Race Track: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Loaction: Imola, Italy
Raceday: Sunday, 23 April 2006
Time: 2000 (+8 GMT)
2005 winner: F Alonso
Click here for
larger Image
Few circuits inspire the same adoration for motorsport as Imola.
The circuit lies in the heart of Ferrari country and is a stone's
throw from both Modena and Maranello. It is the home of the tifosi
and a place of pilgrimage for any fan of Italian motorsport. The
track has seen some memorable races over the years and although it
is in Italy, the circuit plays host to the San Marino Grand
Prix.
Built in 1950 by a group of motor enthusiasts, the track was simply
a collection of new roads joining up existing public highways. It
was not until 1954 that the first car race took place on the track.
In 1963, however, the organisers collected a large purse and asked
the Formula One teams if they would run in a non-championship event
between the Pau and Pescara races. Most agreed, although Ferrari
was notable by its absence.
The Imola Council decided to rename the circuit in honour of Enzo
Ferrari's son Dino who had died in 1956. The renaming led to a
loyalty from Enzo and the Circuit Dino Ferrari soon raised enough
money to turn the track into a permanent closed circuit. When the
great man died, the circuit was renamed, Circuit Enzo e Dino
Ferrari.
1979 saw Formula One return to the track with the running of
another non-championship event. In 1980, Imola hosted the Italian
Grand Prix, the first and only time it would do so. 1981 saw the
return of the Italian Grand Prix to Monza, but so popular was Imola
that the San Marino Grand Prix was launched to make use of the
circuit.
1982 saw one of the most legendary races in Formula One history.
Having crashed at the corner which would later bear his name in
1981, Gilles Villeneuve returned to Imola determined to win.
However, after a titanic battle his team mate at Ferrari, Didier
Pironi, took the lead and won the race. Villeneuve was incensed as
he claimed Pironi had broken team orders. He swore never to speak
to him again. He never would. At the next race in Zolder,
Villeneuve was killed in a horrifying accident in qualifying.
In 1983 Villeneuve's friend Patrick Tambay raced at Imola for
Ferrari. He took Villeneuve's number 27 to victory. It was a most
unlikely win, and legend says that Tambay recalled the car doing
things he was not asking it to do. He said it was as if Gilles had
been in the car with him. The magic of Imola was born.
In 1987 and 1989 Nelson Piquet and Gerhard Berger had big accidents
at the high speed Tamburello corner. They emerged relatively
unscathed, but in 1994 the corner claimed the life of one of
Formula One's greatest drivers, Ayrton Senna. In one of the sport's
darkest weekends Rubens Barrichello was knocked unconscious on
Friday morning. Roland Ratzenberger, the much loved Austrian
rookie, was tragically killed on Saturday with minutes of
qualifying left. The race itself saw collisions, stray tyres in the
pit lane, and, most tragically, the death of Senna.
Despite the events of 1994, Imola has retained some of its magic.
It is still a marvellous circuit with corners such as Acque
Minerale providing real challenges for the modern Formula One
driver. The atmosphere created by the tifosi is unlike anything on
earth. They live and breathe Ferrari and give Imola a special type
of magic you won't find anywhere else.
