The Spanish Circuit championship began in the 1960s. In those days there was no Montmeló nor
Jerez nor Valencia, just the newly built Jarama circuit in Madrid and Montjuich
Park in Barcelona - and Alcaniz. The locals were and remain fanatical about
motor sport. They worked out that they had the perfect layout for an urban
circuit, Monaco-style. The start/finish would be in the High Street, over
a kilometre long, gently sloping downhill, at the end of which is a vicious
right-hand hairpin, taking the circuit down to the river, and across it. Then
a very fast, but not straight, mile alongside the river to the other bridge.
Over it, up along the ramparts, to rejoin the top end of the high street.
2½ miles in all. In the early days safety measures consisted of a few strategically placed straw bales and little else. But things began to get serious in the late 60s with the arrival of the big Porsches. In 1969 Juan Fernandez won in a 908 and in 1970 Alex Soler Roig in a 917 - and then Anuco began to appear. And so it continued, anachronistic but very special each year with the over-hanging threat of withdrawal of its circuit licence on account of the dangers.
When I was living in Spain during the late 1980s I was mainly engaged in mountain-climbs but did the occasional circuit race at the Jarama. My wish was to do Aleaniz but for various administrative reasons I was never able to do so.
In 2000, however, the event was delayed until October, a week after a mountain-climb I do most years in Borja, the other side of Zaragoza. I was unaware of this until the Alcaniz organizers approached me and invited me to take part, which, as I am sure you will understand, I was delighted to do. So the following week I arrived in Alcaniz to take part in the 'Clasicos' race in my Alpine 1600, not knowing what to expect. The entire town was in 'fiesta' mood, everything geared up to
accommodate the weekend's events, which apart from the Clasicos had races
for saloons and single-marques. Getting to know the circuit was a lot less
complex than an 8-kilometre mountain climb, braking points being vital. What
I found was that my M171 'circuit' pads were too hard and that I was losing
time by having to brake a lot earlier (particularly for the end of high street
hairpin), than the others. Nevertheless I got a 4th place, beaten by a couple
of big bangers (full- house Capri 3000 and a BMW 3.0 CSL and a BMW 2002 Tii).
In reality I was circulating a bit in isolation as there were two main scraps
going on, one well in front of me and another well behind with me somewhere
in the middle. For my pains I was lucky enough to win about £700, including
£200 for winning the 'up to 2000cc' class. Not bad for a fun day's
work. In 2001 the races were held in July. I decided to take the R8 Gordini rather than the Alpine, if only to enjoy a scrap with the local hero, equipped with a well-prepared (R5 Alpine engine) R8TS. This
year, the field was much the same as in 2000 with the addition of a few more
BMWs. In practice I immediately noticed that the R8G, equipped with a servo
to boost the M171 pads, braked much better than the Alp and that I could leave
my braking point in the High Street 50 yards later. I 'sandbagged' in practice
as I knew I wasn't in the running for overall honours, and didn't want to
risk getting caught up in someone else's inevitable coming-together on the
first hairpin after the start. I also made a poor start, with the result
that I was near the back halfway around lap 1. Suddenly I had no throttle
pedal so could do nothing but pull off. Thinking that the throttle cable
had broken, I got out, took of my helmet and took a look. To my surprise all
that had happened was that the linkage had become separated from the carbs,
so I popped it back on and jumped back in the car. By the time I'd put my
helmet on and strapped myself in, the front-runners were about to barrel
through, so I rejoined just as 'local hero' appeared. Although I was a lap
down, we enjoyed what the commentators said was the highlight of the race
- 
a real ding-dong to the end, although I was the last finisher. I must say
I haven't enjoyed myself so much with my trousers on since I started motor
racing about 25 years back. Local hero and I agreed to do battle again this
year but I learned before the event that he wouldn't be able to participate,
so I took the Alpine once again, calculating (wrongly it turned out) that
I could get away with 'road pads' to get the 'bite' that the M171s didn't
give. This year a substantial increase in prize money had persuaded the 'big-money'
boys to come to Alcaniz: the field had doubled in size and included a couple
of 400 BHP Porsche 91 Is and a full-race lightweight E type Jag, as well
as the usual Capris and BMWs etc. Once again I had trouble, this time from
two sources. Firstly deteriorating rear slicks - the car felt decidedly skittish
particularly on left-hand bends (i.e. the majority). I saw at the end of
the race that the tread had broken up, exposing the canvas, which was a bit
worrying. But the main problem was that, after six or seven laps, I had effectively
run out of brakes and had to drive on 'anticipation'. My lap times (with
brakes) were 7 seconds slower than in 2000 (about the same as the R8G) and
a further 5 or 6 seconds slower once the brakes had disappeared. As you will
have worked out, I ended up as last finisher once again, but nevertheless
hugely enjoyed the event. Urban circuits are few and far between, and becoming fewer still as the bureaucrats legislate in favour of artificial circuits with gravel traps and lots of run-off areas. But for both spectators and drivers the sensations don't compare. Which is why, if it is run again in 2003, and I am able, I shall return to Alcaniz, with the intention of doing rather better than in these two previous years.