Autodromo Nazionale Monza - History - Circuit Changes and Modernisation

Circuit Changes and Modernisation

Both car and Grand Prix motorcycle racing were regular attractions at Monza, but as the speed of the machines were increasing, two chicanes- the Curva Grande at the end of the start/finish straight, and the Ascari, were added in 1972 to reduce racing speeds. This resulted in a new circuit length of 5.755 kilometres (3.576 mi). Grand Prix motorcycles continued to use the un-slowed road track until two serious accidents resulted in five deaths, including Renzo Pasolini and Jarno Saarinen, in 1973, and motorcycle racing did not return to Monza until 1981. These races involved drivers constantly slipstreaming competing cars, which produced several close finishes, such as in 1967, 1969, and 1971; the last year the Italian Grand Prix was run at Monza without chicanes.

The 1972 chicanes were soon seen to be ineffective at slowing cars; the Vialone was remade in 1974, the other, Curva Grande in 1976, and a third also added in 1976 before the Lesmo, with extended run-off areas. The Grand Prix lap after these alterations was increased to 5.800 kilometres (3.604 mi) long.

With technology still increasing vehicle speeds, the track was modified again in 1979, with added kerbs, extended run-off areas, and tyre-barriers improved, to improve safety for drivers off the track. The infrastructure was also improved, with pits able to accommodate 46 cars, and an upgraded paddock and scrutineering facilities. These changes encouraged world championship motorcycling to return in 1981, but further safety work was undertaken through the 1980s. Also in the 1980s the podium, paddock and pits complex, stands, and camp site were either rebuilt or improved.

In the safety conscious years following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 (albeit at a different track), the three main long curves were "squeezed" in order to install larger gravel traps, shortening the lap to 5.770 kilometres (3.585 mi). In 1997 the stands were reworked to expand capacity to 51,000. In 2000, the chicane on the main straight was altered, changing from a double left-right chicane to a single right-left chicane, in an attempt to reduce the frequent accidents at the starts due to the conformation of the braking area, although it is still deemed unsafe in terms of motorcycle racing. The second chicane was also re-profiled. In the Formula 1 Grand Prix of the same year, the first to use these new chicanes, a marshal, Paolo Gislimberti, was killed by flying debris after a big pileup in the second chicane.

In 2007, the run off area at the second chicane was changed from gravel to asphalt. The length of the track in its current configuration is 5.793 kilometres (3.600 mi). At the 2010 Monza Superbike World Championship round, Italian rider Max Biaggi set the fastest ever motorcycle lap of Monza when he rode his Aprilia RSV4 1000 F to pole position in a time of 1:42.121. In the Superpole qualification for the 2011 race, he improved on this lap time, for a new lap record of 1:41.745 and his speed was captured at 205+ MPH. This contrasts to the fastest ever Formula One lap of Monza in its current configuration, set at the 2004 Italian Grand Prix, when Rubens Barrichello drove his Ferrari F2004 to a time of 1:20.089. This ~20-second discrepancy between race motorcycle and Formula 1 car speeds is attributed to the difference in size of the tyre contact patch and the fact that motorcycles cannot generate high lateral 'G' forces.