The history of Grand Prix racing in Aragon
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The history of Grand Prix racing in Aragon
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The 2014 Gran Premio Movistar de Aragon will be the fifth staging of a World Championship round at MotorLand Aragon, but the racing heritage of the area dates back many years.

An ultra-modern facility, MotorLand has its roots firmly established thanks to a history of street racing in nearby Alcañiz, which hosted events from the mid 1960s to 2003. Safety advice warning against the continuation of this led to the proposal and construction of a sporting complex dedicated to motorsport.

Indeed, celebrating the racing heritage of the Aragon area ahead of this year’s Grand Prix, MotoGP visits the old urban race circuit of Guadalope in the town centre of Alcañiz to start the festivities which will mark the 50th anniversary of the track in 2015. The 2010 and 2012 MotoGP™ World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will drive around the 3.9km track on a demonstration lap.

Then of course the focus switches to the modern race circuit for round 14 of the season. This is the fifth time that the MotorLand Aragon circuit has hosted a Grand Prix event. Below are a few facts and figures about GP racing at the circuit:

- Aragon first hosted a Grand Prix in 2010, when it became the sixth different circuit to be used for Grand Prix racing in Spain. The other circuits that have been used in Spain are: Jerez, Catalunya, Jarama, Montjuich and Valencia

- Casey Stoner won the first MotoGP race at Aragon in 2010 on a Ducati; in each subsequent year, the race has been won by a Honda rider

- Aragon is one of only three circuits that have been used in each of the past four years, together with the Sachsenring and Indianapolis, on which Yamaha has not had a victory during that period

- In both 2012 and 2013, Spanish riders won all three classes at the Aragon Grand Prix. The last non-Spanish rider to win at the circuit is Casey Stoner, who won the MotoGP race in 2011. The only non-Spanish rider in addition to Stoner (who won in MotoGP in 2010 and 2011) to win a GP at the Aragon circuit is Andrea Iannone, who took victory in the Moto2 race in 2010

- Last year, the winners of all three classes in Aragon had started from pole position



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26-09-2014, 10:18 AM
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