ImolaThe Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a race track near the Italian town of Imola, 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) east of Bologna. It is one of the few major international circuits to run in an anti-clockwise direction.
Imola will forever be tainted by the tragedies of 1994 which prompted major revisions to its layout but, despite this, it remains one of the most atmospheric and challenging circuits in Europe.
The circuit is in an area with long associations with speed – as far back as 80BC the Romans created an amphitheatre for gladiatorial chariot racing. In more recent times, the idea for a motor racing circuit was first promoted in the late 1940s. Four locals – Alfredo Campagnoli, Graziano Golinelli, Ugo Montevecchi and Gualtiero Vighi – who were all keen on motorcycle racing, saw the opportunity presented by the creation of a new road. This linked the via Emila, where the Rivazza curve is now located, to the town of Codrigano, as far as the current Tosa curve.
The original circuit layout ttravelled the familiar route alongside the river to Tosa, up the hillside to Piratella and Acque Minerale, before plunging back down towards the Rivazza. While the track layout itself is largely unchanged, little else would be recognisable to racegoers today – essentially, the circuit resembled the largely temporary facility it was, a simple connection of the roads and streets of a city suburb, replete with all of the hazards this brings.
Initially named after the Santerno River which borders it on the paddock side, the circuit was renamed Autodromo Dino Ferrari in 1970 after Enzo Ferrari's son, who had died of leukaemia in 1956. Enzo Ferrari's own name was added following his death in 1988.
The revised circuit was inaugurated in May 2008 and has gone on to consolidate its position, continuing to host the World Superbike Championships but also reviving top class sportscars with the Six Hours of Imola, run to Le Mans rules as part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in 2011. Subsequently, a shortened three-hour race has formed a round of the European Le Mans Series. A complete resurface was undertaken in August 2011, after which the FIA awarded the circuit Grade 1 status once again, licensing it for Formula One competition; while a revival of the San Marino Grand Prix is unlikely the current financial climate, the certification does mean that the venue is at least able to host F1 testing once again.
