Italian F1 Grand Prix

Built in 1922 in only 100 days by the Automobile Club of Milan, Monza is Europe´s oldest permanent circuit still in use. Orginally comprising both a road course and a banked oval, sometime combined for major races upto the 1960´s, only the road course is used today, though the impressive banking still exists, although there are now plans to demolish this historic structure. Set in a former Royal park on the outskirts of Milan, Italy´s second major city, the contemporary circuit is still one of the fastest in Europe being a series of long, straight flat-out blasts and long high-speed corners, interrupted only by the inevitable chicanes. Altough it survives more or less in its origial layout, the track was used as a military vehicle park during WW2 nd suffered extensive damage through bombing, and the bankings in particular required reconstruction before being used again in 1948. All manner of combinations of circuit were used in the 1930´s and curiously this included te use of chicanes already. Well worth a visit just to experience the enthusiasm of the famous "tifosi".