History

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is an auto racing circuit near the Italian town of Imola, 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) east of Bologna and 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello. The circuit is named after Ferrari's late founderEnzo and his son Dino who had died in the 1950s. Before Enzo Ferrari's death in 1988 it was called 'Autodromo Dino Ferrari'. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license. It was the venue for the Formula One San Marino Grand Prix (for many years two Grands Prix were held in Italy every year, so the race held at Imola was named after the nearby state) and it also hosted the 1980 edition of the Italian Grand Prix, which usually takes place in Monza. 

The track was inaugurated as a semi- permanent venue in 1953, and it had no chicanes, so the run from Rivazza all the way to Tosa, through the pits and the Tamburello was totally flat out, as was the run from Acque Minerali all the way to Rivazza was just a long straight with a few small bends; and the circuit remained in this configuration until 1972. Another modification made to the Imola track is that of Variante Alta, which is situated at the top of the hill leading down to Rivazza and has the hardest braking point on the lap. The Variante Alta, formerly a high-kerbed chicane, was hit quite hard by the drivers which caused damage to the cars and occasionally was the site of quite a few accidents. Before the 2006 Grand Prix, the kerbs were lowered considerably and the turn itself was tightened to reduce speeds and hopefully reduce the number of accidents at the chicane. The Grand Prix was removed from the calendar of the 2007 Formula One season. Since 2007, the circuit has undergone major revisions. The Variante Bassa chicane has been removed, making the run from Rivazza 2 to the first Tamburello chicane totally flat-out, much like the circuit in its original fast-flowing days. However the chicane has been reinstalled for motorcycle races. The circuit hosted the 2008 WTCC Race of Europe, on 21 September 2008.In 2011, the 6 Hours of Imola was revived and added to the Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup as a season event.During June of 2015, the owners of the circuit confirmed they were in talks to return to the Formula 1 World Championship calendar shouldMonza, whose contract runs out after the 2016 season, be unable to make a new deal to keep hosting a round of the world championship.