INVESTORS have chosen the Spanish capital to construct a brand new motorsports venue with a view to hold international events such as Formula 1 and MotoGP in the next five years.

The Circuito de Morata will sit pride of place alongside established venues such as Jerez, Valencia and Barcelona as Spain’s fourth FIA Grade 1 level venue.

The new venue has been earmarked to be built on the old disused quarry site of Cadera de Anselmo, close to the town of Morata de Tajuna and south east of the capital and home to just 7,500 residents.

The area is already home to a national level motocross track and has already been granted the land required to build the track plus numerous other facilities.

The company behind the plans, Stream Motor Fire, have a history in Spanish Motorsport and were heavily involved in the construction and running of the Circuito Guadix in Granada before selling to its current owners.

So far a budget of €12-15 million has been raised privately and paperwork has now been submitted to the municipal planning department of the Madrid Council where they await approval.

The track is estimated to be 4.5km long, with a state of the art paddock area, VIP access and hospitality and an indoor restaurant.

The paddock will be designed to house 30 pit boxes totalling an area in excess of 30,000 square metres, and grandstands will have an 80,000 seat capacity.

Plans have also been submitted for a professional level karting track, hotel, petrol station and museum, an idea that sits well with Madrid Mayor Angel Sanchez.

“I don’t think there will be any difficulty in getting it approved because it is going to be done in an environment that is already highly degraded and with absolutely unproductive land,” said Sanchez.

“In these quarries there is nothing for many kilometres around and it can be perfect for the motorcycling or motor racing fans. In fact, the project has the support of the Spanish Motorcycling and Motor Racing Federations.”

Sanchez also eluded to the idea that the track’s location sits in a perfect amphitheatre, ideal for deadening noise for nearby residents but perfect to not only host motoring events, but also musical concerts.

“Our aim is to run the circuit for 280 days per year, then the rest is open to other forms of entertainment such as music festivals and concerts.”

The circuit has gained favourable traction in the local area thanks to the opportunity for a large amount of permanent and semi permanent jobs and a huge economic boost to what is a largely undeveloped region.

For the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Circuito de Montmelo in Barcelona alone, the single event brings a whopping €163 million to the table, with an average expenditure per person of over €1,000.

Now the developers await approval on the current set of plans submitted for review, and await ecological approval to ensure that the area is not home to any private livestock routes or endangered species, a process that is expected to take up to 18 months.

One granted, the work will begin within the next two years and total construction time is estimated to take three to five.

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