The Circuito Ascari resort is a private motorsports club for automotive enthusiasts and manufacturers with a 5.425 km (3.371 mi) long motor racing circuit near Ronda , a city in the Spanish Province of Málaga . It was founded, designed, and built by Klaas Zwart [ de ] , a racing enthusiast and owner of Ascari Cars ; the track was completed in 2003. In 2022, Zwart sold the facility to two companies in Switzerland and Argentina.
8-523: After making his fortune in the oil industry, Zwart participated in various racing events, including the British GT where he finished third in 1995 and EuroBOSS , where he was champion in 2003, 2006, and 2007; he purchased the Ascari Cars marque in 1999 and began considering where he and others could drive their supercars safely away from road traffic, which led him to purchase land near Ronda, in
16-723: Is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom . The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT Challenge. The series is currently run by the SRO Motorsports Group , while Pirelli began its first season as the championship's official sole tyre supplier in 2016. Two classes currently compete in
24-519: The Ascari site from Zwart. The new owners expressed concern that nearby proposed photovoltaic energy developments could cause "irreparable damage for the landscape and environment in the area". The site is approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) from Ronda, the nearest town, located between the hills and a military training base so noise is not an issue. Because of its location, it is favored by European car manufacturers for product launches. In addition to
32-512: The championship: GT3 and GT4. A consolidation of GT regulations and significant manufacturer support saw British GT first introduce a GT3 class in 2005. The category later mirrored FIA Group GT3 and used near-identical regulations to the FIA GT3 European Championship from 2006 onwards. GT3 rules include extensive balance of performance and handicap weights to make cars artificially more equal. Cost-saving measures saw
40-404: The overall record of 1:38.46 in an ex- F1 Jaguar R5 (2004) in 2019. Pål Pettersen Berg set the record for roadgoing vehicles in 2020 at 2:14.078 in a Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2) . Sony Computer Entertainment used Ronda and the Ascari resort to launch their racing video game Gran Turismo 6 in 2013. It is a playable track in the game. British GT The British GT Championship
48-488: The series' previous premier class, GT2, phased out at the end of 2006. The SRO GT4 class was adopted in 2008 intended as a development class towards GT3. Regulations governing GT4 ensure the cars more closely resemble their road-going counterparts than GT3 machines, to control cost. This replaced the previous unique-to-British GT GTC category. British GT has featured a number of other classes since its inception, including Group GT1 . The following drivers have previously won
56-617: The southern part of Spain. Construction of the track began in 2000, and Zwart designed the track to conform with the existing contours of the site. It was completed in 2003. Final cost was estimated at €40 million. The site was formerly used as a sheep farm. After building the track, Zwart opened up membership to 500 wealthy motorsports enthusiasts, including Martin Brundle , Christian Danner , Jay Kay , and Dolph Lundgren . In March 2022, CEO Jesús Gijón confirmed that two companies, one from Switzerland and one from Argentina, had purchased
64-502: The track, the clubhouse features a complete restaurant and pool reminiscent of a Spanish villa. Many of the full circuit's 26 curves are deliberately reminiscent of famous turns at other tracks around the world. The track is 12.2 m (40 ft) wide, featuring ascending and descending grades of up to 12%, and banked turns of up to 18%. Visitors may choose to rent a car at the track, ranging from race-prepared regular production sports cars to ex-Formula 1 racing machines. Klaas Zwart set
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