Sports facilities

Monument at the Motorland Racetrack

Alcañiz, Spain
Monument to motorcyclist Marc Márquez at the Motorland racetrack
Marc Márquez is a Spanish professional motorcycle rider who has been world champion eight times in three different categories. José Miguel Abril was in charge of designing and erecting a tribute in stone at the Motorland Aragón racetrack in Alcañiz (Teruel). For wide visibility, the sculpture was placed on a knoll at curve 10, which is one of the rider's favourites on the track. Used over the centuries to build the city, stone from local quarries was used to sculpt the monument. First a 4.1 metre tall 6-ton obelisk was erected, and then the identifying features of the rider and his equipment were sculpted.

Creative

The challenge was to capture the speed lines, with a 22% slope representing a challenge to gravity. To solve the problem, a grid of anchors was built at the base of the obelisk and in the foundation itself, and with the help of a heavy-duty crane it was possible to lift it. The result is a work that combines tradition and modernity and has become one of the most emblematic television images of the circuit.