Jarama

John Hugenholtz, the creator of both Zandvoort and Suzuka, was hired by the Real Automovil Club de Espana in 1967 to design a new circuit at Jarama, the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Spanish Civil War. It was the first purpose-built autodrome in Europe, and its layout of slow corners and a long straight now seems ahead of its time. Gilles Villeneuve, whose turbocharged Ferrari was all power and no handling, held off a queue of four faster cars here in 1981 to record an unlikely final Grand Prix victory. Jarama was extended after it lost the Grand Prix a year later and recent international racing has been restricted to endurance events.