What changed in the Tamburello curve, of the Icola circuit, after the death of Ayrton Senna :: Olé

last May 1, 31 years have passed since the death of the legendary Ayrton Senna, who died after impacting with a cement wall in the Tamburello curve of the motorcycle Enzo and Dino Ferrari, in the city of Icola, within the framework of the former San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. And on the eve of a new race there (now the Emilia-Romaña Grand Prix), where Franco Colapinto will make his debut with Alpine, It is worth remembering what changed in that sector, and in the circuit in general, From that tragic weekend in which Roland Ratzenberger also lost his life in the classification, after crashing against the wall in the Villeneuve curve.

The Tamburello curve was long and wide until that time, where cars could reach speeds of more than 300 km/h. And as there was a stream stuck to it, there was no escape space. But after the death of Senna, the FIA ​​(International Automobile Federation) decided to introduce, in 1995, a Chicana prior to that curve, that is, A sequence of “S” -shaped curves that force pilots to reduce speed.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian designer, Jarno Zaffelli, who was responsible, for example, for the construction of the Termas de Río Hondo autodrome in Santiago del Estero, which has a date on the MotoGP, explained in detail the changes of Tamburello. It was not he who made them at that time, it is worth clarifying, but it is the one who carried out the latest modifications.

“The long curve was replaced to the left (and a narrow concrete escape route) with two left-right-left curves. At the exit of curve 4, the last one before reaching Villeneuve, We fix all lateral slopes since the old curve had one and is a sector of high speeds “, He explained about the Tamburello curve.

The same happened in the Villeneuve curve, where Ratzenberger crashed. This, in 1994, was fast and did not have an escape zone, but in 1995 the angle of it closed slightly so that it is not taken so speed; The wall was delayed several meters ago and a large leca (gravel) was added to stop cars if they left the track. Subsequently, over time, part of that gravel was replaced by asphalted escapes, but keeping the wall far from the asphalt.

“Before 1994, the line folded slightly to the right. Today there is another (left-right) that serves to stop the high speeds before the abrupt braking of the Tosa curve. In Villeneuve a longer escape route was also created, connected to the underground step. We managed to compatible the circuit for the MotoGP and was approved for F1, ”said Zaffelli.

Zaffelli also explained the rest of the changes that have been made on the layout of the Escrome Ez The curve changed over the years several times. Before, a curve from left to right is observed immediately to the right and now there is a curve, and then accelerate uphill to the high variant.

And the designer, together with his team Dromo, said that, in that sector of Piratella-Acque Mineralli, he worked to “Obtain more escape routes in the external parts, given the narrow section of the track and the speed in descent, impacting them according to our calculations then approved by the FIA. We have improved the networks, the curbs, drained the track better and eliminated almost all the old channels. The work was a success, so much that in the last inspection the International Automobile Federation requested only small updates. ”

In high variant, in 2018, “the light re-perfiled and acoustic barriers were installed to improve the sound impact of nearby homes.”

In Rivazza, by case, Zafelli explained that they worked “On the escape routes using a bicomponent material of lece and expanded clay, which makes the fall of a motorcyclist or slower the exits of the cars ”.

The main line of the circuit is the Unique that has never been touched by the update works carried out over the years. The novelty, however, was “the installation in 2020 of a containment barrier of 160 meters long on the left side, typical of US ovals, such as Indianapolis for Indycar races.”

Among other measures, the designer added that “since 2011 two thirds of the current track were repaired. We created a color asphalt with a new mixture composed of gray and red, in honor of Enzo and Dino Ferrari. We also improve the pianitos, wired, drains and eliminate almost all the old paths attached to the track. And the boxes were made new.”

“We have always wanted to maintain tradition, But ours was a revolutionary work, not so much in the replacement of the distribution, but in the correction and improvement of what was there ”, Zaffelli pointed out.