We arrived at Imola, a circuit steeped in history and endilibly etched on the minds of any motorsport buff of any calibre. Imola was the home of the San Marino Grand Prix back in the day and up until about 2004 or so I think? (Please don't correct me if I am wrong, I don't have the capacity to research this at the moment!) The fact that it is 60 miles or so away from San Marino is irrelevant, it was always a good track with plenty of quality racing. A beautiful racing track set in a racing environment like no other I have seen. The middle of the track has normal roads passing through, houses, tennis and football clubs and, as we walked through, a beautiful park that would fit any moderate city in the UK. The only weird thing is that as you walk around, behind the trees and shrubs, there are peeks of the circuit and glimpses of the track. What a fantastic place to watch motor racing (if you like motor racing that is.....the fact is that if you didn't like motor racing, you may well have already switched off and are spending your time wisely elsewhere!)
A further stroll through the paths took us to the place where Ayrton Senna died a little over 20 years ago. This is not a macabre post, but just an insight into a fascinating place. The clue to this was though really quite interesting. Through the shrubs, attached to the regulation motorsport catch fencing, were the tell tale yellow and greens of Brazilian flags. Around the flags, were the flags of other nations all daubed with inscriptions, messages, photographs, flowers, poems, prayers, t-shirts etc. Again, this was all quietly hidden just 2 m away from the regular path.
A little over 50m further down the path, past the playground and swings, we found the Ayrton Senna monument. A fitting tribute and monument. We spent some time there reading the messages and exploring the monument. The children wanted to know it all though. No facts concealed for the children, they wanted to know what happened, they wanted to know what sort of racer he was and why he is considered the greatest racer. But they also wanted to know why people loved him and what else he did. I told them what I knew, which hopefully painted Senna as a ruthless racer, a fierce competitor, but an honest and good man who did much to help others on and off the track.
So yes, it was a bit of a pilgrimage for me to see this quite incredible place. To see the monument that was placed just beyond where his tragic accident occurred. A special day.
To add further to this post and preempt the next one, we are now parked on an Area di Sosta 5km south of Maranello (Ferrari factory). The children are in bed, the church clocks have just chimed their 8 o'clock chime, which incidentally was quite a performance, and every so often the silence is broken by the shrill engine notes of the occasional Ferrari 'prancing' about in the mist and darkness.
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