Spanish GP was best of 2003
Spain has won the 2003 Best Grand Prix prize from Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management group for the organisation of the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix on May 4, 2003.
The special FOM (Formula One Management) award for the best-organised Grand Prix of 2003 was won by the promoters of the Spanish Grand Prix held on the International Circuit de Catalunya, at Montmeló near Barcelona.
Bernie Ecclestone presented the award to Sebastian Salvadó, President of the RACC (Royal Automobile Club Catalunya) at the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) Gala Prize-Giving ceremony held in Monaco on Friday December 12, 2003.
The trophy was awarded to the organisers of the Spanish Grand Prix for the great collective effort that went into months of preparation for the staging of the fifth round of the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Upon receipt of the prize, Sebastian Salvadó said: "I am very happy and proud to have been given this outstanding award for our country. It helps us underline and showcase that the team from the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona has been able to organise the Spanish Grand Prix with high quality under demanding conditions, and plenty of pressure. The entire team had to work very efficiently, and very effectively. They simply gave their best and achieved our goal to become the best organised Grand Prix."
The award is also great news for Frenchman Philippe Gurdjian who has now received this prestigious award for the fourth time. Since 2001, he has been an adviser for the organisers of the Spanish Grand Prix.
In 1991, Gurdjian received the FOCA (Formula One Constructors' Association) Trophy for the first French Grand Prix at Nevers-Magny-Cours, (France), and again the following year. Years later, in 1999 Gurdjian travelled to Malaysia to oversee organisation for the debut Malaysian Grand Prix, which also won the award that year.
With awards for the French Grand Prix in 1991 and 1992; the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix in 1999; and for the Spanish Grand Prix in 2003, Philippe Gurdjian has achieved an extraordinary string of successes an unparalleled achievement in the highly competitive world of Formula One.
F1Racing.net
