Macael enjoys its 50th Subida del Mármol in front of 30,000 fans, with a home-grown Andalusian champion
Juan Manuel Ramírez, of the Escudería del Mármol, clinched the Andalusian Car Cross title in Macael at a 50th Subida watched by 30,000 fans.
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The golden anniversary of the Subida del Mármol (Marble Hill Climb) came with a prize for the home team. Juan Manuel Ramírez, a driver with the Escudería del Mármol, the Macael club that organises the event, secured the title of 2026 Andalusian Car Cross champion last weekend at the 50th edition, which, according to the Andalusian Motorsport Federation (FAA), drew close to 30,000 fans.
In Macael, Ramírez won the Andalusian Car Cross Cup with a time of 5:31.446, 1.4 seconds faster than Salvador Molina Nereo, and with that win he was crowned champion “mathematically”, according to the Federation’s report, which also singles him out as the best junior driver in the discipline. And on top of that, he took the Copa Diputación de Almería (the Almería Provincial Council Cup).
He was not the only one from the team to make the podium. Miguel Ángel Clemente Hatero, whom the Federation describes as a “local driver”, finished third in touring cars in his Porsche 991 GT3 Cup, just over eight seconds behind the winner. He is the same driver who won the overall touring car classification at this race in 2024.
The winners of the 50th edition
- Touring cars: José Antonio Romero García (BRC 110T), with 5:32.844; second, José Antonio Aznar Sánchez (Citroën C3 Rally2), 4.2 seconds behind, and third, Miguel Ángel Clemente Hatero (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup).
- Single-seaters: Abraham Vázquez Fernández (Osella PA21 JRB), with 5:18.181; second, Alexis Vieitez Losada (Lola F3000), and third, Ramón Fernández Cano (Silver Car S2F).
- Car Cross: Juan Manuel Ramírez Martínez (MV Racing MV I), with 5:31.446, 1.4 seconds better than Salvador Molina Nereo and almost four better than the reigning champion from Córdoba, Francisco Javier Avilés Serrano.
- Copa Diputación de Almería: Juan Manuel Ramírez; second, José Antonio Aznar Sánchez, and third, José Pérez Martínez (Speedcar Xtrem).
- Other awards: best female driver, María Isabel Peñas Giménez, and the Trofeo de Históricos Escudería del Mármol (historic cars trophy), Antonio Francisco García García, in a Seat 124 Especial 2000.
Why it matters in Macael
The hill climb, the eleventh scoring round of the Andalusian Hill Climb Championship, brought together 130 teams on the 4,300 metres of the AL-840, the old quarry road. And the attendance figure given by the Federation is more than five times the population of Macael, which has 5,436 residents according to the padrón (municipal register) figures from the INE, Spain’s National Statistics Institute, as of 1 January 2025.
That tide of fans makes itself felt away from the road: back in 2023, Almería Provincial Council was already pointing out that during the race, occupancy and hospitality services across the whole district grow significantly.
From elValle Actualidad, we can only celebrate that, fifty editions later, the quarry road still has home-grown drivers at the very top.
