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The Valencia Street Circuit (, ) was a street circuit in Valencia, Spain which hosted the Formula One European Grand Prix for five years (2008–2012). The first race meeting on the circuit was held over the 23/24 August 2008 weekend,〔 〕 with Felipe Massa winning the main event, the European Grand Prix, after starting from pole position. The circuit uses the roads skirting the city's harbour and America's Cup port area – including a section over a swing bridge,〔 and also includes some roads designed exclusively for racing purposes by the German architect Hermann Tilke, who also designed the infrastructure buildings for the circuit. The 2012 edition took place on 24 June〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18569752 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/europe_871/ )〕 and was the last to go under the name of the European Grand Prix. It has not been used since 2013 after a deal fell through to alternate this venue with Catalunya in Barcelona to host the Spanish Grand Prix.〔http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns26589.html〕 == History == The deal to host the Valencia race was signed on June 1, 2007, and is for seven years. The deal was made between Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Valmor Sport group, which is led by former motorcycle rider Jorge Martinez Aspar and Villarreal football club's president Fernando Roig. This deal goes back on comments made by Ecclestone previously stating that no European country should hold more than one race each year as Barcelona currently holds the Spanish Grand Prix each year. Although now confirmed, the deal was rumored to be conditional on the People's Party winning regional elections on 27 May 2007. However, Ecclestone had clarified his comments on May 16, 2007: "I said I wouldn't formalise a contract until after the elections because I didn't know who I would be signing it with." He said his statements were taken out of context. Ecclestone has since been cleared of influencing the election by the Valencian Electoral Commission. The official track layout was unveiled by Valencia councillor and transport counselor, Mario Flores, on 19 July 2007. The track was first used in the last weekend of July 2008, as the circuit hosted a round of the Spanish F3 Championship and International GT Open. It was first used for the European Grand Prix on August 24, 2008. On January 2013, it was reported that the Valencia street circuit is abandoned. Thieves have stripped the track of anything of value and the track resembles a ghost town.〔http://formula1.autobild.es/noticias/circuito-urbano-de-valencia-desvalijado-ladrones-877〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Valencia Street Circuit」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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