Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari

Autodromo Internazionale "Enzo e Dino Ferrari"
Imola

Aerial view of the Imola circuit
Location Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Time zone GMT +1
Coordinates 44°20′28″N 11°42′48″E / 44.34111°N 11.71333°E / 44.34111; 11.71333Coordinates: 44°20′28″N 11°42′48″E / 44.34111°N 11.71333°E / 44.34111; 11.71333
Former names Autodromo di Imola (1953–1970)
Autodromo Dino Ferrari (1970–1988)
Major events SBK, WTCC, Le Mans Series
Current circuit (2007–present)
Surface Asphalt
Length 4.909 km (3.050 mi)
Turns 17
Lap record 1:23.49 (Austria Ingo Gerstl, Top Speed, 2016, EuroBOSS)
Previous layout (1995–2006)
Surface Asphalt
Length 4.959 km (3.132 mi)
Turns 17
Lap record 1:20.411 (Germany Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004, Formula One)
Second layout (1973–1994)
Surface Asphalt
Length 4.933 km (3.065 mi)
Turns 23
Lap record 1:24.335 (United Kingdom Damon Hill, Williams-Renault, 1994, Formula One)
Website www.autodromoimola.it

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a motorsport race circuit near the Italian town of Imola, 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) east of Bologna and 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello. The circuit is named after Ferrari's late founder Enzo and his son Dino who had died in the 1950s. Before Enzo Ferrari's death in 1988 it was called 'Autodromo Dino Ferrari'. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license.[1]

It was the venue for the Formula One San Marino Grand Prix (for many years two Grands Prix were held in Italy every year, so the race held at Imola was named after the nearby state) and it also hosted the 1980 edition of the Italian Grand Prix, which usually takes place in Monza. When Formula One visits Imola, it is seen as the 'home circuit' of Ferrari and masses of tifosi (Ferrari supporters) come out to support the local team.

Imola, as it is colloquially known, is one of the few major international circuits to run in an anti-clockwise direction. (Istanbul Park, Korea International Circuit, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Circuit of the Americas, and the Yas Marina Circuit are other anti-clockwise circuits used recently by Formula One.)

History

The track was inaugurated as a semi-permanent venue in 1953, and it had no chicanes, so the run from Rivazza all the way to Tosa, through the pits and the Tamburello was totally flat out, as was the run from Acque Minerali all the way to Rivazza was just a long straight with a few small bends; and the circuit remained in this configuration until 1972.

In April 1953, the first motorcycle races took place, while the first car race took place in June 1954. In April 1963, the circuit hosted its first Formula One race, as a non-championship event, won by Jim Clark for Lotus. A further non-championship event took place at Imola in 1979, which was won by Niki Lauda for Brabham-Alfa Romeo. In 1980 Imola officially debuted in the Formula One calendar by hosting the 50th Italian Grand Prix. It was the first time since the 1948 Edition held at Parco del Valentino that the Autodromo Nazionale Monza did not host the Italian Grand Prix. The race was won by Nelson Piquet and it was such a success that a new race, the San Marino Grand Prix, was established especially for Imola in 1981. The race was held over 60 laps of the 5 kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 300 kilometres.

The track was also used as part of the finishing circuit for the 1968 UCI Road World Championships, which saw Italian cyclist Vittorio Adorni winning with a lead of 10 minutes and 10 seconds over runner up Herman Van Springel, the second largest winning margin in the history of the championships, after Georges Ronsse's victory in 1928. In addition Adorni's countryman Michele Dancelli took the bronze and five of the top six finishers were Italian.[2] The circuit was also used for stage 11 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which was won by Ilnur Zakarin.[3]

The Tamburello corner

Despite the addition of the chicanes, the circuit was subject to constant safety concerns, mostly regarding the flat-out Tamburello corner, which was very bumpy and had dangerously little room between the track and a concrete wall which protects the Santerno river that runs behind it. In 1987, Nelson Piquet had an accident there during practice and missed the race due to injury. In the 1989 San Marino Grand Prix, Gerhard Berger crashed his Ferrari at Tamburello after a front wing failure. The car caught fire after the heavy impact but thanks to the quick work of the firefighters and medical personnel Berger survived and missed only one race (the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix) due to burns to his hands. Michele Alboreto also had a fiery accident at the Tamburello corner testing his Footwork Arrows at the circuit in 1991 but escaped injury. Riccardo Patrese also had an accident at the Tamburello corner in 1992 while testing for the Williams team. The death of Ayrton Senna on 1 May 1994 sealed the fate of the corner being run flat out ever again.

1994 San Marino Grand Prix

The old pitlane, June 2006.

In the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, during Friday practice Rubens Barrichello was launched over a curb and into the top of a tyre barrier at the Variante Bassa, knocking the Brazilian unconscious though quick medical intervention saved his life. During Saturday qualifying Austrian Roland Ratzenberger crashed head-on into a wall at over 310 km/h at the Villeneuve corner after his Simtek lost the front wing, dying instantly from a basilar skull fracture. The tragedy continued the next day, when the three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna lost control of his car and crashed into the concrete wall at the Tamburello corner on Lap 7. He succumbed shortly after impact as a piece of the car had pierced his helmet and skull. In two unrelated incidents, several spectators and mechanics were also injured during the event.

Diagram showing the differences between the 1994 and 2006 circuit layouts.

In the aftermath, the circuit continued to host Grands Prix, but revisions were immediately made in an attempt to make it safer. The flat-out Tamburello corner was reduced to a 4th gear left-right sweeper, and a gravel trap was added to the limited space on the outside of the corner. Villeneuve corner, previously an innocuous 6th gear right-hander into Tosa, was made a complementary 4th gear sweeper, also with a gravel trap on the outside of the corner. In an attempt to retain some of the quickness and character of the old circuit, the arduous chicane at Acqua Minerali was eliminated, and the Variante Bassa was straightened into a single chicane. Many say that the new circuit configuration is not as good as it used to be as a result of the new chicanes at Tamburello and Villeneuve.[4][5]

Another modification made to the Imola track is that of Variante Alta, which is situated at the top of the hill leading down to Rivazza and has the hardest braking point on the lap. The Variante Alta, formerly a high-kerbed chicane, was hit quite hard by the drivers which caused damage to the cars and occasionally was the site of quite a few accidents. Before the 2006 Grand Prix, the kerbs were lowered considerably and the turn itself was tightened to reduce speeds and hopefully reduce the number of accidents at the chicane.

Imola during reconstruction, March 2007.

The Grand Prix was removed from the calendar of the 2007 Formula One season.[6] SAGIS, the company that owns the circuit, hoped that the race would be reinstated at the October 2006 meeting of the FIA World Motorsport Council and scheduled for the weekend of 29 April 2007, provided renovations to the circuit were completed in time for the race, but the reinstatement was denied.[7]

Recent developments

Since 2007, the circuit has undergone major revisions. The Variante Bassa chicane has been removed, making the run from Rivazza 2 to the first Tamburello chicane totally flat-out, much like the circuit in its original fast-flowing days. However the chicane has been reinstalled for motorcycle races.

The new pitbox and start/finish straight, April 2008.

The old pit garages and paddock have been demolished and completely rebuilt while the pitlane was extended and resurfaced. The reconstruction was overseen by German F1 track architect Hermann Tilke.

In June 2008, with most of the reconstruction work completed, The FIA gave the track a "1T" rating, meaning that an official Formula One Test can be held at the circuit; circuits require the "1" homologation to host a Formula One Grand Prix.[8] As of August 2011, the track received a '1' FIA homologation rating after an inspection by Charlie Whiting.[9]

The circuit hosted the 2008 WTCC Race of Europe, on 21 September 2008.

In 2011, the 6 Hours of Imola was revived and added to the Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup as a season event.

In June 2015, the owners of the circuit confirmed they were in talks to return to the Formula One calendar should Monza, whose contract was scheduled to run out after the 2016 season, if they were unable to make a new deal to keep hosting a round of the world championship.[10] On 18 July 2016, Imola signed a deal to host the Italian Grand Prix from the 2017 season.[11] However, on 2 September 2016, it was announced that Monza secured a new to deal to continue in hosting the race,[12] and Imola's officials took legal action against this decision citing that its contract has been breached,[13] but on 8 November 2016, they withdrew their case.[14]

In media

In 2010, Jeremy Clarkson filmed his DVD, The Italian Job at the Imola circuit as well as Lydden Hill Race Circuit in England, and the Fiorano Circuit, Ferrari's test track.

In 2012, the BBC's Top Gear had a segment at the Imola circuit in the Series 18 opener with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May driving a Lamborghini Aventador, a Noble M600 and a McLaren MP4-12C to see which car could set the fastest lap time against The Stig's Italian Cousin driving a Ferrari 458 Italia. In 2013, Hammond returned to Imola to drive the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento.

References

  1. ↑ "LIST OF FIA LICENSED CIRCUITS" (PDF). FIA. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Fotheringham, Alasdair (19 May 2015). "Giro d’Italia stage 11 preview: Organizers bring back 1968 Worlds finish circuit in Imola". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. ↑ O'Shea, Sadhbh (20 May 2015). "Giro d'Italia stage 11: Zakarin motors to win on F1 track in Imola". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. ↑ BBC (2006-02-17). "Circuit Guide - Imola". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  5. ↑ The Guardian (2003-03-03). "Imola, San Marino". London. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  6. ↑ "San Marino loses Grand Prix race". news.bbc.co.uk. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  7. ↑ "Imola hopes to get back on 2007 calendar". f1.gpupdate.net. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  8. ↑ "Imola receives '1T' FIA rating". en.f1-live.com. 30 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  9. ↑ "F1: Imola Eyes Return With Top FIA Rating". 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  10. ↑ "Exclusive: Imola begins talks to save Italian Grand Prix". Motorsport.com. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Cooper, Adam (18 July 2016). "Imola signs agreement with Ecclestone for Italian GP". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Parkes, Ian (2 September 2016). "Monza secures new three-year F1 deal to host Italian Grand Prix". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  13. ↑ Rencken, Dieter; Barretto, Lawrence (6 September 2016). "Imola taking legal action over Monza's new Italian GP deal". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Rencken, Dieter; Barretto, Lawrence (8 November 2016). "Imola withdraws legal action over Monza's F1 Italian GP". Autosport.com. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
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