Monza: a truly legendary race track - Ferrari
This year the Monza circuit will host the F1 Italian GP for the 60th time. The race track's history is very long: it has been built in only 110 days from May to August 1922, to host the second edition of the Italian GP (the first was held in Montichiari in the year 1951) and as an answer to the need for tracks with the possibility for Italian car manufacturers to test drive cars.
In the end the track was built at the park of the Royal Villa in Monza, an ideal location thanks to its wide spaces and good connections to Milan.
The circuit was a high-speed ring with a length of around 4.5 kilometres with raised corners of up to 2.6 metres and a radius of 320 metres for speeds of up to 190 km/h. There were two tracks: one road track and one high-speed ring. The first race was held on 3 September 1922 and was won by Pietro Bordino with the racing edition of a Fiat 501. After a MotoGP race on 10 September the Italian GP was held, the first of many on this most beautiful and fastest track in the world.
After a heavy accident in 1928 the circuit was modified to make it slower. The same happened in 1939, when the high-speed ring was destroyed and the circuit was 6,300 metres long. In 1955 the famous 180-degree Parabolica was built. In this tragic year Alberto Ascari had a fatal accident in Monza during a private test session. In 1961 another terrible accident happened at the circuit, with the death of Wolfgang Von Trips together with 12 spectators; in 1970 also Rindt had a fatal accident in Monza, while he won the world championship of this year.
Today the track is 5,793 metres long with four straights and several spectacular chicanes (Roggia, Ascari). The cars need a low downforce here in Monza. Ferrari so far conquered 17 victories and 18 pole positions.
