The Main Grandstand (also known as the Principal Tribuna) is a huge stand that offers views of the start / finish straight and pit lane.
Here’s my guide to picking the best seats in this stand.
Contents
Grandstand location at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
The Main Grandstand is located on the left-hand side of the start / finish straight on the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
It’s a huge stand that is opposite the pit lane, pit garages and pit boxes and is in line with both the start and finish lines (they are seperate for the Formula 1).
It’s adjacent to the much smaller Grandstand J.
The Circuit de Barcelona is in the Montmelo area of Catalunya in Spain. The track hosts both the Spanish Formula 1 GP and the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix. This grand stand is permanent and is available for both major events.
Buy Main Grandstand tickets for the F1 and MotoGP
Formula 1 tickets
Being a huge covered grandstand with views of the start, finish and pitlane, this stand is very popular so often sells out quickly.
If that’s the case but you’re still trying to find some reserved seat tickets for the Main Grandstand then I would recommend you buy your tickets on ViaGoGo. That’s the site I use when I want tickets for an F1 race.
ViaGoGo always has a great selection of tickets available, all the way up until the last few minutes before the race begins. They have usually got lots of one, two or three day tickets, plus you will usually be able to find them cheaper than the official list price.
MotoGP Catalunya tickets
Tickets for the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix are also available for this grandstand through ViaGoGo:
I’ve used ViaGoGo a number of times to buy Formula One and other motorsport tickets and have always had a great experience using their platform. I bought tickets for the Vegas GP and Silverstone GP through them and will do so again next time I go.
They also have a robust Fan Protect Guarantee which keeps your tickets and money safe.
Grandstand details
Seats
The seats in this grandstand are hard, fixed plastic chairs.
Cover
The Main Grandstand has a large roof over the top. That being said, the roof is very high over the top of the stand, so the lower down you are the less covered you’ll be.
The grandstand faces North West, so the sun is likely to be behind you for a lot of the day, regardless of where you’re sat. But later in to the afternoon the sun will be on you and the roof won’t provide any protection.
TV screens
There are two TV screens visible from this stand. But they’re only really visible to those sat at either end of the stand, as you can see where they’re located in the map below. If you’re sat in the middle zones of this stand then you won’t really be able to see a TV.
Seating plan
Below is the seating plan for the Main Grandstand at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya
The grandstand is made up of a lower and an upper section. The lower sections has Zones 1 to 21 Lower (Baja) and the upper section has Zones 1 to 28 Upper (Alta).
Lower zones have rows which go from Row F1 (front row) to Row F12, and the Upper zones have rows which go from Row F13 to Row F22 (back row).
Each Zone has seat numbers that start at 1 and increase from right to left, as you sit in the stand and look at the track.
There’s also a number of VIP Suites and the Sky View VIP area located in the Main grandstand.
Views from the grandstand
This image shows the parts of the circuit visible from the Main Grandstand highlighted in pink:
The views from this grandstand are predominantly of the start / finish straight and the pit lane. You can just see the exit of Turn 14 if you’re sat towards the right hand side of the stand in the lower Zones.
Your view of the pitlane will get better the higher up in the stand you go, as you’ll have a more panoramic view of the pit action.
The start line is in front of Zones 15 / 16 in the lower section and Zones 21 and 22 in the Upper section.
The finish line and podium is in line with Zones 1 on the far right hand side of the stand.
The videos below give some examples of how the view changes from different Zones in this grandstand.
This first video was filmed from Zone 28 Upper, Row F13. That’s the front row of the far left Zone in the upper section. It shows you can just about see a bit of the apex of Turn 1. It also shows that from here you can see one of the two TVs to the left of the stand across the track:
This next video is filmed from Zone 28 Upper, Row F22 (back row). This is as high as you can get in the stand and it’s a great spot with wide views, again showing some of Turn 1 but also with a view back down to the exit of Turn 14:
This video was filmed from Zone 21 Lower, Row F10:
This video was filmed from Zone 16 Lower, Row F8:
This 360 degree image shows the view from Zone 12 Lower, Row F1:
And this was taken from between Zone 15 and 16 Upper, Row F16:
And this video was filmed from Zone 8 Upper, Row F17. From here you can see the TV to the right hand side:
Best seats in the grandstand
As the videos above show, the higher you sit in the stand the better your view. So I’d definitely chose a seat in the upper section if possible.
Then you want a Zone close to either end of the stand, so you’ve got a better view of one of the two TV screens.
The top teams will have their pit garages further along the pitlane, so they’ll be easier to see from the higher zone numbers.
The lower placed teams will be at the start of the pit lane, so opposite the lower Zone numbers.
Personally I would try to get a seat ticket as high as possible in the upper Zones 24 – 28, to have a view of Turn 1 and the screen to the left of the stand. Similar to the second video on the page.
Other grandstands
Here are the rest of my guides to all the other grandstands at Catalunya:
