The Ricardo Tormo Circuit hosts the final Grand Prix of the MotoGP season. In 2022, 170,000 people attended. But Cheste (Valencia) It’s not just a motorcycling paradise for a weekend, but an income generator every day of the year which aims to be a great entertainment center.
The general director of the circuit, Gonzalo Gobert-Cézanne, explained to EFE that in 2023 the route will be busy between 315 and 320 days a year, an activity index between 86 and 90% that can be interpreted as a ‘technical full capacity ‘.’, because the non-rent days are January 1 and December 24 and 25in addition to a few days in August, due to the heat and activity of northern Europe.
In addition, Ricardo Tormo takes advantage of those days to carry out track maintenance and improve small aspects requested by the FIA and FIM, after several years in which the pandemic has greatly hindered the circuit’s profitability.
What is the year round rental circuit for?
MotoGP, the GT World Challenge Europe, in which the Italian Valentino Rossi now participates, and the Valencia Nascar Fest are some of the twenty events open to the public annually offered by this sports facility, the largest in the Community with more than a million. and half a square meter.
The ‘Grand Prix’ track – where MotoGP takes part – is the great money generator, but it is not only used for races“, but for presentations of new cars, training of competition teams, pre-season races or car and motorcycle rounds that bring between 150 and 200 drivers to Ricardo Tormo every day ,” said Gobert-Cézanne.
The next goal is to “promote other small circuits and, at the same time, focus on people who come as companions but are not very fond of motorcycles.”
For his part, the general director of Sports of the Generalitat Valenciana, Luis Cervera, He said the route is “an important base for the promotion of sports.” and a sports training center for young motorsport and motorcycle drivers.”
“The Ricardo Tormo Circuit has income throughout the year,” asserted Cervera, who said the track is “a very good promotion platform for the Community, but above all a reference because motorcycling is deeply rooted in our land. “
The goal of being a great entertainment center
“We need to put a museum, an emblematic store, a simulation area and another thematic reality area and promote these other small circuits so that we can use them all and any weekend we can have content outside the ‘Grand Prix’ track,” he explained.Gonzalo Gobert-Cézanne.
So, he insists that MotoGP is “the jewel in the crown”, because it represents the claim -in fact, it brings more than 70% of the fans throughout the year and between 60 and 70% of the total turnover-, but what is done during the year is “stretching that effect so that the circuit is not just leveraged here.”
He emphasized that the future of the Ricardo Tormo circuit involves becoming a large leisure center with a hotel within the facility to generate more revenue so that visitors can spend the weekend in Cheste.
It was also supported by the mayor of the municipality, José Morell, who stated that “It’s about to be defined, but it’s heading in that direction” and he emphasized that for this the urban plan of the circuit has been changed to adapt it as a leisure facility, “and now you can give whatever the circuit wants.”
And it was that For Cheste, big weekends mean “more takeovers in all the bars, restaurants, shops… and even extra income for individuals, who rent ground floors or rooms throughout the town,” said Morell, which is why the Generalitat, the City Council and the circuit – which depends on the Generalitat – are working together on this project .
But it is clear to Gobert-Cézanne that the development of the circuit involves opening up to other lines of business: “It is already a sports facility with a lot of content, but you have everything ready for convention tourism (MICE ) to be a line. of work. clear”.
“The circuit has perfect conditions because you have people who are fascinated by the layout, a big facility and big rooms. The only thing missing is the hotel, which is on the agenda,” insisted Gobert-Cézanne, adding that he had in mind the holding of festivals or large concerts where the city is too small.
38 million economic impact… which could double
The last economic impact report, carried out in 2013, revealed a 38 million euro impact for the province of Valencia, although it only covered the GP weekend, completely out of date: “Just because of inflation that number will go to the 45 million that make up the Grand Prix in Cheste,” said the circuit director.
He also announced that this 2024, for the 25th anniversary of the circuit, Ricardo Tormo himself will conduct another new economic impact report, but this time not only for the motorcycle weekend, but for the whole year of calendar, and warned: “This is surprising, because we may have doubled the number from 2013,” said Gonzalo Gobert-Cézanne.
In fact, he reported that an internal study estimated between 30,000 and 40,000 hotel beds generated by the circuit throughout the year, not counting events open to the public.
He is confident that MotoGP will remain united with Ricardo Tormo
Regarding whether MotoGP will continue to fill the stands of the circuit for many years to come, the General Director of Sports of the Generalitat highlighted that “it is too early to answer the question, since the contract is until 2026”. but he said that it is a “great event, integrated, rooted, a reference and has a great tradition” and, regarding the Community, “causes economic and media impact.”
Finally, Gobert-Cézanne is confident that MotoGP will continue for a long time at Ricardo Tormo, where it has been non-stop racing since 1999, and will not have to alternate every year with other routes. “We have done the best possible job so that Dorna – the promoter of the event, like Liberty Media in F1 – has no doubt whether we are the successor or not.”
In 2021, Dorna and the Generalitat signed an agreement for five years, until 2026, which ensured the arrival of three grand prizes to the Valencian Community, in addition to confirming that they would be the closing of the year. With Cheste being the most attended Grand Prix of the five taking place on the Iberian Peninsula, the circuit director emphasized that “you have to be very brave to play something that works”.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
