The is a racing circuit near the
Italian town of
Imola , 40 Km east of
Bologna and 80 Km east of the
Ferrari factory in
Maranello .
The circuit is named after late Ferrari's founder
Enzo and his son Dino who had died in the 1950s. Before Enzo Ferrari's death in 1988, it was called '.
It is the venue for the
Formula One San Marino Grand Prix (usually, two Grands Prix are held in Italy every year, so the race held at Imola is 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 minority of non-oval circuits which go in an anti-clockwise direction. With
Istanbul Racing Circuit a third counter-clockwise track was added in 2005 to the well-known
Autódromo José Carlos Pace at
Interlagos .
Built in the 1950's, Imola was popular with drivers due to its fast, flowing layout. In
1973 and
1974 two chicanes were added in order to slow the cars. A third chicane was added in
1981 . However, 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 a creek 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, which in fact split the monocoque, but thanks to the quick work of the firefighters and medical personnel Berger survived without serious injury.
However, in the
1994 San Marino Grand Prix , the dangers of the Imola circuit, and of Forumula One in general, became tragically apparent. During Friday practice
Rubens Barrichello was launched over a kerb, and into the top of a tyre barrier, flipping the car and knocking the Brazilian unconcious. He was not seriously injured. During Saturday qualifying Austrian
Roland Ratzenberger crashed head-on into a wall at the Villeneuve corner after a front wing failure, and was killed instantly. The nightmare continued the next day, when the legendary 3-time World Champion
Ayrton Senna mysteriously went straight on at the Tamburello corner on Lap 7. He may not have been badly injured by the impact with the wall itself, but a suspension piece broke off in the accident, pierced Senna's helmet and killed him. In two unrelated incidents, several spectators and mechanics were also injured during the event.
In response to the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Senna, revisions were made in an attempt to make the circuit 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 attempt to retain some of the quickness and character of the old circuit, the arduous chicane at Acqui Minerali was eliminated, as was the corner at which Barichello crashed. 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. Some are also critical of the circuit's deteriorating facilities, and there has been talk of the
San Marino Grand Prix being taken off the Formula One calendar. However, the San Marino Grand Prix looks set to keep its place on the Formula One calendar in the short-term at least, and Imola will be used as a Formula One venue until at least 2009.
Another modification made to the Imola track is that of the famous Varianta Alta which is situated at the top of the hill leading down to Rivazza which has the hardest braking point on the lap. The Varianta 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. However, before the 2006 Grand Prix, the kerbs were lowered considerably and the turn itself was tightened to reduce speeds and hopefully reduce the amount of accidents at the chicane.
