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 killed 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. On the lap before he crashed, Roland went over a kerb too quickly which damaged his front wing. This caused his front wing to fail at 190mph, causing him to go into the concrete wall. He hit a concrete barrier wall almost head-on and 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 suffered severe head injuries. After he was removed from the car he was air lifted to hospital. He died in hospital after his life support was turned off because it was the only thing keeping him alive. It is still not clear today what caused Senna's crash. The car was too damaged to analyse what caused the crash. 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.

 Winners of the San Marino Grand Prix 
 Repeat winners (drivers) 

 Wins Driver Years won 7  Michael Schumacher 1994, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 3  Ayrton Senna 1988, 1989, 1991  Alain Prost 1984, 1986, 1993 2  Nigel Mansell 1987, 1992  Damon Hill 1995, 1996

 Repeat winners (constructors) 
 Wins ConstructorYears won 8  Ferrari 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006  Williams 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001 6  McLaren 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1998

 Repeat winners (engine manufacturers) 
 Wins ManufacturerYears won 8  Ferrari 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006  Renault1985, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005 4  Honda1987, 1988, 1989, 19912  TAG *1984, 1986  Ford **1981, 1994
* Built by Porsche

** Built by Cosworth

 By year 
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of any championship.
 Year Driver  Constructor Location Report   Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco Imola Report   John Surtees Honda Report   Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford Report   Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford Report   Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford Report   Jackie Stewart Lotus-Ford Report   Emerson Fittipaldi Tyrrell-Ford Report   Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford Report   Niki Lauda Ferrari Report   James Hunt McLaren-Ford Report   James Hunt McLaren-Ford Report   Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford Report   Alan Jones Williams-Ford Report 1980 Part of 1980 Italian Grand Prix 1981  Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford Imola Report 1982  Didier Pironi Ferrari Report 1983  Patrick Tambay Ferrari Report 1984  Alain Prost McLaren-TAG Report 1985  Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault Report 1986  Alain Prost McLaren-TAG Report 1987  Nigel Mansell Williams-Honda Report 1988  Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Report 1989  Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Report 1990  Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault Report 1991  Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Report 1992  Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault Report 1993  Alain Prost Williams-Renault Report 1994  Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford Report 1995  Damon Hill Williams-Renault Report 1996  Damon Hill Williams-Renault Report 1997  Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Renault Report 1998  David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes Report 1999  Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report 2000  Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report 2001  Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW Report 2002  Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report 2003  Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report 2004  Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report 2005  Fernando Alonso Renault Report 2006  Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report

Broadcasting
United Kingdom

 Year Network Lap-by-lap Colour commentator(s)  ITV James Allen Martin Brundle     F1 Digital+ Ben Edwards John Watson ITV James Allen Martin Brundle  Murray Walker   Jody Scheckter  Martin Brundle   BBC Two Jonathan Palmer Eurosport Ben Edwards John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker Jonathan Palmer Eurosport Ben Edwards John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker Jonathan Palmer Eurosport Allard Kalff John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker James Hunt Eurosport Allard Kalff John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker James Hunt Eurosport Allard Kalff John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker James Hunt Eurosport Richard Nicholls John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker James Hunt Eurosport Richard Nicholls John Watson  BBC Two Murray Walker James Hunt        

 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.

 References 

 Other websites 

 San Marino Grand Prix 
 San Marino Grand Prix Statistics 

Category:Formula One Grands Prix