The Spanish press chase Fernando…in karts!

When Fernando Alonso makes a public appearance in Spain, it always draws plenty of attention in the media: just look at the tens of thousands of spectators who packed the grandstands in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona during the winter test sessions and the big crowd of journalists who headed for the Scuderia Ferrari hospitality unit for the press meetings which took place on every day of track preparation for the World Championship.

Today, the Iberian press, radio and television finally got the chance to see how they really measured up against Fernando in the arena that the man from Oviedo likes best, namely the track. The opportunity arose thanks to the Santander Bank, one of the Scuderia’s main sponsors, who took over Carlos Sainz’s karting facility in Madrid, organising an event in collaboration with the Spanish Automobile Federation. Fernando was the guest of honour, along with Santander’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Juan Manuel Cendoya and the President of the Federation, Carlos Gracia.

For the record, the “La Sexta” television channel took a clean sweep of the podium places, with Alvaro Garcia in first place, Antonio Lobato second and Jacobo Vega third, with Fernando not classified…

The event was also the scene of an announcement that the Bank is now a partner of the Ferrari Driver Academy, as well as supporting the Spanish karting championship for a three year period from 2011 to 2013. In recognition of the agreement, a very young Spanish karter, Victor Colome, winner of the 2010 Beca Santander Jovenes Promesas, is currently taking part, along with other drivers from the Ferrari Academy, in a course, being held at Maranello.