Pirelli Track vs Monza Oval - Battle of the Race Circuits 17
In the 17th battle of the race circuits we have a Monza internal battle. The Pirelli track won last round, beating the Opel-Rennbahn by only one vote. And the new contender you vote for is the Monza Oval.
0:00 Introduction
0:33 Pirelli Track
1:47 Monza Oval
The Pirelli Track is an abandoned part of the famous Monza Formula 1 circuit, home of the Italian Grand Prix. It was built during the 1938 reconstruction of the Monza circuit, as a test track for the Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli.
The layout made use of part of the Monza road circuit and a new loop on the infield. However, because of the outbreak of World War II the Pirelli Track was never
actually used for its original purpose.
Today the infield section is left abandoned but can still be explored by nostalgic fans,
like us.
In 2016 the abandoned Pirelli Track was back in the spotlight when they came up with an alternative layout for the World Superbike race. The new section would cut off the Curva Grande and make use of part of the old Pirelli Track.
A new chicane would then bring it back on to the current road circuit. Rumors circulated on the internet then Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was also interested in using this layout
but for Formula 1. A massive protest under the slogan "Save Curva Grande" broke out.
But the idea disappeared just as quickly as it came.
The Monza Oval is also an abandoned part of the Monza circuit. The original Monza Circuit opened in 1922 as a combination of a high speed banked oval and a road circuit. Both could be used together or sepparated. The length of the combined circuit was exactely 10 Kilometres, which is 6.2 Miles. The length of the oval was 4.5 kilomters, or 4.8 Miles.
During the huge 1938 reconstruction, the original banking was demolished. The idea was to make Monza a pure road circuit.
However, in the 1950’s the circuit bosses wanted to return to it’s original concept of a high speed combination of a road circuit and a high banked oval. So in 1955 the new Monza layout opened with a new oval, almost on the same site as the original.
Just like the original, the new oval was also 4.5 kilometers, with a progressive banking with an angle of 38.69 degrees at the top.
The oval could be used sepparated or in combination with the road circuit. That combination of the road circuit and the oval was used only 3 times for the Formula One Italian Grand Prix. That was in 1956, 1960 and 1961.
Now that Monza had an oval again, the idea came up of letting the European Formula One cars race against the American Indy cars. Under the slogan of “Race of Two Worlds”, the first race took place in 1957. It was a 500 Miles race on the oval only. For this occasion the oval was driven counter-clockwise, like usual in the USA.
It was a victory for the American teams, whose cars raced much better on ovals. For the second race, the Formula One teams decided to build special cars for it. But the 1958 race was also won by the Americans. Doubts about safety meant that the 1959 race was cancelled. There would never be more than two of these races
After Formula One abandoned the Monza banking, it was also found too dangerous for other series. The last time the full circuit was used was for the 1969 edition of the 1000 Kilometres of Monza. Since then, the old high banked oval was left abandoned.
Since 1978 the old Monza Oval is used once a year by the Monza Rally. But only the lower part of the banking. The rest of the year it’s a preserved memory from the past, which can be explored legally.
Special thanks to Nico Fonseca who edited this video. Visit also hit RU-vid channel / @fons_f1
Also special thanks to Simon Smith for the voiceover. Visit also his channel: / higherplaingames
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#OpelRennbahn #PirelliTrack #Monza
8 июл 2024
