History
The area by Imola is home to several racing car manufacturers – namely Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Minardi (now Toro Rosso), Dallara and Stanguellini. Following the Second World War, the town launched a program to try to improve the local economy. Four local motor racing enthusiasts proposed the construction of a new road linking existing public roads, which was used by the local car manufacturers to test their prototypes. Construction began in March 1950. The first test run took place two years later when Enzo Ferrari sent a car to the track and Alberto Ascari ran some demonstrative laps.
In April 1953, the first motorcycle races took place at Imola, and the first car race took place in June 1954. In April 1963, the first race with Formula One cars took place at Imola, 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, the Italian Grand Prix moved from the high-speed Monza circuit to Imola, as a direct result of 1978's startline pile-up, which claimed the life of the popular Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson. It was won by Nelson Piquet for Brabham-Ford. The following year, the Italian Grand Prix returned to Monza, and Imola hosted the newly-launched San Marino Grand Prix, named after the nearby republic of San Marino.
In 1994, there were three serious accidents at Imola. During Friday Practice, Rubens Barrichello crashed hard into the fence at the Variante Bassa in which he decelerated violently and was knocked unconscious for a few minutes. There was also the death of Roland Ratzenberger at the Villeneuve Corner in the Saturday qualifying session, and the death of three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna during the race itself at the 6th-gear Tamburello Corner. As a result, for the 1995 race, the Tamburello and Villeneuve corners were altered from flat-out sweeping bends into slower chicanes, and the Variante Bassa was straightened. It was also the catalyst to changes being made to other circuits, and the sport as a whole, in an attempt to make it safer.
Constructors had complained about the poor quality of the facilities at Imola so, after much talk of dropping the San Marino Grand Prix from the Formula One championship, on 29 August 2006, the race was excluded from the calendar released for the 2007 season, and has not featured since.
No drivers from San Marino ever competed in Formula One. Italian driver Riccardo Patrese won it in 1990. Michael Schumacher won the race 7 times and Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost both won it 3 times. Williams and Ferrari have both won 8 times and McLaren 6 times.
Read more about this topic: San Marino Grand Prix
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