On lap 26, the rear wing of the Embassy Hill-Lola driven by Rolf Stommelen failed. The car left the circuit and killed five spectators. The race was stopped before half-distance and half-points were awarded; Jochen Mass was recorded as the winner. Lella Lombardi, who finished sixth, became the first and to date only female driver to score World Championship points, receiving 0.5 for the result. Formula One never returned to Montjuïc after the accident.
Motorcycle racing continued at Montjuïc through the 1976 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix. The 24 Hours of Montjuïc endurance race, which had run since 1955, continued until 1986 as part of the FIM Endurance World Championship. The circuit closed entirely in 1986.
The area occupied by the circuit was later redeveloped as part of the Anella Olímpica, the Olympic Ring that hosted multiple venues for the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 2004 the Barcelona city council marked the layout of the old circuit on the roads of the hill. On 13–14 October 2007 the circuit was used for the Martini Legends event celebrating the 75th anniversary of racing at Montjuïc, at which Emerson Fittipaldi appeared in his Lotus 72 and Marc Gené drove a contemporary Ferrari.
Gallery · 4 related images
