The Reconstruction of Imola in 1995

Copyright Eurosport

[@cbyod]

Rip Aryton 30 years in a couple of days. Time flies.

[@GregzVR]

I get what you mean, but having something else there in front of the wall would at least help to absorb and dissipate a lot of the initial impact energies, instead of the concrete returning all of it to the car and driver, especially after Berger’s crash.

[@nicksterl.2133]

RIP Ayrton & Roland.

[@martinputzer8652]

Personally, I think the Tamburello chicane should stay the way it is now, but they should reverse the Villeneuve chicane to a quick right hand corner, similar to the way it was before 1995, to make Tosa a better overtaking opportunity.

[@SaDTV]

I think that's a really reasonable comment actually

[@RadityaPramanaPutra2001]

I agree with this comment.

[@JamesBouault]

I agree about Villeneuve, returning it to what it was, or similar to what it was. However, they would have to do something about the underpass (and a private driveway) on the exit, or rather below the exit, as there's very little room for runoff there. It is the reason the concrete wall has always been so close on exit, the one Ratzenberger and Villeneuve hit. Not a lot of people know but Ratzenberger hit the wall exactly where the underpass starts.

[@simonbrunner3062]

​@@JamesBouault That's very interesting. Do you know if this underpass directly affected the way the wall behaved when Ratzenberger impacted it? I've been thinking a lot about this crash since the 30 year anniversary. There's all these documentaries and theories about Senna's accident, but I'm struggling to find any detailed reports about Ratzenberger's. Something about this crash doesn't add up to me. There's no good footage of the actual impact, but I must assume it would've been a rather pointed angle. Even at that speed, that shouldn't result in an instantanous 500g deceleration. Do you have more information about the details of that accident, or any good source where I can read up on it? To your original point, I'm confident that installing SAFER barriers either directly at the edge of the track or after a small strip of asphalt run-off (even less than there was in 1994) would make this corner in its original layout more than acceptable in terms of safety for today's F1 cars. At a bend like this, it's all about dissipating small angle impacts. Obviously the wall that was there in 1994 did a very bad job at that, for reasons which I don't quite understand. SAFER barriers are made for this. If they work for IndyCars at high speed ovals, they work for this type of corner as well.

[@nickbrundli8996]

Yes. I agree. I never understood why the second chicane was necessary.

[@paarker]

With the new high tech barriers, they should put it back as it was. If the safety is there, it’s a better layout.

[@RadityaPramanaPutra2001]

Absolutely agree.

[@liamgbooth]

First time I've seen this. We're going to see a lot of this track in the next few days. 30 years gone for the two who lost their lives 😢

[@giacomobongrazio]

The chicane at Tamburello was really necessary, although the one at Villeneuve was and it's still unnecessary. The speed reached is not that high, and it takes away a good overtaking opportunity at Tosa. I hope they'll change It in the future because Imola desperately needs overtaking spots.

[@bagasyulianto5873]

This change should have been made after the Gerhard Berger incident

[@RadityaPramanaPutra2001]

Berg's incident in the 1989 Grand Prix is indeed absolutely big. 💥

[@MarkusM521]

Crazy is, when Berger signed with McLaren in 1990 he become good friend with Ayrton. And when Imola was up they walked together to Tamburello to talk about what can be changed to make it more safe. They came to a conclusion that nothing can be changed since there is a river right behind the wall, but they never come up with the idea to cut some trees trackside and install a chicane. That has Berger said in an interview after Senna's deadly crash.

[@GregzVR]

Considering the amounts of heavy shunts there were at Tamubrello, either in testing or on race weekends(Piquet '87, Berger '89, Patrese and Alboreto '91, etc), it's amazing that there were not even basic tyre walls in place there and at Villeneuve. Always hard concrete which was first to receive the initial impacts.

[@FlashoftheBlades]

Patrese’s crash was in 1992.

[@GregzVR]

@@FlashoftheBlades Ahh yeah you’re right, but the main point was that there just pure concrete to meet you at the wall, regardless of the year.

[@lorrydavs3361]

Might be wrong here, but I think from what I've read I think reprofiling Tamburello from a fast left hand curve to a chicane was unfortunately the only way of making that section safer. Alternative 1 of moving the concrete wall back to allow more runoff was impossible due to the terrain (just beyond the wall the ground dropped away toward the river). Alternative 2 of installing a mid/late 90s era tyre barrier would have in some ways been even more dangerous, as a collision could have bounced/thrown a compromised chassis right back onto the racing line- a terrifying prospect in the early laps of a race (think Hubert's F2 accident at Raidillon in 2019). Might be completely wrong with this though...

[@benpasquale6353]

@@lorrydavs3361 correct i agree....a deep sandtrap wouldve been a better option pre 94 and it wouldve worked...it wouldve washed off alot of speed off the cars....but yet again what would i know

[@ab8jeh]

@@benpasquale6353 deep sandtraps were avoided because of the risk of cars flipping the roll bar digging into the sand, thus exposing the head. The story of Senna and Berger going up and seeing the river behind has gone down in folklore, but there was more room back there for sure if a river wall was built. All in hindsight, but the warnings were there already.

[@TomLehockySVK]

Shame on them for not making the change after Berger's horrible crash, and also search "Michele Alboreto Imola Crash 1991 Tamburello", that corner should have been changed already back in 1992 !

[@angelortunorubio6899]

I also think that these changes should have been made much earlier, too many accidents occurred, without consequences but too serious to keep tempting luck. And it is known that luck is very capricious and the arrears were charged suddenly in 1994

[@Kiwi-rn4pp]

It's impressive how fast they rebuilt the track, nowadays current venues can barely afford resurfacing the track in due time. It was a different economy back then I guess

[@MrJohansen]

DEI didn't exist back then so thats also a reason work got done faster and better

[@marcosbarros402]

No mundo é assim ter perder vidas para tomar atitudes diferentes

[@Victor_Martins_MODZ]

Bring back the old Imola layout

[@fm120560]

Imola è morta con Ayrton.Le modifiche successive hanno rovinato e snaturato la pista.

[@JamesC1981]

nice calming music

[@sccchan1980]

I remember seeing this in 1995 on Eurosport and was forever looking for the music. I think the closest is Hans Zimmerman’s score for Rain Man. The final piece - still searching.

[@nicksterl.2133]

90's pron kid of muzzack.

[@zoomosis]

The melody sounded like the verses to "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police. Like some sort of musak version.

[@sivolaa]

​@@zoomosisit's definitely that song

[@AudioJellyfish]

Given the advancement in crash barriers now, I think it should go back to the way it was.

[@the_razr]

I got the old track version in AC and it's so fun to take Tamburello flat out until you reach Tosa

[@r.a.6459]

If the Imola '94 layout returned with improved safety features, you won't see a crash worse than that of Ralf in 2004 on an equally flat out Turn 13 Indy Road Course. All you need is to remove the unnecessary bumps.

[@tourmaline07]

The Villeneuve chicane is a travesty and should be removed. I'd also take out the chicane at Tamburello but I'd tighten the turn compared to the original so it's not easily flat out . The rest of the changes have been an improvement - especially Acque Minerale.

[@tourmaline07]

​@@r.a.6459Agreed - Senna was killed ultimately by a piece of suspension hitting his helmet, and the crash which happened probably wasn't too bad otherwise. Ratzenberger was killed by a poorly placed concrete wall , a lack of HANS - both of them could be fixed.

[@Bennyboy1985]

@@the_razr AC?

[@hkr4life]

the only part that they had to change was the tamburello corner. the rest of the circuit was perfect and amazing how it was

[@MrNinjaFish]

This change was actually very well done, the chicane is well designed and the flow of the track isn't that much affected.

[@AlonsoRules]

Not really, it ruined the flow and made overtaking all but impossible. The Villeneuve chicane in particular took away the prime overtaking spot at Tosa.

[@FlashoftheBlades]

@@AlonsoRulesYeah, that one really makes no sense. Especially since the cars are already going slower than they previously had with the reconfiguration of Tamburello. While the chicane there was a good idea, I think that the pavement of the old layout should’ve been retained as an escape road with a bollard slalom like at Rettifilo at Monza. Which is certainly better than dragging gravel back onto the track and creating a hazard for others, like less grip or a tire puncture.

[@HangoverTelevision]

@@FlashoftheBlades well the problem with the old Vilenneuve chicane was 1) it went quite downhill, 2) it was fast corner which would have still been too faster after that short bit of Tamburello straight. The steepness was slightly altered with it being more flat. Keep in mind, this was done in a hurry just to prevent ANY kind of dangerous accident. Which indeed still happened in 1995 and 1996 with both Schumi and Alesi crashing heavily on other places.

[@FlashoftheBlades]

@@HangoverTelevision Where did Alesi have his crash? I know that Schumacher’s was at Piratella, so, no need to tell me that. But I didn’t know that Alesi had a big crash at Imola.

[@404TVfr]

​@AlonsoRules completely wrong.

[@TheFamemonster31]

id first raced at Imola on f1 2004 on ps2, and it became my favourite track. Never knowing the old layout, they kept the magic of this place while making it safe. If anything the difficulty it has now makes it more rewarding for any successful overtakes

[@mohamedalkaboom]

Bullshit

[@MrJohansen]

Yeah, this is the first im learning of the old layout. Ive only ever driven the new one. Current imola has always been one of my favorite racetracks

[@1greenMitsi]

how can you not know about the old layout? Senna and his death is F1 basics. Why would you think its normal to start a circuit with 2 silly chicanes?

[@404TVfr]

​@mohamedalkaboom is what your brain is made of. Tee hee

[@RadityaPramanaPutra2001]

After what happened to Ayrton Senna, Roland Ratzenberger, Jules Bianchi, Anthoine Hubert, and Romain Grosjean, the old-school track changed like Imola is sometimes must be ready underway. #1995SanMarinoGrandPrix🇸🇲 #1995Nostalgia #DankeRolandRatzenberger🇦🇹#AyrtonSenna30🇧🇷 25/05/2024 09:02 AM At My Local Time.

[@marktucker208]

I dont think they did a bad job BUT then i didnt see the track in its original configuration. However when people keep getting killed then you have no choice but to change it. Look at Eau Rouge at SPA, drivers were willing to accept the risk even after the deaths/big accidents but the circuit/race series/sponsors didn't want the negative PR & potential law suits which overrules everything because your business is over at that point

[@hristoitchov]

Eau Rouge changed multiple times over the years, straightening the corner more and more so it's not as much of a challenge as before, plus with that area they had the freedom to move the walls back by cutting off the trees nearby. Even so, the bottleneck effect at the top of the hill still causes fatalities in other series from time to time, especially in bad weather conditions as we've seen in recent years.

[@dangermouse_]

Who was the guy talking after Brundle near the end?

[@nicksterl.2133]

Olivier Panis

[@dangermouse_]

@@nicksterl.2133 Thanks 👍

[@HangoverTelevision]

heh they didn't mention Varianta Bassa

[@RadityaPramanaPutra2001]

Variante Bassa is still unchanged until 2006.

[@HangoverTelevision]

@@RadityaPramanaPutra2001 Variante Bass was changed significantly in 1995. Up until 1994 it had a quick kink before the entry, which even led to Rubens heavy crash. In 1995 they flattened that out so cars go directly down towards the S-Chicane before the start-finish. The kerbs were reduced everywhere too, especially down at Variante Bassa.

[@RadityaPramanaPutra2001]

@@HangoverTelevision Oh, I forgot. Thanks for reminding me. 🙏

[@arride4590]

After many crashes and two deaths, they changed this damn track.

[@neilk1116]

They ruined this track with these changes . It's totally neutered it and made the racing boring

[@ab8jeh]

It's not the track that made the racing boring, indeed racing anything other than the latest F1 heavyweights there was always quite fun. Personally what they did to Tamberello in the short time span has stood the test of time.

[@1greenMitsi]

correct, rubbish track since 1994

[@404TVfr]

​@1greenMitsi completely incorrect.

[@jovialgent9963]

For all the kids out there, 8 billion Lira to reconstruct the track was roughly €165.

[@Ho3n3r]

🤣

[@johnson2j]

At least, they should have kept the old Tamburello and the old Villeneuve in memory, instead of put grass and gravel on it.

[@404TVfr]

No.

[@tugatomskanimation6370]

You mean "the destruction of Imola".

[@luizjr2019]

Essa pista maldita tinha que ser extinta pra sempre da formula 1 depois de 1994. Imundos

[@404TVfr]

Boomer.

[@MAL9000.]

tilke or whoever designed the Imola circuit be like: < Let's add two 300 km corners with zero run off and no tyre walls (Tambruello and Villeneuve) < Also let's add a goofy slow chicane between the two slow Aqua Minerali corners for safety

[@404TVfr]

Cry more.

[@hristoitchov]

Tilke has nothing to do with Imola's design. It was made back in the 60s and modernized for F1 in the early 80s. Zero run off is fine, in fact the closer the walls are the better, similar to oval tracks. It keeps the angle of impact shallow. It was really the cars which became so dangerous, with the speeds and downforce levels they were reaching while having the driver's head so exposed. Tyre walls would've only made things much worse in such high speed corners.

[@404TVfr]

@@hristoitchov we finally have actual intelligence in this comment section! Genuinely, thank you.

[@AlonsoRules]

One of the worst butcherings of a race track ever seen. Worse than Hockenheim.

[@AlanMcB]

I guess they were put under pressure to make these changes to keep the grand prix after 1994.

[@theempires5]

I'd say it's necessary after the death of previous year. Tamburello was flat out with concrete wall on the outside which invites disaster if a car went off there. Acque Mineralli was made better. Between Rivazza and Variante Bassa was straightened.

[@ab8jeh]

Completely disagree - could have been much worse, see Monza for example.

[@asurada999]

worse for racing, but it became a much more technical track to drive

[@ajst784]

I like the chicane

[@J4m3rs0n]

They should Return the old Tamburello and Villeneuve.

[@404TVfr]

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

[@J4m3rs0n]

@@404TVfr Why not!?

[@404TVfr]

@J4m3rs0n you think that's really wise after Antoine Hubert? After Jules Bianchi? After almost losing Romain Grosjean?

[@J4m3rs0n]

@@404TVfr I think they can, because the F1 now is much more Safe.

[@404TVfr]

@J4m3rs0n No, it's not worth the risk. That's a fact.

[@markoarkaina8656]

8 billion Lire? So that's about what, a tenner?

[@uv77mc85]

was that jeffrey epstein cutting the ribbon? lol

[@RicoPuerto]

Now its a very boring track.

[@mohamedalkaboom]

Should have left it the way it was but with more crash impact structure. But this was the beginning of the end of glamorous sexy Formula One as we knew it

[@404TVfr]

The end of F1 being actually deadly?

[@paultruesdale7680]

Sexy and deadly, solid concrete walls at 190mph! An Italian take on safety. What a shameful joke!