Atlas F1 Contributing Writer
After a humble beginning in the 1950s, the Imola circuit's reputation grew through its sports car and national formula motor races, until it earned the right to hold its first Formula One Grand Prix in the eighties. Journalist and historian Doug Nye looks back at its history and at the most outstanding races held at the Italian track
They are almost evenly spaced along this historic route - beginning with Alessandria, where the pre-war Italian racing season used to kick-off each year, where Fiat's great star of the 1920s Pietro Bordino lost his life, drowned after crashing into a roadside dyke, and where Tazio Nuvolari - Italy's Champion of Champions - was once lucky to survive a terrific crash into trackside trees. Piacenza follows, where on May 11th 1947 none other than the Ferrari marque made its independent motor racing debut; 55 long and frenetic years ago.
Parma follows - another city in which road racing had been so speedily resumed in Italy post-World War II, and another venue at which Nuvolari and Franco Cortese shone in the first prototype Ferrari V12s during their maiden season of 1947. Then Reggio nell'Emilia goes by - once an important way-point on the northern leg of the mighty Mille Miglia round-Italy sports car classic - Modena is next, home to Ferrari, Maserati, Stanguellini and more - followed by Bologna, classical birthplace of the Maserati marque... and so, to Imola.
Motor racing was brought to quiet, rather sleepy Imola in the early 1950s when that loop of part-public/part-private roads was linked together and adequately surfaced at the expense of the CONI - the Italian National Olympic Committee. Shell Oil Italia was willingly roped-in to sponsor a series of very successful up-to-2-litre sports car races held on the course from 1954. Winners included Umberto Maglioli in a Ferrari, Cesare Perdisa driving a Maserati and Eugenio Castellotti in an OSCA 1500.
The circuit measured just over three miles to the lap, and its hilly nature, flat along the riverbank, then swooping up into a hilly backleg, led the Italian motoring press to nickname it 'Imola's little Nurburgring'. In fact this rather mis-sold the course, for it had few really sharp corners, the vast majority were fast and demanding, and, while sinuous, it was not twisty, and certainly not 'acrobatic' in the German sense.
Imola's reputation grew through its sports car and national formula motor races, and particularly its energetic use by the motorcycle racing fraternity, until its great breakthrough into the International scene came in 1963 when Shell sponsored a non-Championship Formula One race there for the first time. One contemporary report described the Imola course the Formula One runners encountered that April as follows:
"Another short straight precedes a fast, but not flat-out, bend to the right which marks the start of the hilly section and the braking point for the first hairpin. Here the steep exit has a rough surface and as the cars crest the hill a few hundred yards later they are confronted with a sharp turn to the left followed by a much faster one as the road descends to two more right-handers. The second of these is very tight and once again the steep exit is very bumpy and the engines give forth a series of staccato notes as rear wheels bump clear of the ground.
"The drivers take their cars back up through the gears as they ascend to the plateau and a series of flat-out curves to the left, briefly catching a glimpse of the pits and stands on the plain below.
"Imola is altogether a delightful circuit and the organisers had accomplished the task of making the circuit safe for drivers and spectators with almost hysterical thoroughness..."
That first Imola Grand Prix for Formula One cars saw 13 starters from a 15-car entry, and the grid was headed by Jim Clark and teammate Trevor Taylor in their beautiful twin monocoque-chassised Lotus 25s. Sweden's Jo Bonnier completed the three-strong front row in Rob Walker's Scots-blue Cooper while on row two sat Swiss former racing motorcyclist Jo Siffert's Lotus 24 and Lorenzo Bandini - the local hope - in a 4-cylinder Cooper entered by the Roman Scuderia Centro Sud.
The entire meeting that year was graced by fine and warm Spring weather, and on raceday Jimmy Clark simply blared away and hid in his fuel-injected works Lotus, wining by over a minute from privateer Jo Siffert in his Lotus-BRM and another former racing motorcyclist, Bob Anderson, in his pretty Lola-Climax V8. Trev Taylor had ben forced to retire his second-string works Lotus with gearbox problems, and Bonnier suffered a failure in his Climax V8 engine. Trev Taylor left the circuit lap record at 1 min 48.3secs, over 103mph.
The local club was keen to repeat the Formula One experience, but Italian motor racing politics and other pressures upon the racing calendar conspired against them, for long years, far into the 1970s while the recipe of Italian national events, sports car and motorcycle competition kept the course vigourously alive.
Mr Ferrari approved Imola's promoters adopting the honourary title 'Autodromo Dino Ferrari' for their course, and after the fiery multiple collision which had resulted in Ronnie Peterson's death at Monza in 1978, it was decided that the Italian Grand Prix was to be transferred from the Milanese Royal Park to Imola for '79. When the Monza authorities bounced back successfully, brief talk of Imola hosting Italy's second World Championship GP of that season speedily evaporated, in some acrimony, but the Italian GP move was confirmed to Imola for 1980, and the Imolese were placated by presentation of a non-Championship F1 date, immediately after the 1979 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
To complicate the issue, development work on the circuit had been delayed, and as the circus arrived at the course a new pit-garage complex was only half-finished, access through the suburban back streets of Imola itself was criticised and the paddock, squeezed along the riverbank, was judged to be too confined. In a mood ripe to whinge, the Formula One glitterati then turned their attention to the course itself...
High-speed sections of the track offered no run-off areas, brick and concrete walls and cliff abutments confronted the drivers on some sections, catch-fencing was judged too little and badly positioned and - when a Renault 5 saloon in a supporting race flattened a poorly-installed Armco barrier - the ticking and clucking assumed deafening proportions.
Jody Scheckter of Ferrari complained that he hadn't wanted to attend in any case, it was obviously dangerous and that he had told Ferrari he would drive slowly - "...and yet once you get in the car you still drive hard. It's something you have to do. You forget about everything else."
His Ferrari teammate, Gilles Villeneuve, admitted "It's amusing to drive, but they have to do a lot to improve the track for next year...". The French-Canadian qualified on pole, Scheckter alongside in their Ferrari 312T4s, from Carlos Reutemann's Lotus 79 and Niki Lauda's Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT48.
In the absence of both Williams and Ligier - that year a very strong contender - the Ferraris should have made this Dino Ferrari Grand Prix their own, but both team drivers encountered tyre problems, and as they struggled to find grip so a terrific duel erupted between the Maranello cars, Reutemann's Lotus and Lauda's Brabham.
As Lauda and Reutemann assumed the lead, Scheckter made little effort to compete, but Villeneuve challenged Lauda so fiercely he managed to ram the Brabham up the tail and had to stop for a new nosecone and fresh tyres. Pulling out all the stops, he set fastest lap (1:33.6, over 120mph) but could only recover to finish seventh.
'Lole' Reutemann lost his chance to challenge Lauda's lead when his Lotus developed spongy brakes and broke an exhaust, which robbed some horsepower, and after its assault from Villeneuve, Lauda's Alfa Romeo engine also split some exhaust pipes so both leading cars whuffled round to the flag sounding decidedly off-song.
By 1980 Imola's standards had been much improved in time for its first Italian Grand Prix, on September 14. Nelson Piquet of Brabham and Alan Jones of Williams were locked in combat for the Drivers' World Championship. Piquet disposed of the Renault turbo challenge within the first three laps. Jonesie was hampered by indifferent braking and had to settle for second place, which gave Piquet the Championship lead by a single solitary point with only the Canadian and US GPs to run.
Into 1981 Monza had redeemed itself with the return of the Italian GP in September, and it was this season which saw the first 'San Marino Grand Prix' held at Imola in May, as the European Formula One season opener. Nelson Piquet won for the second successive year. It was a part-wet race, Villeneuve led for Ferrari for the first 14 laps before changing to dry tyres - Pironi took over for Ferrari until a broken skirt and worn tyres wrecked his chances, and Piquet inherited the lead with 14 laps to run. At Imola good fortune simply would not smile upon the local team - La Ferrari.
The FOCA/FISA political war was raging furiously at Imola time in 1982 - FOCA teams boycotted the San Marino GP and only 14 starters took the grid. Ferrari's show went wrong as Pironi ignored pit signals to hold station behind Villeneuve and the celebrated 'betrayal' took place which - perhaps - led to Gilles's tragic death at Zolder next time out.
In 1983 Patrick Tambay notched Ferrari's second consecutive Imola victory, but Brabham-BMW showed dominant pace that weekend - Piquet stalled on the startline, and teammate Riccardo Patrese led, dropped back to 2nd in a slow pit-stop, regained the lead...and then crashed sensationally at the last gasp, gifting victory to 'The Reds'.
McLaren-TAG Turbo ruled the Formula One roost in 1984 - Alain Prost's victorious run seeing him lead from the start, through his refuelling stop and even through a spin - and as both Williams cars retired it was deemed the Didcot team's worst race since 1978!
The Senna years really dawned at Imola in 1985 as his Lotus-Renault dominated until it ran out of fuel with four laps left to run - Stefan Johansson's turbo Ferrari inherited the lead but ran out in turn, and Prost's McLaren took the chequered flag first. Post-race scrutineering spotted a tiny technical infringement, Prost's car was disqualified and it was Italian Elio de Angelis who was declared winner in the second-string Lotus-Renault.
Prost's heart was in his mouth at the Imola finish in 1986 as it was his McLaren which ran out of fuel at the last gasp, and just barely stuttered across the finish line with just sufficient mass aboard to remain above the minimum weight limit at post-race scrutineering!
It was Nigel Mansell's year for Williams-Honda in 1987, beating Senna's Lotus-Honda convincingly, while in practice Nelson Piquet survived a massive accident in the Tamburello curve after the pits which destroyed his sister Williams and left the Brazilian badly concussed. He had presented himself to Prof Watkins insisting he would be fit enough to race next day. "No you're not" said the Prof, "You're brain damaged". "No, no" insisted Piquet, "I'm fine, I'm fine". "Okay, if you're so fine - tell me why you are wearing only one shoe...?"
Game, set and match to the medical authority.
The 1988 San Marino Grand Prix saw, of course, the McLaren-Honda year - Senna first, Prost second - nobody else in the picture, and this result was repeated in the 1989 edition, although then the race was overshadowed by Gerhard Berger's amazing escape without serious harm from the violent and fiery Ferrari accident in the Tamburello curve which looked at first so terribly serious.
After his disappointment in the Brabham in 1983, Riccardo Patrese really craved success in his home race and 1990 proved to be his year - the Italian ending a seven-year drought by beating Berger's McLaren-Honda in his Williams-Renault. Senna had a stone jam in a brake caliper, splitting a wheel rim and deflating the tyre, which sent him slithering off into a sand trap after leading 4 laps. Thierry Boutsen, Berger and Patrese each led at various times thereafter.
Senna and Berger - McLaren-Hondas - 1-2 in 1991, and so the Santerno circuit's history ran on towards what is for most, perhaps, its most defining moment - the accident at Tamburello in 1994 which claimed Ayrton Senna's life, the day after Roland Ratzenberger had been killed down towards Tosa.
There was no relief that weekend, right from the shattering crash before the pits which so miraculously spared the youthful Rubens Barrichello if not his Jordan, to the startline collision which sprayed debris into the crowded grandstands, to the pit-stop incident which saw a mechanic injured by a stray wheel...
But while for many younger enthusiasts - and participants - that 1994 experience of sudden death in Formula One was shockingly new, perhaps the emphasis should more realistically have been different, and it should have been dominated by the thought that - for so many years - the World Championship racing world had simply got away without killing a driver, year after year after fortuitous year.
Regardless, every visit to Imola since 1994 has been tainted by those bitter memories. The circuit has been much modified since then - emasculated in many ways - but it remains a fine venue for Formula One, one of the most scenic and aesthetically pleasing on the calendar, and one whose characteristics still have been shaped by its natural geography, instead of having had its natural geography shaped by the dead hand of blue-suit man.
If you set out from Turin and follow the main arterial route which slashes diagonally across the thigh of Italy down towards Rimini on the Adriatic coast, you flash along the southern edge of the vast Po valley flood plain, passing cities with names that are studded into motor racing history like jewels in some Renaissance crown.
A much smaller town than its illustrious northerly neighbours, Imola was for years viewed with great affection by the motor racing circus. Pleasant enough town, pleasant people, an interesting motor racing venue - based upon a lazy, compressed loop of likely-looking public roads out on the outskirts of the town, alongside the River Santerno.
"Most of the corners are extremely fast and, despite the absence of any real straights, lap speeds of over 100mph were achieved by the fastest drivers. The cars are almost on full song down the very short pit straight which is followed by a flat-out bend to the left. Then comes a very long left-hander which turns through some 75 degrees and which some drivers changed down for while others simply backed off.
"The last of these curves is slightly downhill and only the most skilful take this without pausing. The road then turns right under a road bridge and the cars must be braked while still turning, for now come two sharp left-handers which together turn the route through 180 degrees. The drivers iron these out into one long curve and start their sprint through a long left bend which leads into the pit straight.
With 16 Championship-qualifying rounds already on the annual calendar, this extra event was not at all popularly received by either teams or drivers. It fell immediately after the Monza classic, and left just a week before cars and equipment had to be despatched to North America for the US and Canadian GPs. Only 16 cars consequently made the field at Imola '79 for this one-off 'Gran Premio Dino Ferrari', and they were described as featuring 12 regular GP drivers, two 'would-bes', one 'might-have-been' and one 'has-been'...
Reutemann finished third for Williams after a game drive, without clutch or fourth gear for much of the distance. And both Ferrari drivers were again out of luck on the Autodromo Dino Ferrari - Scheckter having crashed heavily in practice, and Villeneuve surviving his celebratedly enormous impact on the high-speed downhill approach to Tosa during the race.
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