The Ricardo Tormo Circuit of Cheste has closed the year 2024 – which should have been remembered for the 25th anniversary – and which will finally be due to the unfortunate DANA of last October 29 that seriously affected its facilities, especially the accesses that were razed by the flood.
It was the least of the tragedies, since in the neighboring towns of Cheste and Chiva 15 people lost their lives, some of them in the fields near the circuit. Only two days before the DANA, the FIA Motorsports Games were held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, bringing together 50.000 personas and it gives chills to think what could have happened with such a crowd of people on the path of the lethal Poyo ravine.
After the passage of DANA, the accesses to the circuit were devastated and forced the cancellation of three of the most important events on the calendar: the FIA Formula E training sessions, the FIM JuniorGP and the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, which had sold out to close the world championship one more year and where the winner in the GP category was decided, who was finally the Spanish Jorge Martín.
37 days of closure
The activity rate has also been affected during this time, because the track had to be closed for 37 days as a result of the brutal flood. Not counting this forced stoppage, the Cheste route has turned its traffic light green on 87,4% of the days of the year, with races, training, rounds and other activities.
In those 37 days, the operators of the Ricardo Tormo Circuit have collected around 18,000 tons of mud on an affected parking area of more than 170,000 square meters. An access has been provisionally created and we are waiting for the reconstruction of three of the four entrances to the facilities to be able to hold events with the public.
The reopening took place on December 5 with the first private training with an alternative access route to the usual one that must be repaired for the start of the next season.
Solidarity
The Valencian circuit is receiving solidarity from the motor world and channeling it to try to help those affected due to the tragic floods on October 29 in the province of Valencia.
The motorcycle Grand Prix of the Valencian Community was replaced to close the MotoGP calendar by the Barcelona Solidarity Grand Prix, in which all profits have been destined to offer aid 1.6 million euros to the municipalities of Cheste and Chiva.
He Circuito de Assen (Holland), which is preparing to celebrate its centenary in 2025, decided as quickly as possible to make a donation of 50,000 euros to renew the Circuit’s machinery affected by the floods.
The solidarity actions have not ended there. World class pilots such as Carlos Sainz, Jorge Martínez Aspar, Marc Márquez, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz Jr, among many others, have shown their support for ‘Solidaridad sobre Ruedas’, an organization that is doing delivery of cars and motorcycles to people affected by DANA who have lost their vehicles and are trying to regain mobility.
“The Ricardo Tormo Circuit is much more than a sports facility. Although we have been greatly affected by the cancellation of events at this time, we can be happy with the help that we have the opportunity to offer to our closest neighbors and to all those affected by this terrible tragedy,” indicated its general director, Nicolas Collado.
17 events
Also in the memory of 2024 will be the opening of the 25th anniversary events with the granting to Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ of the Circuit Legend trophy in the month of March or the anniversary celebration on September 12 with Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna, Nerea Martí, Pedro Acosta and the Valencian world champions among the guests.
Before the fateful DANA, this speed circuit held a total of 17 events with an influx of 134.500 aficionados to the stands. The most powerful of them, the FIA Motorsport Games, which for the first time brought together 86 national teams in 26 disciplines in Spain with nearly a thousand drivers in action.
Source: www.vozpopuli.com
