Imola Circuit

Original layout of the Imola Circuit with no chicanes (1953–1972)

The track was originally called the Autodromo di Castellaccis, and inaugurated as a semi-permanent venue in 1953. It had no chicanes, so the runs from Acque Minerali to Rivazza, and from Rivazza all the way to Tosa, through the pits and the Tamburello, were just straights with a few small bends; 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 World Championship calendar by hosting the 1980 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 and remained on the calendar until 2006. The race was held over 60 laps of the 5.040 km (3.132 mi) circuit for a total race distance of 300 kilometres.

Imola has hosted a round of the Superbike World Championship from 2001 to 2006 and later since 2009. It hosts the final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2018.

The World Touring Car Championship visited Imola in 2005 for the Race of San Marino, in 2008 for the Race of Europe, and in 2009 for the Race of Italy. The venue hosted a round of the International GT Open from 2009 to 2011 and also in 2021. The TCR International Series raced at Imola in 2016.

The 6 Hours of Imola was revived in 2011 and added to the Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup as a season event until 2016, but it returned again to European Le Mans Series calendar again in 2022 as 4 Hours of Imola. It also hosted the 12 Hours of Imola in 2017-2018, a round of the 24H Series.

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.[4] The circuit was used for stage 11 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which was won by Ilnur Zakarin,[5] and stage 12 of the 2018 Giro d'Italia, won by Sam Bennett.[6] The circuit also served as the start and finish of the 2020 UCI Road World Championships on 27 September 2020.[7]

Despite the addition of chicanes to several parts of the lap, such as the Acque Minerali, Variante Alta, and Variante Bassa, 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 without a tyre barrier that separated the circuit from the Santerno river that runs adjacent to it.

In 1987, Nelson Piquet crashed heavily during practice after a tyre failure and missed the race due to injury. In 1989, Gerhard Berger crashed his Ferrari at Tamburello after a front wing failure. The car instantaneously ignited after the severe impact at 300 km/h (190 mph) 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 suffered a massive shunt whilst testing his Footwork Arrows at the circuit in 1991 but escaped injury. The following year, Riccardo Patrese also crashed at the same corner while testing for the Williams team.

In response to the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, modifications were carried out to the Tamburello corner to make it safer by converting it from a flat-out left hander to a left-right-left chicane.

The circuit's layout at the time of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

The circuit layout changed after 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, used between 1995–2006

In the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, during Friday practice Rubens Barrichello was launched over a kerb 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 (190 mph) 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. Senna died in hospital several hours after his crash. In two unrelated incidents, several spectators and mechanics were also injured during the event.

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.[8][9]

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.

The old pitlane, June 2006.

The Grand Prix was removed from the calendar of the 2007 Formula One season.[10] SAGIS, the company that owns the circuit, hoped that the race would be reinstated at the October 2006 meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport 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.[11]

Imola during reconstruction, March 2007.

Since 2007, the circuit has undergone major revisions. A bypass to the Variante Bassa chicane was added for cars, 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 is still used 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.[12] As of August 2011, the track received a '1' FIA homologation rating after an inspection by Charlie Whiting.[13]

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, be unable to make a new deal to keep hosting a round of the world championship.[14] On 18 July 2016, Imola signed a deal to host the Italian Grand Prix from the 2017 season.[15] However, on 2 September 2016, it was announced that Monza had secured a new deal to continue in hosting the race,[16] and Imola's officials took legal action against this decision questioning the legality of government funding awarded to Monza.[17] On 8 November 2016, they withdrew their case.[18] In February 2020, the owners at Imola submitted a bid to replace the 2020 Chinese Grand Prix pending its cancellation as a precaution in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] On 24 July 2020, it was confirmed that the circuit would be added to the calendar for the 2020 Formula One World Championship with the race being called the "Emilia Romagna Grand Prix" in honour of the region the circuit is situated in. In a break with Formula One tradition the event at the circuit took place over two days instead of three on 31 October and 1 November 2020.[20] Imola was kept on the calendar for 2021, following the postponement of the Chinese Grand Prix due to the ongoing pandemic, and later for the 2022 calendar as well.[21] Imola is due to host a F1 Grand Prix until 2025.[22]

The circuit's president is Giancarlo Minardi of the former Minardi F1 team.[23]

Current

• April: Formula One Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, Porsche Supercup, GT World Challenge Europe 3 Hours of Imola, GT4 European Series, GT2 European Series, Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe
• May: European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Imola, Le Mans Cup, Formula Regional European Championship, Renault Clio Cup Europe, TCR Italian Series, Italian F4 Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Italy
• June: Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Porsche Carrera Cup Germany
• September: Euroformula Open Championship, Italian GT Championship, TCR Italian Series
• October: Ferrari Challenge Finali Mondiali, CIV Superbike Championship

Former

• 24H Series 12 Hours of Imola (2017–2018)
• City of Imola motorcycle Grand Prix (1996–1999)
• FIA Formula Two Championship (2009–2012) (2009)
• FIA GT Championship (2004–2005)
• FIM Endurance World Championship (1966, 1982, 2002–2003)
• Formula Renault Eurocup (2004, 2020)
• GP2 Asia Series (2011)
• GP2 Series (2005–2006)
• International Formula 3000 (1986–1987, 1998–2004)
• International GT Open (2009–2011, 2021)
• Italian motorcycle Grand Prix (1969, 1972, 1974–1975, 1977, 1979, 1988)
• Motocross World Championship (2019–2020)
• San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix (1981, 1983)
• Sidecar World Championship (1974, 1983, 2001–2003)
• Superbike World Championship (2001–2006, 2009–2019)
• Superstars Series (2004–2006, 2009–2010, 2012–2013)
• TCR International Series (2016)
• World Sportscar Championship (1965, 1974, 1984)
• World Touring Car Championship (2005, 2008–2009)

The official lap record for the current Grand Prix circuit layout is 1:15.484, set by Lewis Hamilton during the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, while the unofficial all-time track record is 1:13.609, set by Valtteri Bottas in the qualifying of aforementioned race. The official race lap records at the Imola Circuit are listed as:

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Event	Circuit Map
Grand Prix Circuit: 4.909 km (2008–present)
F1	1:15.484[24]	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance	2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
GP2 Asia	1:28.097	Romain Grosjean	Dallara GP2/11	2011 Imola GP2 Asia Series round
FIA F2	1:28.353	Jehan Daruvala	Dallara F2 2018	2022 Imola Formula 2 round
LMP1	1:33.112[25]	Sébastien Bourdais	Peugeot 908	2011 6 Hours of Imola
FIA F3	1:33.129	Roman Staněk	Dallara F3 2019	2022 Imola Formula 3 round
LMP2	1:34.799[26]	Nicolas Lapierre	Oreca 05	2016 4 Hours of Imola
Euroformula Open	1:35.273[27]	Jak Crawford	Dallara 320	2021 Imola Euroformula Open round
FTwo (2009–2012)	1:38.576	Robert Wickens	Williams JPH1	2009 Imola Formula Two round
FREC	1:38.769[28]	Hadrien David	Tatuus F.3 T-318	2021 Imola FREC round
LMP3	1:40.019[26]	Dino Lunardi	Ligier JS P3	2016 4 Hours of Imola
GT3	1:40.375[29]	Nicki Thiim	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	2022 Imola GT World Challenge Europe round
Formula Renault Eurocup	1:40.686[30]	Franco Colapinto	Tatuus FR-19	2020 2nd Imola Formula Renault Eurocup round
LM GTE	1:41.024[31]	Matthew Griffin	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	2014 4 Hours of Imola
SRO GT2	1:43.486[32]	Anders Fjordbach	Brabham BT63 GT2 Concept	2022 Imola GT2 European Series round
LMPC	1:44.443[25]	Kyle Marcelli	Oreca FLM09	2011 6 Hours of Imola
GT4	1:49.524[33]	Tom Canning	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4	2022 Imola GT4 European Series round
TCR Touring Car	1:51.647[34]	Mikel Azcona	CUPRA Leon Competición TCR	2021 1st Imola TCR Italy round
WTCC	1:55.388[35]	James Thompson	Honda Accord Euro R	2008 FIA WTCC Race of Europe
Motorcycle Circuit: 4.936 km (2009–present)
World SBK	1:45.727[36]	Chaz Davies	Ducati Panigale V4 R	2019 Imola World SBK round
World SSP	1:51.101[37]	Jules Cluzel	MV Agusta F3 675	2015 Imola World SSP round
Supersport 300	2:08.200[38]	María Herrera	Yamaha YZF-R3	2018 Imola Supersport 300 round
Modified Layout: 4.959 km (1995–2006)
F1	1:20.411	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari F2004	2004 San Marino Grand Prix
GP2	1:33.871	Nicolas Lapierre	Dallara GP2/05	2005 Imola GP2 Series round
F3000	1:38.936[39]	Giorgio Pantano	Lola B02/50	2002 Imola F3000 round
GT1	1:47.399[40]	Uwe Alzen	Saleen S7-R	2004 FIA GT Imola 500 km
World SBK	1:48.389[41]	Troy Bayliss	Ducati 998 F02	2002 Imola World SBK round
500cc	1:49.436	Mick Doohan	Honda NSR500	1997 City of Imola motorcycle Grand Prix
Formula Renault Eurocup	1:50.679[42]	Pascal Kochem	Tatuus FR2000	2004 Imola Formula Renault Eurocup round
250cc	1:51.872	Tetsuya Harada	Aprilia RSV 250	1997 City of Imola motorcycle Grand Prix
N-GT	1:52.425[40]	Lucas Luhr	Porsche 911 (996) GT3-RSR	2004 FIA GT Imola 500 km
World SSP	1:53.122[43]	Kevin Curtain	Yamaha YZF-R6	2003 Imola World SSP round
Super Touring	1:56.598[44]	Peter Kox	Honda Accord	2000 Imola ESTC round
125cc	1:58.490	Valentino Rossi	Aprilia RS125R	1997 City of Imola motorcycle Grand Prix
WTCC	2:00.208	Fabrizio Giovanardi	Alfa Romeo 156 WTCC	2005 FIA WTCC Race of San Marino
Grand Prix Circuit with Chicanes: 5.040 km (1980–1994)
F1	1:24.335	Damon Hill	Williams FW16	1994 San Marino Grand Prix
Group C	1:37.840[45]	Pierluigi Martini	Lancia LC2	1984 1000 km of Imola
F3000	1:38.290[46]	Gabriele Tarquini	March 87B	1987 Imola F3000 round
500cc	1:53.360	Kenny Roberts	Yamaha YZR500	1983 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix
125cc	2:06.030	Angel Nieto	Garelli 125 GP	1983 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix
50cc	2:21.420	Ricardo Tormo	Morbidelli 50cc GP	1983 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix
Original Grand Prix Circuit with Chicanes: 5.060 km (1973–1979)
F1	1:33.610[47]	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari 312 T4	1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix
Group 5	1:40.800[48]	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Matra-Simca MS670	1974 1000 km of Imola
500cc	1:56.000[49]	Kenny Roberts	Yamaha YZR500	1979 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix
Original Grand Prix Circuit without Chicanes: 5.017 km (1953–1972)
Group 6	1:36.900[50]	Jacky Ickx	Mirage M3/300	1969 500 km of Imola
Group 4	1:41.700[50]	Frank Gardner Mike de Udy	Lola T70 Mk IIIB GT	1969 500 km of Imola
F1	1:48.300	Trevor Taylor	Lotus 25	1963 Imola Grand Prix
Group 5	1:52.900[51]	Ciro Nappi	Chevron B21	1972 500 km of Imola

Since 1981,[52] the circuit has been hosting the early-September Mostra Scambio ("Trading Exposition"), an open-air market primarily focused on the exhibition and trade of vintage vehicles and their parts; this event is also popularly (but inaccurately) called CRAME, after the name of the historical society organizing it.[53] The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19.[52]

Among the major musical performances held on the track were:

• Heineken Jammin' Festival (1998–2006)
• Sonisphere (2011)
• AC/DC – Rock or Bust World Tour (2015)
• Laura Pausini – Pausini Stadi (2016)
• Guns N' Roses – Not in this Lifetime Tour (2017)
• Mario Biondi (2019)
• Pearl Jam – Gigaton Tour (2022)

Partially due to the vicinity of the Romeo Galli athletics stadium, the Acque Minerali park, and the Tre Monti hills, the Autodromo is not commonly used for bicycle or on-foot sporting activities (albeit with notable exceptions, such as two segments of the Giro d'Italia in the 2010s, and 2020 UCI Road World Championships); however, the civic administration does occasionally allocate summer days in which the public can walk or cycle along the track.[54]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

• Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
• Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari History and Statistics
• Info from BBC's circuit guide
• Track info from race-game.org
• Satellite picture by Google Maps