1.
Modena
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Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. One of Ferraris cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself, the University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II dEste in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy. Italian military officers are trained at the Military Academy of Modena, the Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. The Cathedral of Modena, the Torre della Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, Modena is also known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar. Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River and their presence is symbolized by the Two Rivers Fountain in the citys center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel, the Apennines begin some 10 kilometres from the city, to the south. The commune is divided into four circoscrizioni and these are, Centro storico Crocetta Buon Pastore San Faustino Modena has a humid subtropical climate, with an average annual precipitation of 809 millimetres. Summers are warm and winters are chilly and wetter, with the possibility of snowfall and this climate is described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. From 1945 to 1992, Modena had a consecutive series of Communist mayors. From the 1990s, the city has been governed by center-left coalitions, at the April 2006 elections, the city of Modena gave about 50% of its votes to the Democratic Party. The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council which is composed by 35 members elected every five years, Modenas executive body is the City Committee composed by 9 assessors, the deputy-mayor and the mayor. The current mayor of Modena is Giancarlo Muzzarelli, member of the Democratic Party of Italy, the territory around Modena was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter, the outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibals arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the 1st century BC Mutina was besieged twice, the first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus. The city eventually surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, in the civil war following Caesars assassination, the city was besieged again, this time by Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relieved the city with the help of the Senate, cicero called it Mutina splendidissima in his Philippics. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for a dense fog hid it, as of December 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman empire were made
2.
Auto racing
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Auto racing is a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Almost as soon as automobiles had been invented, races of various sorts were organised, by the 1930s specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and it was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton. Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fueled automobiles, the first organized contest was on April 28,1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne, on July 22,1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the worlds first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10-franc entrance fee, the first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28,1895. Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile, brooklands, in Surrey, was the first purpose-built motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km concrete track with high-speed banked corners, One of the oldest existing purpose-built automobile racing circuits in the United States, still in use, is the 2. 5-mile -long Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is the largest capacity venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. on February 21,1948, the first NASCAR Strictly Stock race ever was held on June 19,1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a seat to GT cars. From 1972 through 2003, NASCARs premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, the changes that resulted from RJRs involvement, as well as the reduction of the schedule from 48 to 31 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCARs modern era. The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series, the European races eventually became the closely related Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs. The best-known variety of racing, Formula One, which hosts the famous Monaco Grand Prix. In single-seater, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front, in Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing is commonly referred to as Formula, with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the Formula terminology is not followed, the sport is usually arranged to follow an international format, a regional format, and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format. In North America, the used in the National Championship have traditionally been similar though less sophisticated than F1 cars. The series most famous race is the Indianapolis 500, the other major international single-seater racing series is GP2
3.
Fiat Automobiles
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Fiat Automobiles S. p. A. is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy, a subsidiary of FCA Italy S. p. A. which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Fiat Automobiles S. p. A. was formed in January 2007 when Fiat reorganized its automobile business, Fiats main market is Europe, mainly focused in Italy. Historically successful in citycars and supermini sector, currently Fiat has a range of models focused on two segments. Fiat does not currently offer any large family car, nor an executive car - these market segments have, to some extent been covered by the Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, which Fiat also owns. Fiats share of the European market shrank from 9.4 per cent in 2000 to 5.8 per cent in the summer of 2004, at this point Sergio Marchionne was appointed as Fiats chief executive. By March 2009 their market share had expanded to 9.1 per cent, Fiats built their five-story Lingotto plant in 1915 through 1918, at the time it was Europes largest car manufacturing plant. Later the Mirafiori plant was built, also in Turin, to prepare for production of the all-new Fiat 128, Fiat opened their Rivalta plant in October 1968. Until the 128 entered production, the plant was used to build versions of the 850 and 124 as well as parts for the Fiat Dino. Fiats 2014 range of car engines comprised eleven units, eight petrols. The second generation Punto was a seller in the UK after its October 1999 launch. The original Fiat 500 had been one of the few competitors for the iconic Mini during its 1960s heyday. Fiat has invested for a time in South America, mainly in Brazil. They built their first Brazilian car plant in the Greater Belo Horizonte city of Betim in 1973, recently a brand new model developed in Brazil has been launched, the Fiat Uno. Other European models are imported to Brazil, Fiat 500. Some others are still in production, Punto, Idea, Bravo, Fiat has a long history in the United States. In 1908, the Fiat Automobile Co. was established in the country and a plant in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. began producing Fiats a year later, like the Fiat 60 HP and the Fiat 16-20 HP. These luxury cars were produced long before Chrysler Corp. was formed in 1925 from older manufacturers that were acquired by Walter P. Chrysler, the New Jersey factory was closed when the U. S. entered World War I in 1917. Fiat returned to North America in the 1950s, selling the original 500, Fiat 600 Multipla, Fiat 1100, Fiat 1200, for example the Fiat 124 Sport Spider and the Fiat X1/9
4.
Sports car racing
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Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going models, a type of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans is one of the oldest motor races still in existence, other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana. Most top class sports car races emphasize endurance, reliability, and strategy, longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes. These makers top road cars have often very similar both in engineering and styling to those raced. This close association with the nature of the cars serves as a useful distinction between sports car racing and touring cars. The 12 Hours of Sebring,24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans were once considered the trifecta of sports car racing. In the 1920s, the used in endurance racing and Grand Prix were still basically identical, with fenders. Cars such as the Bugatti Type 35 were almost equally at home in Grands Prix and endurance events, but specialisation gradually started to differentiate the sports-racer from the Grand Prix car. As mainly Italian cars and races defined the genre, the category was called Gran Turismo, as long distances had to be travelled, reliability and some basic comfort were necessary in order to endure the task. After the Second World War, sports car racing emerged as a form of racing with its own classic races. Top Grand Prix drivers also competed regularly in sports car racing, from 1962 sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars with the FIA replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. The US scene tended to feature small MG and Porsche cars in the smaller classes, the combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the popular and spectacular Can-Am series in the 1960s and 1970s. Clubmans provided much entertainment at club-racing level from the 1960s into the 1990s, after a relative period of decline in the 1980s a British GT Championship emerged in the mid-90s. Road races such as the Mille Miglia included everything from stock touring cars to World Championship contenders, the Mille Miglia was the largest sporting event in Italy until a fatal accident caused its demise in 1957. The Targa Florio, another road race, remained part of the world championship until the 1970s. Between the late 1960s and late 1970s, Matra and Renault made significant, the competition at Le Mans even made it to the movie screens, with Steve McQueens film Le Mans. This era was seen by many as the highpoint of sports car racing, with the technology, a peculiarly American form of sports car racing was the Can-Am series, in which virtually unlimited sports prototypes competed in relatively short races
5.
Overhead camshaft
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Compared to OHV pushrod systems with the same number of valves, the reciprocating components of the OHC system are fewer and have a lower overall mass. Though the system drives the camshafts may be more complex, most engine manufacturers accept that added complexity as a trade-off for better engine performance. The fundamental reason for the OHC valvetrain is that it offers an increase in the ability to exchange induction. Another performance advantage is gained as a result of the better optimised port configurations made possible with overhead camshaft designs, with no intrusive pushrods, the overhead camshaft cylinder head design can use straighter ports of more advantageous cross-section and length. The OHC design allows for higher speeds than comparable cam-in-block designs. The higher engine speeds thus allowed increases power output for a given torque output, in earlier OHC systems, including inter-war Morrises and Wolseleys, oil leaks in the lubrication systems were also an issue. Single overhead camshaft is a design in which one camshaft is placed within the cylinder head, in the SOHC design, the camshaft operates the valves directly, traditionally via a bucket tappet, or via an intermediary rocker arm. SOHC cylinder heads are less expensive to manufacture than double overhead camshaft cylinder heads. Timing belt replacement can be easier since there are fewer camshaft drive sprockets that need to be aligned during the replacement procedure, SOHC designs offer reduced complexity compared to overhead valve designs — when used for multivalve cylinder heads, in which each cylinder has more than two valves. Exhaust and inlet manifolds were both on the side of the engine block. This did, however, offer excellent access to the spark plugs, in the early 1980s, Toyota and Volkswagen Group also used a directly actuated, SOHC parallel valve configuration with two valves for each cylinder. The Toyota system used hydraulic tappets, the Volkswagen system used bucket tappets with shims for valve clearance adjustment. Honda later used a similar system in their motorcycles, using the term Unicam for the concept. This system uses one camshaft for each bank of cylinder heads, with the cams operating directly onto the valve and indirectly, through a short rocker arm. This allows a compact, light valvetrain to operate valves in a combustion chamber. The Unicam valve train was first used in single cylinder dirt bikes, a dual overhead camshaft valvetrain layout is characterised by two camshafts located within the cylinder head, one operating the intake valves and the other one operating the exhaust valves. This design reduces valvetrain inertia more than is the case with a SOHC engine, a DOHC design permits a wider angle between intake and exhaust valves than do SOHC engines. This can allow for a less restricted airflow at higher engine speeds, DOHC with a multivalve design also allows for the optimum placement of the spark plug which, in turn, improves combustion efficiency
6.
Carburetor
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A carburetor, or carburettor, or carburator, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine in the proper ratio for combustion. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America or carby in Australia. To carburate or carburet is to blend the air and fuel or to equip with a carburetor for that purpose, carburetors have largely been supplanted in the automotive and, to a lesser extent, aviation industries by fuel injection. They are still common on engines for lawn mowers, rototillers. The word carburetor comes from the French carbure meaning carbide, carburer means to combine with carbon. In fuel chemistry, the term has the specific meaning of increasing the carbon content of a fluid by mixing it with a volatile hydrocarbon. The first carburetor was invented by Samuel Morey in 1826, a carburetor was invented by an Italian, Luigi De Cristoforis, in 1876. Another carburetor was developed by Enrico Bernardi at the University of Padua in 1882, for his Motrice Pia, a carburetor was among the early patents by Karl Benz as he developed internal combustion engines and their components. Early carburetors were the surface type, in which air is charged with fuel by being passed over the surface of gasoline. In 1885, Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler developed a float carburetor for their engine based on the atomizer nozzle, hungarian engineers János Csonka and Donát Bánki patented a carburetor for a stationary engine in 1893. Frederick William Lanchester of Birmingham, England, experimented with the wick carburetor in cars, in 1896, Frederick and his brother built the first gasoline-driven car in England, a single cylinder 5 hp internal combustion engine with chain drive. Unhappy with the performance and power, they re-built the engine the next year into a horizontally opposed version using his new wick carburetor design. Carburetors were the method of fuel delivery for most US-made gasoline-fueled engines up until the late 1980s. 1991, Jeep Grand Wagoneer with the AMC360 cu in V8 engine, low-cost commercial vans and 4WDs in Australia continued with carburetors even into the 2000s, the last being the Mitsubishi Express van in 2003. Elsewhere, certain Lada cars used carburetors until 2006, many motorcycles still use carburetors for simplicitys sake, since a carburetor does not require an electrical system to function. EEC legislation required all vehicles sold and produced in countries to have a catalytic converter after December 1992. This legislation had been in the pipeline for some time, with cars becoming available with catalytic converters or fuel injection from around 1990. Fords first fuel-injected car was the Ford Capri RS2600 in 1970, general Motors launched its first fuel-injected car around the same time, when began to introduce fuel-injected engines to its Vauxhall Cavalier/Opel Ascona range
7.
Targa Florio
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The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, after 1973, it was a national sports car event until it was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. It has since run as a rallying event, and is part of the Italian Rally Championship. The race was created in 1906 by the wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast, Vincenzo Florio, alessandro Cagno won the inaugural 1906 race in nine hours, averaging 30 miles per hour. By the mid-1920s, the Targa Florio had become one of Europes most important races, Grand Prix races were still isolated events, not a series like todays F1. The wins of Mercedes in the 1920s made a big impression in Germany, especially that of German Christian Werner in 1924, rudolf Caracciola repeated a similar upset win at the Mille Miglia a couple of years later. In 1926, Eliska Junkova, one of the female drivers in Grand Prix motor racing history. In 1953, the FIA World Sportscar Championship was introduced, the Targa became part of it in 1955, when Mercedes had to win 1-2 with the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in order to beat Ferrari for the title. They had missed the first two of the 6 events, Buenos Aires and the 12 Hours of Sebring, where Ferrari, Jaguar, Maserati and Porsche scored. Mercedes appeared at and won in the Mille Miglia, then pulled out of Le Mans as a sign of respect for the victims of the 1955 Le Mans disaster, stirling Moss/Peter Collins and Juan Manuel Fangio/Karl Kling finished minutes ahead of the best Ferrari and secured the title. Several versions of the track were used and it started with a single lap of a 148 km circuit from 1906-1911 and 1931. From 1912 to 1914 a tour around the perimeter of Sicily was used, with a lap of 975 kilometres. The 148 km Grande circuit was shortened twice, the first time to 108 km, the version used from 1919-1930. From 1951-1958, the coastal island tour variant was used for a separate event called the Giro di Sicilia. The start and finish took place at Cerda, the second version of the track also went south through Caltavuturo and took a shortcut starting right before Castellana to Collesano via the town of Polizzi Generosa. There was a circuit called Favorita Park used from 1937-1940. To put that in perspective, most purpose built circuits have between 12 and 18 corners, and the longest purpose built circuit in the world, the 13-mile Nurburgring, has about 180 corners. Like a rally event, the cars were started one by one every 15 seconds for a time trial, as a start from a full grid was not possible on the tight
8.
Vanderbilt Cup
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The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused considerable controversy in New York, the politicians soon jumped in, holding public hearings on the issue. Vanderbilt prevailed and the race was run over a 30.24 miles course of winding dirt roads through the Nassau County area. The race drew the top drivers and their vehicles from across the Atlantic Ocean, the first Long Island race featured seventeen vehicles and the newspaper and poster art promotion drew large crowds hoping to see an American car defeat the mighty European vehicles. However, George Heath won the race in a Panhard and another French vehicle, crowd control was a problem from the start and after a spectator, Curt Gruner, was killed in 1906, the race was cancelled. Meanwhile, in France, the first Grand Prix motor racing event had been run on June 26,1906, one of the competitors was American Elliot Shepard, the son of Margaret Vanderbilt-Shepard and a cousin of William Kissam Vanderbilt. Construction began in 1907 of the toll highway, to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County over numerous bridges and overpasses to Lake Ronkonkoma. The Vanderbilt Cup was held successfully on Long Island until 1911 when it was showcased at Savannah, the next year it moved to a racecourse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then for three years in California, Santa Monica in 1914 and 1916, San Francisco in 1915. The race was canceled after the United States joined the Allies in World War I in 1917, some of the drivers who participated in the Vanderbilt Cup became famous names, synonymous with automobiles and racing such as Louis Chevrolet, Vincenzo Lancia and Ralph DePalma. Once again, the Europeans were enticed by the prize money. A lack of American competition and a less-than-exciting course layout saw the race run for two years, both won by Europeans. The Vanderbilt Cup would not return to the United States motor racing scene for more than twenty years, in 1960, sponsored by Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, it was run as a Formula Junior event and held again at Roosevelt Raceway. In 1965,1967, and 1968, the Bridgehampton Sports Car Races were billed as the Vanderbilt Cup, the original Cup is cast of silver and measures 2.5 feet in height. It bears the image of William K. Vanderbilt II driving his record-setting Mercedes at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1904, the trophy today is stored at a Smithsonian Institution storage facility and is not available to be seen by the public. The George Vanderbilt Cup is on display at Museo Nicolis in Verona, ^A The 1966 event was billed as the Bridgehampton 200. The Vanderbilt Cup name disappeared for another 36 years until 1996, in recognition of William Kissam Vanderbilts place in automotive racing history, a copy of the original cup was created as the trophy for the CART U. S.500 race. In 2000, CART designated the Vanderbilt Cup as its series championship trophy, names of U. S.500 winners from 1996–99 and the CART series winners since 2000, are etched into the new Cup
9.
Fiat 1100
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The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 to 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, the 1100 was changed steadily and gradually until being replaced by the new Fiat 128 in 1969. There were also a series of commercial versions of the 1100 built, with later models called the Fiat 1100T. The Fiat 1100 D also found a life in India. Like other manufacturers, after World War II Fiat continued producing and updating pre-war types, the first blank sheet design was the 19501400, the first with unibody Fiat, which took place of the 19351500. Fiats intermediate offering between the 1500 and the diminutive 500 was the 1100 E, the last evolution of the 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 first launched in 1937. Its replacement it was codenamed Tipo 103, like the 1400 was to use unit construction, the Fiat Nuova 1100, or Fiat 1100/103 as it was called the after its internal project number, was introduced at the April 1953 Geneva Motor Show. Unlike the 1100 E it replaced, the 103 had a modern four-door saloon pontoon body topping new unibody construction, if the 103s body was all-new, its engine was well-tested, having debuted in 1937 on the predecessor of the outgoing 1100, the 508 C Balilla 1100. The 4-speed manual transmission had synchromesh on the top three speeds and a shifter, fashionable at the time. The car could reach a top speed of 116 km/h, the new model was offered in two different versions, the spartan Tipo A and richer Tipo B. The former was available in a grey-brown paint colour, had separate front seats instead of a bench, reduced, non-chromed exterior trim. The type B came in a choice of paint hues and interior fabrics, at the October 1953 Paris Motor Show Fiat launched a sporting version of the 103, the 1100 TV—standing for Turismo Veloce, Fast Touring. Later in 1954, compression ratio was raised further to 7.6,1, another notable mechanical difference was the propeller shaft, two-piece instead of one-piece in order to dampen torsional vibrations, intensified by the higher and sharper torque output. A distinguishing trait of the TV was a single front fog lamp, inset in the grille, specific exterior trim included thicker chrome spears on the sides with 1100 TV and Fiat Carrozzerie Speciali badging, a taller bonnet ornament, specific hubcaps, and whitewall tyres. As standard the TV was painted in a livery, with the roof. At 1,225,000 Italian lire the 1100 TV was markedly more expensive than the standard Tipo A and B saloons, a new 1100 body style was introduced at the 1954 Geneva Motor show, a 5-door estate named 1100 Familiare on its home market. Abroad it was known as the 1100 Family,110 Familiale,1100 Kombiwagen or 1100 Familiar in English-, French- German-. The rear door was side-hinged, and the rear bench could be folded down to form a flat loading surface
10.
Hummingbird
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Hummingbirds are birds from the Americas that constitute the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring 7. 5–13 cm, indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm bee hummingbird weighing less than 2.5 g. They are known as hummingbirds because of the sound created by their beating wings which flap at high frequencies audible to humans. They hover in mid-air at rapid wing-flapping rates, typically around 50 times per second, hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any homeothermic animal. To conserve energy when food is scarce, and nightly when not foraging, they go into torpor, a map of the hummingbird family tree—reconstructed from analysis of 284 of the worlds 338 known species—shows rapid diversification from 22 million years ago. Due to this exceptional evolutionary pattern, as many as 140 hummingbird species can coexist in a specific region, the hummingbird evolutionary tree shows ancestral hummingbirds splitting from insectivorous swifts and treeswifts about 42 million years ago, probably in Eurasia. One key evolutionary factor appears to be an altered taste receptor that enabled hummingbirds to seek nectar, by 22 million years ago the ancestral species of current hummingbirds became established in South America, where environmental conditions stimulated further diversification. The Andes Mountains appear to be a rich environment for hummingbird evolution because diversification occurred simultaneously with mountain uplift over the past 10 million years. Hummingbirds remain in dynamic diversification inhabiting ecological regions across South America, North America, within the same geographic region, hummingbird clades co-evolved with nectar-bearing plant clades, affecting mechanisms of pollination. The same is true for the hummingbird, one of the morphologically most extreme species. Hummingbirds exhibit sexual size dimorphism according to Renschs rule, in males are smaller than females in small species. The extent of sexual size difference varies among clades of hummingbirds. For example, the Mellisugini clade exhibits a large size dimorphism, conversely, the Lophomithini clade displays very little size dimorphism, males and females are similar in size. For males and females of the size, females will tend to have larger beaks. Males tend to be smaller than females, allowing conservation of energy to forage competitively, thus, sexual selection will favor smaller male hummingbirds. Female hummingbirds tend to be larger, requiring energy, with longer beaks that allow for more effective reach into crevices of tall flowers for nectar. Thus females are better at foraging, acquiring flower nectar, directional selection will thus favor the larger hummingbirds in terms of acquiring food. Another evolutionary cause of this sexual dimorphism is that the selective forces from competition for nectar between the sexes of each species are what drive the sexual dimorphism
11.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
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The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it is the worlds third purpose-built motor racing circuit after those of Brooklands, the circuits biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix. With the exception of 1980, the race has been hosted there since the seriess inception, the circuit is generally flat, but has a gradual gradient from the second Lesmos to the Variante Ascari. Since both maximum power and minimal drag are keys for speed on the straights, only competitors with enough power or aerodynamic efficiency at their disposal are able to challenge for the top places. In addition to Formula One, the hosts a endurance event, the 1000 km Monza, which has been run as part of the World Sportscar Championship. Current major events are races of the World Touring Car Championship, the Monza circuit has been the site of many fatal accidents, especially in the early years of the Formula One world championship, and has claimed the lives of 52 drivers and 35 spectators. The first track was built from May to July 1922 by 3,500 workers, the initial form was a 3.4 square kilometres site with 10 kilometres of macadamised road – comprising a 4.5 kilometres loop track, and a 5.5 kilometres road track. The track was opened on 3 September 1922, with the maiden race the second Italian Grand Prix held on 10 September 1922. In 1928, the most serious Italian racing accident to date ended in the death of driver Emilio Materassi and 27 spectators at that years Grand Prix, the accident led to further Grand Prix races confinement to the high-speed loop until 1932. The 1933 race was marked by the deaths of three drivers and the Grand Prix layout was changed, with two chicanes added and the longer straights removed. There was major rebuilding in 1938–39, constructing new stands and entrances, resurfacing the track, moving portions of the track, the resulting layout gave a Grand Prix lap of 6.300 kilometres, in use until 1954. The outbreak of World War II meant racing at the track was suspended until 1948, Monza was renovated over a period of two months at the beginning of 1948 and a Grand Prix was held on 17 October 1948. In 1954, work began to revamp the circuit, resulting in a 5.750 kilometres course. The two circuits could be combined to re-create the former 10 kilometres long circuit, with cars running parallel on the main straight, the track infrastructure was also updated and improved to better accommodate the teams and spectators. The Automobile Club of Italy held 500-mile Race of Two Worlds exhibition competitions, intended to pit United States Auto Club IndyCars against European Formula One and sports cars. The races were held on the oval at the end of June in 1957 and 1958, ecurie Ecosses three Jaguar D-type sports cars used their Le Mans-specification tyres with no ill-effects, but were completely out paced. Two heats in 1957 were won by Jimmy Bryan in his Kuzma-Offenhauser Dean Van Lines Special, Formula One used the 10 kilometres high speed track in the 1955,1956,1960 and 1961 Grands Prix. Stirling Moss and Phil Hill both won twice in this period, with Hills win at Monza making him the first American to win a Formula One race
12.
Formula Junior
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Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI. The class was intended to provide an entry level class where drivers could use mechanical components from ordinary automobiles. The idea to form the new class came from Count Giovanni Johnny Lurani who saw the need of a class for racing cars where younger drivers could take their first steps. The brakes and transmission also had to be production-based, constructors were allowed to increase the number of gears, but only inside a production gearbox casing. Formula Junior was also the first racing class to require roll cages, as the formula gathered momentum, though, constructors started to take note. In the UK Frank Nichols of Elva produced the Elva 100 series powered by a BMC A-Series engine or a DKW two-stroke engine tuned by Gerhard Mitter in Germany, the Elva became first mass-produced British Formula Junior car. Other early British designs included the Gemini and Lola Mk 2 and it was not long before Cooper started to produce a car similar to their contemporary F1/F2 thinking, later F3s and bobtail sports car fitted with BMC A-series engines. On the engine side, Keith Duckworth of Cosworth Engineering took an interest in Formula Junior, Lotus also came into the game with their Lotus 18, a simplified derivative of their Formula One and Formula Two chassis fitted with a 997cc Ford Anglia engine. Later Lotus also raced in Formula Junior with Lotus 20, Lotus 22 and these two marques, with close links to their Grand Prix teams, soon came to dominate Formula Junior on an international level. In Sweden Saab produced the Saab Formula Junior, mainly to test new engine designs, in Russia the most used engine came from the Moskvitch. Through the formulas lifetime, though, the number of manufacturers increased, brabhams first racing car was the mid-engined BT1 in 1961. By 1963 the class had become expensive, the scope for wins in homebuilt or amateur cars was diminishing, the 1963 series was the last series in the UK and Europe. In the early 1960s, after Formula One was reduced to a 1, slightly later in the 60s, classes based on the same original idea as FJ evolved as low-cost introductions to single-seater motor racing, notably Formula Ford and Formula Vee. Because many cars and engines are readily available, Formula Junior is now a popular category in historic racing. Drivers with background in Formula Junior includes Jim Clark, Peter Arundell, Trevor Taylor, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Ed Leslie, Pat Pigott and Jack McAfee
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