Circuit de Catalunya: Formula 1 test days and a Le Mans race

Circuit de Catalunya is in Montmelo, about a 30 minute trip by train from Barcelona. In this small town is the car track, used for events like Le Mans, Radical European Masters, CEM, and most importantly Formula 1. Though a seat during a Formula 1 race can sell for close to 600 Euros, there are plenty of other events that are cheap or even free.

We went to an F1 test day a few weeks ago. These aren't official races, but they are a chance for the teams to test their cars and drivers. Full speed, some famous names, free seating... lots of fun.

(click to enlarge, especially the Le Mans images)

The Grandstand and entrance

Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari F60

Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren Mercedes MP4-24. I might make Spaniards mad... but this is definitely the most impressive car to me. :)

Pit crew for Robert Kubica (POL) BMW Sauber F1.09 (I think)

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1,000 Km of Catalunya: Le Mans Series

April 4th and 5th were two days of Le Mans events. Included was the first leg of the Le Mans series, a 6-hour race around the track. Other classes of cars were able to race or have other events as well. Overall winner was the Lola Aston Martin.
Tip: The tickets were supposed to be 15 Euros a piece, but on the site there was a downloadble ticket for free entry for two days.

Starting lineup

Here you can see a few classes of cars sharing the track during the race.

nice day for a race
We walked around the entire track to kill some time, even though we only came for the last 3 hours of the race. The landscape is really nice and during this time of year, the weather is great. Lots of trees and flowers to contrast the sound of jet-engine cars - fun for everyone right?

Ha! I don't think we were supposed to be up here, but a smile will get you far.
Here you can see the multiple classes of cars again - check out the little green guy in front of the others. I think the driver is just having a good time with the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, the Saleen, etc.. what is this car?

I will have that Aston Martin.

I cannot tell you what this car is... but here it is!

Access to the paddock was included in the ticket. Very cool to see all the people and equipment behind each race. Aston Martin's trailer was the most impressive. It expanded into a two-story restaurant/conference center. I will have that Aston Martin..

Winner!

What's a win without Champagne?

Lots of winners, lots of Champagne

For people travelling to Montmelo and the Circuit by train:
It's a long walk from the station to the track, don't let the maps provided by the track fool you. Just follow the sound of the cars..
Round trip from Passeig de Gracia's Renfe Cercanias is 3 Euros a person. There are plenty of trains, at least 1 every half hour that will go in your direction.
You are (usally?) allowed to bring in your own food and drink, as long as it's not in glass bottles. I saw people having beer out of cans so I think alcohol is OK too. Bring some bread with meats and cheeses and you can make a day out of it.

First post..

Here we can document our good (and bad?) times on our way out from college life. First step: make it to Barcelona!
The tickets are set (Dallas ->Chicago -> Copenhagen -> Barcelona on May 14-15), we have an apartment for a little while (thanks so much to Carlos' aunt and cousin) and everyone knows that we're going to leave. I think that's the biggest step: there's no turning back now!
I know we are looking forward to a lot of fun things in Barcelona. New places to travel to, new things to take photos of, new friends, family, experiences, food. Through it all we will have many (probably tough) learning experiences that will set us ahead of the curve. Hopefully we will have easy access to internet to be able to share our experiences with our family and friends back in the US. It will certainly be easier to adapt to our new living environment with support from the people we know. We'll try to do our part (starting in mid- May) by making this blog something interesting to look at every week!