Supply & demand: Spain's love affair with MotoGP.

For the third time in the space of five short months the MotoGP teams cross the Spanish border on Sunday to compete in the last European race of the season, just outside the delightful city of Valencia. So what is it with Spain and MotoGP?

Such is this love affair that the sport is second in popularity only to football with the motorcycle mad Spanish public - even Formula One cannot compare with the two wheel stars in this part of the world.

Without a doubt the excitement, noise and passion generated by a MotoGP Grand Prix weekend is the perfect recipe for the sports mad Spanish. The short sharp explosion of a 500cc grand prix race is definitely better suited to their temperament than the more tactical aspects of a formula one car race.

Also the Spanish public have been brought up following the exploits of their national heroes, great riders such Angel Nieto, Sito Pons, Jorge Martinez and the latest, 1999 World 500cc Champion Alex Criville.

Many of these heroes have remained in the sport with Sito Pons the prime example. When he became the first Spanish rider to win the World 250cc Championship in 1988 the whole of Spain celebrated his success that he repeated the following year.

When he retired from the sport in 1992, he stepped upstairs to manage the team that was renamed Team Honda Pons. At the beginning of this season West joined them as title sponsors to bring to the MotoGP arena a marketing expertise honed in the tough competitive world of Formula One with the West McLaren Mercedes team.

Led at the front by Pons himself, the Barcelona based team are very proud of their Spanish heritage. They pride themselves as an example of a Spanish team competing at the highest level in an international sporting arena that encompasses every part of the globe. Like so many other countries the success of sportsman and national teams has an enormous bearing on the good feeling of the whole country. Spain is no exception and Pons, Criville, Martinez and Nieto have certainly played a big part.

It's fitting that the Olympic Stadium overlooking Barcelona was built on the site of the Montjuich Park circuit that staged the first Spanish Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1951. It was 31 years later Barcelona hosted an incredible Olympic games that brought so much joy and national pride to the country in a park that was steeped in motor sport tradition.

That first 500 Spanish Grand Prix was won by Italian Umberto Masetti riding the Gilera round the tortuous tree lined and straw bailed 6.033kms Montjuich Park circuit high above the City.

It was a tough dangerous track encompassing public roads, like so many others in that era. It provided some great races and history was made there on April 23 1961 when Australian Tom Phillis gave Honda their very first grand prix victory in the 27-lap 125cc race. Spain is still a very happy hunting ground for Honda.

The hills above Barcelona echoed to the multi-cylinder wailing of Honda, MV Agusta and Gilera for the next 20 years but the road circuit, like so many others was proving too dangerous as the speed of the machines increased dramatically.

The writing was on the wall when the purpose built Jarama circuit on the outskirts of Madrid hosted it's first Grand Prix in 1969. Montjuich continued to stage 50,125, 250 and 350cc races on alternate years with Jarama until 1976 when finally modern day safety standards meant the inevitable switch to the dusty 4.135 kms purpose built Jarama circuit.

American Kenny Roberts was the master of Jarama winning three consecutive 500cc Grands Prix there between 1979 -1982 with Freddie Spencer also winning two in his Championship winning years of 1983 and 1985 but a new venue was being built way down in the South of Spain, in the heart of the Sherry producing area.

In 1987 Australian Wayne Gardner won the first Spanish 500cc Grand Prix to be staged at the 4.218 kms circuit on the outskirts of Jerez which was to become one of the great theatres of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Only one race could be called the Spanish Grand Prix but with so much interest in Spain and circuits capable of staging World Championship races new names were devised in order that the publics appetite for motorcycle racing was fully fed.

Jarama staged the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1987 and Jerez followed suite a year later but what was going to happen when the brand new purpose built circuit in Barcelona was completed in 1992. Easy, devise another name and the Grand Prix of Europe took place at the brand new 4.747 kms Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona on May 24 1992.

The Grand Prix of Europe name had already been used by Jarama the previous year, but Barcelona took over until 1996 when yet another title was drawn out of the hat. The Grand Prix of Catalunya naturally had to be staged in Barcelona and it has been there ever since it's inception in 1996.

It was only logical that a Catalan rider won that first race riding a machine prepared in Barcelona. It was a famous victory for Carlos Checa, riding the Honda Pons machine.

Meanwhile Jarama just kept coming back onto the grand prix calendar with ever more bizarre titles. In 1993 it staged the FIM Grand Prix and five years later the Community of Madrid Grand Prix won once again by Checa riding for the Honda Pons team. Without a doubt the Madrid circuit holds the record for a venue that has staged more Grands Prix motorcycle races with different names- five differently named GP's.

You would have thought there were now enough venues for MotoGP races even in Spain - but you'd be wrong. The Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia was named after the former 50cc Spanish World Champion, and was added to the MotoGP venue list in 1999. The tight demanding 4.005 kms circuit in a giant stadium staged the first Community of Valencia Grand Prix two years ago.

On Sunday a massive crowd will jam every inch of the Valencia circuit to create the most volatile and noisy atmosphere of the year. Their new heroes will include 18 year Toni Elias who leads the World 125cc Championship and who heads the line of new Spanish talent.

Should Spain stage three Grands Prix in one year? One foot inside that Valencia parameter fence on Sunday will produce a very positive answer.