Imola preview

FIA Formula One World Championship - Round 4 San Marino Grand Prix, Imola - 13-15 April 2001

Preview

After a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos, in which the battle between the cars of the Honda-powered teams featured prominently, both Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda and Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda head for the first European race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola next Sunday 15 April.

An increasingly competitive BAR Honda team scored its first points of the year in Brazil with Oliver Panis' fine drive to fourth place and will be in search of more at Imola with Jacques Villeneuve keen to convert his promising from in the past three races into points. Jordan Honda, spurred on by a third consecutive points finish from Jarno Trulli's fifth place at Interlagos and the frustration of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's retirement from what looked certain to be third place, is seeking to increase its tally and supplant Sauber in third place in the constructors' championship, just one point ahead.

Kazutoshi Nishizawa, technical director of Honda Racing Development: "After the modifications of a few years ago, the Imola circuit is now essentially a series of short straights and the engine is at full throttle for just over half the lap - slightly more than average. The numerous chicanes, however, mean that good driveability can gain as much of an advantage as sheer top end power. I'm confident we can perform well.

"On a different matter, it was a great achievement for our colleagues in the motorcycle division to score Honda's 500th victory in World Grand Prix motorcycle racing on Sunday. Team Penske Honda scored the first CART victory for Honda power in 2001 at the weekend, so I hope we can keep the run of successes going."

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola, which hosts the San Marino Grand Prix for the principality 100km away, is the emotional home circuit of Ferrari and no team would turn down an opportunity to enjoy a spot of poaching on the Tifosi's own hunting ground. In performance terms it is an undulating medium-speed circuit with a mix of high-speed corners and chicanes, calling on good driveability from an engine.

Both of Honda's partner teams took part in the Silverstone test last week (3-5 April) in preparation for Imola, allowing Honda engineers and technicians to continue development on the RA001E. BAR Honda fielded test driver Patrick Le Marie alongside race drivers Villeneuve and Panis while Jordan Honda ran Ricardo Zonta, its test driver, together with Jarno Trulli.

Imola has been the scene of four race victories for Honda power - three with Ayrton Senna in the McLaren Honda and one with Nigel Mansell in the Williams Honda. The impressive Honda power one-two-three of 1988 saw Senna joined by team-mate Alain Prost and Lotus Honda's Nelson Piquet on the podium.

Circuit Details Circuit Name Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Circuit Address Via Fratelli Rosselli, 2 - 40026 Imola Circuit Length 4.930 km / 3.064 miles

Timetable (all times are CET - BST is 1 hour behind) Friday Free Practice: 11.00-12.00 & 13.00-14.00 Saturday Free Practice: 09.00-09.45 & 10.15-11.00 Qualifying: 13.00-14.00 Sunday Warm-up: 09.30-10.00 Race (62 laps): 14.00

2000 Results Winner M Schumacher (Ferrari) 1h 31m 39.776s Fastest race lap M Hakkinen (McLaren) 1m 26.523s Average Speed 205.249 kph Pole Position M Hakkinen (McLaren) 1m 24.714s Lap record H-H Frentzen (Williams) 1m 25.531s

Honda in Imola 2000 Villeneuve 5th / Zonta 12th

Honda in Imola 9 Grands Prix; 4 wins (Mansell 1987, Senna 1988/1989/1991); 12 podiums

Honda F1 winners Senna 32, Mansell 13, Prost 11, Piquet 7, Berger & Rosberg 3, Ginther & Surtees 1

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