Valencia deal signed

Bernie Ecclestone on Friday signed a seven year contract to stage annual formula one races in the Spanish port city of Valencia starting next year.

The F1 supremo officially announced the deal last month, but it was conditional on the re-election of the incumbent political party.

"The agreement was signed this morning along exactly the same lines as we announced," 'Reuters' quoted the 76-year-old Briton as saying.

The Valencia regional government also confirmed the deal, Associated Press reported.

The street race will be called the European grand prix but it will be a second annual event on the calendar for Spain, which will continue to host a race until at least 2016.