The legendary Jarama circuit lies north of Madrid and was inaugurated in 1967. It became a major motorsport venue and the Spanish Grand Prix was held there nine times. The track was designed by John Hugenholtz, the architect behind other mythical circuits such as Zandvoort, Suzuka and Zolder. Jarama was in fact the first permanent track in Spain: until then, races took place on non-permanent city circuits. Peter Auto organises a series of meetings and this Spanish jaunt is a great way to kick off the season – and attendees will no doubt be hoping for a bit of Iberian sunshine!

New for 2016: Group C prototypes will have their own grid at events put on by Peter Auto, so the Jarama Classic now includes six line-ups– Classic Endurance Racing 1 & 2, Sixties’ Endurance, Trofeo Nastro Rosso, Group C Racing and the Heritage Touring Cup. It also means that the fabulous sports prototypes that raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1980s will star at Le Mans Classic this year.

The Jarama meeting will be an excellent warm-up for the Spa-Classic in Belgium in May and, of course, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s biennial flagship event in France. For many competitors, Le Mans Classic (8–10 July) is indeed the season highlight because opportunities to drive the full-length Circuit de la Sarthe are few and far between (every two years for Le Mans Classic and sometimes during the curtain-raiser support races before the 24 Hours of Le Mans).

General enclosure day or weekend tickets are already on sale, together with additional paddock, grandstand and car park tickets via the pre-sales platform open until 17 May 2016. Why not get yours now?

Watch the video to find out what’s new for 2016 at Le Mans Classic.

Geoffroy Barre | Translated from French by Clair Pickworth

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS CLASSIC, SUNDAY 10 JULY 2012. A Ferrari 512 BB LM sprints through the summer rain at the Forza Motorsport chicane.