Circuito de Cartagena

Circuit guide by Chris Pollitt · dates updated 2 November 2026

Cartagena's circuit sits in dry hills about ten minutes outside the port city, on the road to La Aljorra in the Murcia region. It opened in the early 1990s and the layout has barely changed since. At 3.5 km with 18 corners, it's compact and busy, and it's floodlit, so night sessions are possible. One corner, Turn 13, carries the name '12+1 Ángel Nieto' after the Spanish racing great.

It's a no-frills place. Visordown compared its feel to Mallory Park, just browner and sunnier. That's exactly why it's popular. Winter temperatures rarely drop below about 10°C, BSB teams use it for pre-season testing, and UK organisers have been bringing riders here for years. It's easy to learn but hard to master, so it suits novices on their first foreign trip as much as quick riders chasing lap times in February. Car days run here too, but bikes are the main business.

A lap of Circuito de Cartagena

Layout: Full Circuit, 3.500 km (2.17 miles)

Cartagena runs clockwise, and the lap starts on a straight of up to 610 metres, 12 metres wide, which is the only real breather you get. The rest of the track narrows to about 10 metres, so it feels tighter than the bigger Spanish venues and there's less room to get a line wrong.

The first couple of corners are linked, and the best advice from people who ride here a lot is to treat them as one long corner rather than two separate events. Brake once, settle the bike and work out the exit of the second part before you think about the first. Get greedy on the brakes into the first apex and you'll be off line for the second.

From there the lap is a mix of slow, fiddly corners and long, fast sweepers, with a series of elevation changes and undulating sections. A lot of the braking happens with the bike still leaned over, which is what catches people out. Trail the brake gently, don't grab it, and accept that you won't stop as hard here as you would bolt upright on a long straight.

Turn 13, the Ángel Nieto corner, comes in the closing part of the lap, and the final chicane leads you back onto the straight. Go into the chicane tidy rather than late, because the drive onto the 610 m straight is worth far more than anything you gain on the brakes. With 10 right-handers and eight lefts the tyre wear is fairly even, which is handy on a three or four-day trip.

Track day tips

• Treat the first two corners as one. It's the most common bit of advice from regulars and it works.
• A lot of braking is done while leaned over. Be smooth and progressive on the lever.
• The track is only about 10 metres wide away from the straight, so watch for slower riders on corner exits.
• Midday in summer reaches the mid-thirties, so the winter and spring months are the time to come.
• Floodlights mean some events run into the evening. Pack a clear visor.
• The paddock has garages, power and a restaurant, but bring your own extension lead and a European plug adaptor.

Getting there

The circuit is at kilometre 2.6 on the Carretera de La Aljorra, about ten minutes from Cartagena and half an hour from Murcia. Murcia's international airport at Corvera has direct UK flights and is roughly 25 minutes away, and Alicante is the other common choice, further up the coast. Cartagena and the coast nearby have plenty of hotels and apartments. UK organisers such as No Limits and TrackSense run winter trips with bike transport from the UK, and Visordown has quoted around £500 for a No Limits trip with three days on track and accommodation.