The “Fernando Alonso” sports complex comes to life in Oviedo

Around four thousand people turned up in Margal, in the suburbs of Oviedo to celebrate alongside Fernando Alonso, the preview of a sports centred named in his honour, which includes a 1,390.5 metre long kart track, an area of 2500 square metres dedicated to road safety training and a museum focussing on the sporting career of the double Formula 1 world champion. Taking part in the ceremony was the President of the Asturias Principality, Vicente Alvarez Areces and the President of the Spanish Motoring Federation, Carlos Gracia.

“I wish to thank the Asturian authorities for making this facility possible,” said Fernando, after driving a few laps of the track in his kart. “Today, I have only tried the surface: for the real opening, we must wait until June. This track could become one of the best in the world for karting: with an average width between nine and ten metres, a really well laid out paddock and a track layout that reprises some of the most interesting corners from tracks around the world, such as the last one at Valencia and the esses at Suzuka, which are its strong points. When the doors open, there will also be sports driving lessons with the aim of involving all the schools in the Asturias region, because road safety is as important as other studies, while the museum houses cars and memorabilia linked to some of the best moments of my career.”

The fans who came to the Complex, mainly to cheer Fernando, were very enthusiastic, as the driver prepares to head off to Melbourne on what is his last free weekend for a while: as from Friday, things get serious with the first free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, which kicks off a very long season, that will not reach its conclusion until 27 November in Sao Paulo, Brazil.