SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: 2004 San Marino Grand Prix

I will be taking the course during the 2004 season using EA's F1 Challenge '99-'02. To make it more contemporary I will be applying Ralph Hummerich's excellent carset to it as soon as it is ready. I have chosen Ralph's carset as, in addition to him being a thoroughly top notch person, in my opinion his carsets are the best available and it is an honor for SimHQ to have an exclusive WIP version to be able to use for its screenshots. Many thanks Ralph! If you wish to try his 2003 add on please use this link to his page.

A Lap at the Imola Grand Prix Circuit

A lap of Imola effectively consists of going around and then up and down a hill a couple of times. Coming out of the last chicane (the Variante Bassa) at 80mph you accelerate hard over the Start/Finish line.

By the end of the straight you are doing around 160mph in top gear at which point you take a slight left hand kink flat before getting up to around 180mph before braking into Tamburello. This is now a protracted 3rd gear chicane which is taken at around 65mph with the second part taken a gear higher and 60mph faster.

Coming out of Tamburello you again accelerate hard towards Villeneuve which is now a left/right taken in 4th at around 110mph and then 3rd at 85mph. (Before the circuit changes in 1995 this entire section was virtually flat out with Tamburello taken flat and Villeneuve taken in 5th or 6th depending on the ratios of your car.)

You then get to accelerate again up to 145mph in 5th before braking hard for Tosa. This is a tight left hand hairpin that is taken at 50mph in 2nd. It is the slowest corner on the track and was a great overtaking point. These days it is a lot more easy to defend the inside line into Tosa so it is generally useful for lapping people rather than overtaking for position Though Coulthard also found it a useful place to take sideswipes at people in 1995!).

Coming out of Tosa it is a straight drag up the hill until you reach about 170mph (in 6th or 7th gear obviously) as you reach the brow where you have to brake for Piratella which is one of the few demanding corners left at Imola. This is a left hander taken in 4th at 95mph but the fact that you can't easily pick out when to brake can lead to even the best drivers coming a cropper there (just ask Schuey).

From Piratella you accelerate around to the left dropping back down the hill and reaching 165mph before you brake for the double right at Acque Minerali (named after the springs that emerge near the corner).

The first part of Acque Minerali is taken in 4th gear at 125mph while the second left is tighter and is taken in 3rd at about 65mph. Although these corners may seem relatively easy it is normally your speed through Acque Minerali which will determine whether you get a good lap time.

Coming out of Acque Minerali you start the ascent down the hill towards the Variante Alta. You accelerate to about 170mph before having to brake down to 70mph and change down to third gear for this right/left chicane. Once again the chicane is taken virtually blind into the braking zone so is another tricky one.

Accelerating away from the Variante Alta you reach your highest speed on the track as you reach the bottom of the hill just before braking into the double right angled left handers that make up Rivazza (the downhill nature of the bend makes it easy to lose the back end into here). The first of these you take at 55mph in third gear and the second at 70mph (still in third or maybe just getting to change up to fourth). Accelerating again you can see the grandstands in front of you to your left and the pit road straight in front.

The pit entrance is directly in front of you so to complete the lap you must instead brake down to 50mph and take second gear for the Variante Bassa chicane, accelerating up to 80mph and 3rd gear for the right hand part of it that leads onto the start finish straight.

To see Jenson Button's BAR Honda run through the course in F1C, click here. It is from Ralph Hummerich's upcoming 2004 F1 carset.

Go To Page 2

Click here to go to top of this page.