Each
year the Le Mans Series calendar chops
and changes, with historic circuits
giving way to new ones, and then the
occasional throwback to the classic
venues of yesteryear. Monza, Barcelona,
Istanbul, Algarve, Valencia, Nürburgring,
Jarama and Paul Ricard have all played
supporting roles to the seasonal regulars
of Spa and Silverstone - although Donington
Park earned the UK race in 2006,
making Spa the only circuit to have
featured in every LMS itinerary since
2004. This year the Series is visiting
two more classic circuits; Imola
in July, and then Estoril in September.
As
motor racing venues go, Imola is
middle aged. Inaugurated in 1953,
it cannot quite claim the heritage
of the likes of Monza, Spa, or Le Mans,
but as the track approaches its 60th
anniversary it can look back on a
history packed with memorable races,
high drama and, of course, tragedy.
Between
1981 and 2006 the circuit played host
to the San Marino Grand Prix; the second
if Italy's regular Formula 1 races,
and named after the nearby independent
republic of San Marino. Countries are
not supposed to host more than one
Grand Prix each year, but with the
factories of three of the world's most
famous car manufacturers virtually
on the doorstep - Lamborghini, Maserati
and, most importantly, Ferrari, special
dispensation was made for Italy. As
a result, Imola became the spiritual
home of the "Tifosi", the
uncompromising Ferrari fans, whose
loyalty to the Prancing Horse knows
no bounds.
History of Imola
The
track was originally created by linking
together two
lengths of public road that had been
used for some time by the local car
makers to try out new designs
and ideas. Work began in 1950, and
was completed two years later, when
Enzo Ferrari sent along a Vignale-designed
225S from Maranello to try out the
new circuit. The first races - exclusively
for motorcycles - took place the following
year, and were followed in June 1954
by the first car race. During those
early years the layout consisted of
two flat-out stretches of tarmac linked
by virtual hairpins at either end.
Once out of Rivazza, it was foot-to-the-floor
all the way to Tosa (including
the pit straight and through Tamburello)
and the return between Acque Minerali
and Rivazza was much the same. It
was monstrously quick and, as the performance
of cars improved, the track became
increasingly more dangerous - not least
because the adopted road sections were
far from flat!
The
first Formula 1 race took place in
1963, and was won by Jim Clarke. It
was a non-championship event, as was
the race in 1979 won by Nikki Lauda.
That was a taster for the first
FIA sanctioned Grand Prix, which was
staged in 1980. By then the track had
been tamed somewhat by the introduction
of several chicanes (added in 1972),
but even so, serious accidents continued
to happen. Piquet in 1987, Berger in
1989, Alboreto in 1991 and Patrese
in 1992 were just some of the more
significant among a plethora of others.
Then,
in 1994, the name of Imola became synonymous
with tragedy. In the space of three
days, three horrendous accidents changed
the face of motor racing. Rubens Barrichello
was lucky to survive a high-speed crash
at the Bassa chicane, but the popular
and talented Roland Ratzenburger was
not so fortunate. In qualifying on
the Saturday his car ran wide and clipped
the kerb, damaging the front wing.
Next time round, through the Varianti
Villeneuve, the wing broke off and
became trapped under the car. Ratzenburger's
Simtek Ford hit the trackside wall at
nearly 200 miles an hour.
The
following morning, in the light of
the two accidents to Barrichello and
Ratzenburger, a meeting took place
at the track to discuss safety issues,
and the Grand
Prix Drivers' Association was
re-formed. Gerhard Berger, Michael
Schumacher and Ayrton Senna were appointed
the Association's new Directors.
A few hours later, Ayrton Senna too
would be dead. His Williams FW16
left the track at Tamburello on Lap
7 whilst leading the Grand Prix and
a loose wheel struck Senna's helmet.
His death shook the world, but one
of the finest racing drivers the sport
has ever known left an enduring legacy
- not only as a three-time F1 Champion
capable of incomparable genius, but
also in the increased safety that is
now inherent in every level of motorsport.
No Grand Prix driver has been killed
since that black weekend in May 1994,
and many others can thank the Association
that Ayrton Senna helped to revive
for encouraging and implementing many
safety innovations. These range from
the tethers that secure wheels to
the chassis through to personal safety
measures like the HANS device, which
nearly all drivers now wear as
a matter of routine.
Legacies
of Spa
One
of those grateful drivers is,
of course, our own Mike Newton. The
RML AD Group driver was involved in
a high-speed crash during
practice for the last round of the
Le Mans Series at Spa. Mike was travelling
at an estimated 145 miles an hour when
the side of his HPD ARX-01d was clipped
by Pedro Lamy's Team Peugeot 908. Both
drivers instantly lost control. Lamy
and the Peugeot spun fairly harmlessly
across the solid run-off and rear-ended
a tyre wall after scrubbing
off most of its speed, but Mike and
the #36 went head-first into the stack
of tyres protecting the Armco on the
outside of the bend. Mike went from
flat-out to stationary in the space
of less than a second, enduring a deceleration
of over 35G. Miraculously, he
sustained only relatively minor injuries,
and he now acknowledges that much of
that
"miracle" is thanks to the
safety innovations that are now part
and parcel of modern motor racing.
AD
Group has now received permission from
the ACO to reveal the recorded footage
recovered from the company's on-board digital
monitoring system, which not only saved
the whole incident to solid-state
memory, but continued to do so even
as the dust began to settle.
Four
components in particular have been
identified as being central to ensuring
that Mike's injuries were not more
serious. The
HANS
device - widely adopted after
the death of Roland Ratzenburger at
Imola in 1994 - which prevented damage
to Mike's neck; the latest specification
carbon-fibre Arai
GP-6 helmet, which took
the full impact of the tyres from the
tyre wall; the
BSS
Creaform double-density safety
seat insert system that ensured minimal
compaction to Mike's lumbar region,
and the structural integrity of the
Courage HPD chassis.
A
month after Mike's accident we
witnessed again the astounding strength
of the modern racing car and the remarkable
survivability of accidents in motorsport
today, even at astonishing speeds.
Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller
both owe their lives to advances
in car safety that can trace their
origins back to that single weekend
in May 1994.
The
life of Ayrton Senna is marked at Imola
today by several memorials. One, a
large bronze sculpture of the Brazilian,
sitting in reflective mood atop a tall
plinth, has become like a shrine, and
is regularly bedecked with flowers
and flags. Another, a smaller plaque,
stands beside the corner at Tamburello,
where his Williams mysteriously left
the track - did the steering fail and
cause the accident - or did the steering
column break as a result of the accident?
We will almost certainly never know.
Nearby
are many personal tributes from fans,
some fairly permanent, others ephemeral.
It is likely that others will be added
over the LMS weekend, some perhaps
by those drivers who owe so much more
than just memories to the life and
death of a charismatic Brazilian.
LMP2
Entry List
The
full entry list for LMP2 and Formula
Le Mans for Round 3 of the Le
Mans Series (and Round
4 of the ILMC)
2011 is reproduced below. Clicking
on the thumbnail will reveal an enlargement.
Where possible, these have been updated
since the last round with recent images.
LMP2
26
Signatech
Nissan
FRA
D
Oreca
03-Nissan
Franck
Mailleux (FRA)
Soheil Ayari (FRA)
Lucas Ordoñez (FRA)
33
Level
5 Motorsport
USA
M
Lola
Coupé-HPD
Scott
Tucker USA
Christophe Bouchut (FRA)
João Barbosa (PRT)
35
Oak
Racing
FRA
D
Pescarolo
- Judd BMW
Frédéric
da Rocha (FRA)
Patrice Lafargue (FRA)
Andrea Barlesi (BEL)
36
RML
AD Group
GBR
D
HPD
ARX-01d
HPD V6 turbo
Tommy
Erdos (BRA)
Mike Newton (GBR)
Ben Collins (GBR)
39
Pecon
Racing
ARG
M
Lola
B11/40
Judd V8
Luis
Perez Companc (ARG)
Matias Russo (ARG)
Pierre Kaffer (GER)
40
Race
Performance
SUI
D
Oreca
03
Judd V8
Michel Frey (CHE)
Ralph Meichtry (CHE)
TBA
41
Greaves
Motorsport
GBR
D
Zytek
Z11SN
Nissan
Karim
Ojjeh (SAU)
Olivier Lombard (FRA)
Tom Kimber-Smith (GBR)
42
Strakka
Racing
GBR
M
HPD
ARX -01d
HPD V6 Turbo
Nick
Leventis (GBR)
Danny Watts (GBR)
Jonny Kane (GBR)
43
RLR
Motorsport
GBR
D
MG
Lola EX265
Judd V8
Barry
Gates (GBR)
Rob Garofall (GBR)
Simon Phillips (GBR)
44
Extreme
Limite
AM Paris
FRA
D
Norma
M200P
Judd V8
Fabien Rosier (FRA)
Maurice Basso (CHE)
TBA
45
Boutsen
Energy Racing
BEL
D
Oreca 03
Nissan
Dominik
Kraihamer (AUT)
Nicolas de Crem (BEL)
46
TDS
Racing
ESP
M
Oreca
03
Nissan
Mathias
Beche (CHE)
Pierre Thiriet (FRA)
Jody Firth (GBR)
49
Oak
Racing
FRA
D
Pescarolo
- Judd BMW
Richard
Hein (MCO)
Jacques Nicolet (FRA)
Alexandre Prémat (FRA)
Formula
Le Mans
91
Hope
Racing
FRA
M
Formula
Le Mans
Oreca 09
Luca
Moro (ITA)L)
Zhang Shanqi (CHN)
Tor Graves (GBR
)
92
Neil
Garner Motorsport
GBR
M
Formula
Le Mans
Oreca 09
John
Hartshorne (GBR)
Steve Keating (GBR)
Phil Keen (GBR)
93
Genoa
Racing
USA
M
Formula
Le Mans
Oreca 09
Jens
Petersen (GER)
Elton Julian (ECU)
Christian Zugel (GER)
95
Pegasus
Racing
FRA
M
Formula
Le Mans
Oreca 09
Mirco
Schultis (GER)
Patrick Simon (GER)
Julien Schell (FRA)
99
JMB
Racing
MCO
M
Formula
Le Mans
Oreca 09
Manuel
Rodrigues (PRT)
Jean-Marc Mennahem (FRA)
TBA
M = Michelin Tyres, D = Dunlop Tyres
There
are no major or hugely significant
changes to this list since Spa in May.
All the regulars feature again, including
the Le Mans-winning Greaves Zytek (with
Tom Kimber-Smith confirmed as a season-long
fixture) and the other podium finishers
from the 24 Hours.
Strakka
Racing will be looking to bolster
their claim to the 2011 LMP2 title,
which they currently head, thanks largely
to their own reliability and excellent
fuel economy, and a tendency
by their Nissan-powered rivals to hit
problems. RML AD Group will be hoping
to emulate Strakka's clean running
this time, and secure a better points
tally for the #36 HPD than they've
managed to date. The Spa incident,
when the original De Ferran chassis
was effectively destroyed by Pedro
Lamy's rather brash challenge, meant
no racing at all in Belgium. At Imola
(as at Le Mans)
the team will be campaigning the ex-Andretti
Green tub from the USA, but the Italian
race will be that configuration's final
appearance. With the weekend over,
the American chassis returns
to HPD in the States and an all-new
RML chassis will then be prepared for
Silverstone in September.
Two
Oak Racing LMP2 entries have been confirmed
for Imola, but only one in LMP1. This
has released Alexandre Prémat from
P1 duties and he joins team-owner Jacques
Nicolet in the #49 Pescarolo. The Level
5 Lola-HPD has previously taken the
form of a finned Coupé, but is
rumoured to be replaced by an open-topped
Lola, similar to the Pecon car, at Imola,
to benefit from the full cost-capped
advantages.
Notable
absentees include Aston Martin Racing.
A disastrous Le Mans, when the two
LMP1 AMR-Ones managed a total of six
laps between them, means a pause for
thought by the chaps from Prodrive
- and no GTE Gulf racing entry either.
A surprise absentee from LMP1 will
be the Team Oreca Peugeot 908 HDi FAP;
a winner at Sebring. The team says
that there has been insufficient time
since the 24 Hours to complete a full
rebuild. The Hope Racing Hybrid, which
made a troubled debut at Le Mans, will
also miss the Italian round.
Also
staying away in LMP1 will be Quifel ASM.
The Portuguese squad have been stalwarts in the Le Mans Series for years, but
cite engine reliability issues for
their decision to miss Imola. A proposed
Team LNT Radical SR9-IES, provisionally
entered in LMP2, has been dropped.
Added, however, is the Guess Racing
Europ Lola B09/80 Coupé, which will
run in LMP1, and (at the time of writing) the MIK Racing Zytek.
In LMP1, all eyes will be on Audi and Peugeot. The German workshops have been a hive of activity these past few weeks, preparing new cars to replace those destroyed at Le Mans. Peugeot will be even more eager to take their revenge after missing out, once again, on the Blue Riband event.
For
the
full entry list in PDF format, including
a comprehensive LMP1 and GT listing,
click: Imola
Entry List.
There
are nominally five classes in the Le
Mans Series; LMP1, LMP2, Formula Le
Mans, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am. To help with
identification the
ACO has introduced a coloured numbering
system – red
panels for LMP1, blue for LMP2, purple
for FLM, green for GTE-Pro and orange
for GTE-Am.
LMP1
LMP2
FLM
GTE-Pro
GTE-Am
In
addition, each car also carries a band
of three coloured lights. These are
illuminated to denote the first, second
and third-placed cars in each class.
For a further breakdown and explanation
of the "class structure" in the Le
Mans Series, please have a look
at our Spa
Preview.
Support Races
There
are four support events to this weekend's
LMS/ILMC race. The Speed EuroSeries
is a regular now on the Le Mans Series
schedule, and continues to provide
cracking entertainment. The mini-prototypes
(some driven by some very famous names)
blast round the track in times that
wouldn't shame several LMP2 teams in
the main event, and with a big grid,
there's plenty to follow throughout
the 90 and 45 minute races staged
on Saturday and Sunday.
The
Radical Masters returns once again,
and in some respects, mirrors the Speed
EuroSeries by offering a one-make mini-prototype
championship that demands modest budgets
but still attracts some big names.
Sometimes very close - and very physical
- Radical races are highly entertaining.
The championship will go head-to-head
twice on Saturday afternoon.
The
Classic Endurance Championship (CER)
has appeared on the bill many times
over the years, with these historic
machines and their wonderful symphony
of exhaust notes offering an emotional
backdrop to the current sports and
GT cars. The one sad fact is that the
hour-long race takes place on Saturday,
and by habit, the entrants pack up
their glorious cars and disappear in
the night, leaving en empty paddock
for the crowds to wonder at on Sunday
morning. Such a shame.
Formula
2000 Light (right) is an Italian open-wheel
single-seater series that was launched
three years ago out of the Italian
version of the Formula Renault
Championship. All the cars are
based on the Tatuus Formula Renault
or Formula 3 chassis and powered by
the ubiquitous two-litre Renault engine.
Weekend
Schedule
The
following schedule is subject to
change and the circumstances and
events of the day
Thursday
30th June
08:00
19:00 ILMC & LMS
Teams' Signing On - Organisation
Office
08:30 20:30 ILMC & LMS
Scrutineering ACO truck
15:00 19:00 ILMC & LMS
Drivers' Signing On - Organisation
Office
15:00 19:00 Radical Masters Scrutineering/Signing on Radical Race Centre
15:00 19:00 CER Administrative Checks/Signing on CER
tent
15:00 19:00 CER Scrutineering CER tent
19:00 20:30 ILMC & LMS Drivers' Football
Game - Stadium Romeo Galli
Friday
1st July
07:30
08:15 Radical Masters Scrutineering/Signing
on Radical Race Centre
08:00 10:00 ILMC & LMS
Drivers' Signing On - Organisation
Office
08:00 10:00 ILMC & LMS
Scrutineering ACO truck
08:00 09:00 CER Administrative Checks/Signing on CER
tent
08:00 09:00 CER Scrutineering CER tent
08:00 09:00 Formula 2000 light Free Practice 60'
08:15 Radical
Masters Driver's Briefing Briefing Room
08:30 11:30 Formula 2000 light Administrative Checks/Signing
on
09:00 12:30 Speed Series Administrative Checks/Scrutineering
Honda Race Centre
09:15 CER Driver's Briefing Briefing Room
09:15 09:55 Radical Masters Free Practice 1 40'
09:30 12:00 Formula 2000 light Scrutineering
09:45 Speed Series Driver's Briefing Honda Race Centre
10:10 10:40 CER Free Practice 30'
10:55 11:55 Speed Series Free Practice 60'
10:30 ILMC & LMS
Drivers' Briefing - Briefing Room
11:00 ILMC & LMS
Team Managers' Briefing - Briefing Room
12:00 Formula 2000 light Driver's Briefing
12:15 13:45 ILMC & LMS Free Practice 1 90'
14:00 14:30 Formula 2000 light Qualifying 30'
14:45 15:25 Radical Masters Free Practice 2 40'
15:40 16:10 CER Qualifying 1 30'
16:30 18:00 ILMC & LMS Free Practice 2
90'
18:15 19:15 Speed Series Free Practice 60'
19:30 19:50 Radical Masters Qualifying 1 20'
19:00 Michelin
Green X Challenge Cocktail Reception - LMS Hospitality
Saturday
2nd July
08:20
08:40 Radical Masters Qualifying
2 20'
08:55 09:55 ILMC & LMS
Free Practice 3 60'
10:10 10:40 CER Qualifying 2 30'
10:55 11:40 Speed Series Qualifying 45'
11:30 12:30 ILMC & LMS Tyre Marking
11:55 12:30 Formula 2000 light Race 1 Race 1 30' + 1 lap
12:50 13:35 Radical Masters Race 1 Race 2 45'
13:55 14:15 ILMC & LMS Qualifying - LM GTE Pro & LM
GTE Am 20'
14:25 14:45 ILMC & LMS Qualifying - LM P1 & LM P2 & FLM
20'
15:05 16:05 CER Race Race 3 60'
16:25 17:00 Formula 2000 light Race 2 Race 4 30' + 1 lap
17:20 18:05 Radical Masters Race 2 Race 5 45'
18:25 19:55 Speed Series Race 1 Race 6 90'
Sunday
3rd July
09:00
09:20 ILMC & LMS
Warm-up 20'
09:35 10:20 Speed Series Race 2 Race 7 45'
10:00 10:30 Autograph Session - Paddock
(Team Trucks)
10:30 11:05 Car Manufacturer track laps 35'
10:30 11:05 Pit Walk (gate closed 10' before
end) 35'
11:15 ILMC & LMS
Pits open - cars onto the grid
11:15 Grid
Walk opening (forbidden -16 years old) 35'
11:30 ILMC & LMS
Pits closed - no further access to grid
11:35 Grid
Walk gate closing
11:45 Grid
Walk end of the track evacuation
11:57 ILMC & LMS
Green Flag Lap 12:00 18:00 ILMC & LMS Race (Race
8) 6h + Final Lap
Media
Coverage
TV
coverage for the Le Mans Series is
normally covered by Motors
TV this year, but the Imola 6 Hours
is also a round of the Intercontinental
Le Mans Cup. As a result, this race
(as at Spa) will be carried by
Eurosport, where it should be a fairly
good day for motorsport. The World
Touring Car Championship round from
Porto will be featured regularly
by Eurosport, where RML is campaigning
the Chevrolet Cruze, and defending
the title won in 2010, and both hour-long
races will be featured live. Unfortunately,
for motorsport fans, the day also sees
extensive coverage of the second day's
stages of the Tour de France, as well
as live feeds from the FIFA Women's'
World Cup football tournament. As a
result, only brief live coverage
and highlights will be available for
the LMS race from Imola. The current
schedule is:
Sunday
July 3rd (UK
times)
11:00,
Eurosport. 60 minutes. Live coverage
of the first hour of
the race.
23:00,
Eurosport. 60 minutes. Edited highlights
of the whole race.
That
would appear to be the grand sum of
Eurosport UK's coverage from Imola,
which is little short of abysmal. At
the time of writing, the official Le
Mans Series website has a totally blank
entry for TV Coverage from Round 3,
so they're either too embarrassed to
admit the paltry extent of Eurosport's
offering, or they can't believe it
themselves either.
However,
if you are able to tweak your receiver
and view Eurosport Europe (rather than
UK), you may be able to see a total
of three hours live coverage on Eurosport
2, where they will be broadcasting the
start and first hour live, and then
the final two hours.
In
case there are any changes to the schedule,
please check the latest TV listing
with Eurosport.
You can also check the Le Mans Series
website for a roundup of coverage here.
Fortunately,
those gallant chaps at MotorsTV will
be offering a better range of highlight
programmes. Their schedule includes:
MotorsTV
Highlights (UK
times)
Saturday
July 9th, 19:00, MotorsTV. 50 minutes.
Edited highlights of the whole race.
Monday July
11th, 10:25, MotorsTV. 50 minutes.
Edited highlights of the whole race.
Tuesday July
12th, 06:10, MotorsTV. 50 minutes.
Edited highlights of the whole race.
Wednesday July 13th, 13:30, MotorsTV.
50 minutes. Edited highlights of the whole
race, followed by highlights of the ALMS
race from Lime Rock.
Several other dates and times are also
listed for this Imola highlights programme.
Radio
& On-line: Thankfully,
full coverage of all the weekend's events
and happening's will be provided live
by Radio Le Mans, beginning with Free
Practice on Friday. Articles and features
about the Le Mans Series and June's
Le Mans 24 Hours are also available to
listen to, or download, and the RLM website
also carries season previews
and interviews. Click
the button below for access.
Please
also note that we will be providing
"live" coverage of the
race here on www.rml-adgroup.com. To
review an example of how detailed this
is, please check out our coverage from
the Le
Mans 24 Hours in
June 2011.
Imola
Circuit
Statistics. Length 4.933
metres
Total Number of Corners: 16 (18*)
Direction of travel: Anti-clockwise)
Lap Record: 1:20.411 (M Schumacher, 2004)
(*
Depending upon use of Varianti Bassa, the "Low" Chicane)
Click
the image above to access a high-res
satellite view of the track, or visit
Google
Maps
For an EPS vector version
of the track layout
illustrated left, right-click "save link
as"
on
This
Link