Autòdrom de Sitges-Terramar

Abandoned 1920s banked racing circuit

The Autòdrom de Sitges-Terramar is one of the world's most evocative abandoned racetracks: an intact 1923 high-banked concrete oval sitting forgotten behind farmland a couple of kilometres west of the town. Built in just 300 days for the 1923 Spanish Grand Prix, it bankrupted its developer, was never officially used again, and has been crumbling quietly for more than a century.

Access has always been semi-clandestine — the site is private property — but the place is a magnet for car enthusiasts, photographers, and urban explorers. Recent restoration plans have circled but stalled. Check locally before walking out; it lies just off the road to Sant Pere de Ribes.

things to do sight
A story
The Sitges-Terramar circuit was built at lightning speed in 1923 — a two-kilometre concrete bowl with banked corners up to 60 degrees, modelled on the speedways of America. It hosted the Spanish Grand Prix in October 1923 and then promptly went bust, the contractors unpaid by the bankrupt developer. The drivers refused their winnings until they were settled. The circuit was never used in serious competition again, and a century later the concrete oval still stands behind a chicken farm outside Sant Pere de Ribes, slowly cracking apart under the Mediterranean sun.

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