Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) champions the project and sees a track with “very cool curves” where the drivers are going to have a great time
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo de Tenerife has presented this Tuesday at the Auditorio de Tenerife the construction project for the Motor Circuit in an act that has been sponsored by the Formula 1 driver, Carlos Sainz, and led by the specialized motor journalist Antonio Lobato.
The project, with an approximate cost of 51 million euros and some five years of work, has already been put on public display and the president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, has predicted that “this time it is for real” and “there is no going back” .
Martín and the vice-president, Enrique Arriaga, have commented that the works on the northern accesses have been restarted and if there is no setback derived from the deadline for claims, the tenders will begin before the end of the year, since the corporation has a game for this year of 5.1 million.
Sainz, a Ferrari driver, has not hesitated to support the project because he is “crazy” about motoring and this circuit is “the brand of Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Islands” so he has not hesitated to “take a plane” and travel to the island .
Regarding the layout, he pointed out that it has “very cool curves” and that the drivers will have a “good time”, while recalling how he used to draw racing circuits in books and on desks when he was at school.
He has confessed that he has had “hard times” to get to Formula 1, where the “elite” of the motor is, since it is “very difficult” to get a seat because some years no one new even enters the circuit.
He has also said that he is used to living with pressure and that on occasion he has even had the help of a psychologist, although he maintained that the best advice was always given to him by his father, Carlos Sainz, world rally champion.
“The help of my father has been key, he gives me advice, he helps me, he has taught me a lot to make the right decisions,” he indicated.
The motorcycling driver Carlos Checa, also the ‘godfather’ of the circuit, has said that it is “first level” and with the peculiarity that it runs counterclockwise, “there is no point that is excessively slow” and overtaking in curves, some with unevenness.
He has also indicated that the weather “is going to make it unique” because the temperature is constant and good for the tires and he has predicted that it will be “very useful” for teams and companies that may no longer go to Asia or Australia in winter.
CZECH ASSESSES THE CLIMATE AND SEES POSSIBLE A SUPERBIKE TEST
He has said that “it is good to think of the top” but first you have to build the circuit and test it and then see the costs of bringing a grand prize but maintains that a ‘superbike’ test “could fit perfectly” on the island.
The Italian-Spanish Extreme E rider Christine GZ, based in Tenerife, commented that the circuit “is a huge dream” for the island because it promotes the motor world and stressed that “it is an honor to be an ambassador”.
He has also revealed that he has plans to compete alongside Carlos Checa in the winter tests. “The competition is not cool because I was going to beat you,” he ironized before Checa.
At the close of the event, the president of Tenerife has not hidden that they think “big” but has made it clear that the first thing is the island’s motor fans because “there is a huge fan base” and they have been waiting for the project for many years.
He has indicated that the years of the pandemic were used to standardize the circuit to the demands of the international motorcycling and motorsport federations and now it is about giving the last “push”. “This is not for anyone,” she added.
Martín has said that apart from the sports variable, this project promotes the image of the island’s tourist destination and has announced that the Government of the Canary Islands is going to put out a tender for the drafting of the connection route that joins the Tenerife South airport with the circuit, located in the Atogo area, in the municipality of Granadilla.
MARTIN: “DON’T LEAVE US ALONE”
On the opposition to the project by environmental groups, he stressed that “the political majority” of the Cabildo is in favor, so “everyone who wants to support has to push, this is a Tenerife project and we are going to need them.”
He has shown his “respect” to those who have demonstrated this Tuesday — almost 200 people — but has asked for the same respect for the teams, federations and fans who “have been waiting for years and years.”
“Don’t leave us alone, the voice is the majority, but don’t just listen to those who are against it,” he harangued the audience.
Arriaga has indicated that they were “very keen” to present the circuit and although he is open to reaching “the highest level” he has assured that first one must “go little by little” and for this reason they have focused on obtaining the homologations, approving the project and get the budget item.
He has said that they look at the Portuguese circuit of Portimao as an “example” because “it has been climbing steps” until it has been prepared to host big tests, although he has indicated that the priority is the track and the ‘paddock’ so that the teams of the island can train and compete.
