San Marino Grand Prix

The San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One championship race. It was held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola. Imola is near the Apennine mountains in Italy. The race was first held, and the last race was in. It is named the San Marino Grand Prix after the nearby republic of San Marino.

History
The area by Imola is home to several racing car manufacturers, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati. Following the Second World War, the town started a project to improve the local economy. Four local motor racing fans suggested building a new road. The road would link together existing public roads. These road were used by the local car manufacturers to test their new car designs. Construction began in March 1950. The first test run took place two years later when Enzo Ferrari sent a car to the track.

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. It was a non-championship event, and was won by Jim Clark for Lotus. An additional non-championship event took place at Imola in 1979. This race was won by Niki Lauda for Brabham-Alfa Romeo.

In 1980, the Italian Grand Prix moved from the high-speed Monza circuit to Imola. This was because of a bad crash in 1978. The crash killer the popular Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson. The 1980 race was won by Nelson Piquet for Brabham-Ford. In 1981 the Italian Grand Prix returned to Monza, and Imola hosted the new San Marino Grand Prix, named after the nearby republic of San Marino.

1994
In there were three serious accidents at Imola. During the Friday practice, Rubens Barrichello hit the fence at the Variante Bassa. It was a very hard crash and he was knocked unconscious for a few minutes. During the qualifying session on Saturday, Roland Ratzenberger crashed at the Villeneuve Corner. He hit a concrete barrier wall almost head-on and was received a very bad head injury. He was taken to the hospital, but died from injuries. In the race on Sunday, Ayrton Senna hit a concrete wall at the high-speed Tamburello Corner. Senna was killed instantly. For the 1995 race, the Tamburello and Villeneuve corners were changed. They became slower chicanes. The Variante Bassa was also straightened. These crashes started changes at other Formula One circuits. Changes were made to make the sport safer.

Teams had complained about the poor quality of the facilities (buildings and work areas) at Imola. San Marino Grand Prix was dropped from the Formula One championship after. Part of the reason for dropping San Marino was there was another grand prix held in Italy.

Multiple winners (drivers)
Active drivers are in bold.

Multiple winners (constructors)
Active teams are in bold.

Deaths

 * Roland Ratzenberger, died in a crash at Villeneuve Corner during qualifying for the 1994 grand prix.
 * Ayrton Senna, died in a crash at Tamburello while leading the race on May 1, 1994.

Other websites

 * San Marino Grand Prix
 * San Marino Grand Prix Statistics