Autodromo di Modena (or Aerautodromo di Modena) was a race track on the edge of

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

in Italy. The track had a length of . It was opened in 1950 and the circuit was crossed by an airstrip of about in length which was used by the local

flying club A flying club or aero club is a not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and associated services, as ...

1950-10-08 GP Modena Stanguellini Sighinolfi Osca Bonetti

The track hosted nine editions of the

Modena Grand Prix Autodromo di Modena (or Aerautodromo di Modena) was a race track on the edge of Modena in Italy. The track had a length of . It was opened in 1950 and the circuit was crossed by an airstrip of about in length which was used by the local flying clu ...

for

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

and

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

racing cars, the last one in 1961. The circuit continued to host other racing events (sportcars, grand touring,

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

, motorcycles) until 1975. In the 1960s and 1970s the track also served as a test track for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

and

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

during the morning or afternoon (but not both) on week days. At other times of day it was used by residents of the adjacent military camp for driver training while maintaining its original function of airport for private flights. Ferrari driver

Mike Parkes Michael Johnson Parkes (born 24 September 1931 in Richmond, London, Richmond, Surrey; died 28 August 1977 near Riva presso Chieri, Italy) was a British racing driver, from England. Parkes was born into an automotive background as his father Joh ...

, an accomplished pilot, used to fly in regularly from England on his own craft. Despite the expansion of nearby Modena, which involved a proliferation of apartment blocks and electricity pylons, the airstrip continued to be a favoured venue for a number of local

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

enthusiasts until 1974. In the early 1970s, Enzo Ferrari, aided and abetted by

and

Automobili Stanguellini Automobili Stanguellini was an Italian maker of small sports cars, based in Modena and founded by Vittorio Stanguellini; it was most active between 1946 and 1960. They continued to produce competition cars until 1981, when Vittorio Stanguellini ...

, demanded an upgrade from the Modena Town Council and

Automobile Club d'Italia The Automobile Club d'Italia (usually known by its acronym ACI) is a not-for-profit statutory corporation of the Italian Republic. The club originated through the efforts of Count Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia as the "Automobile Club of Turin" found ...

, the reasoning being that the race track lacked basic safety requirements and was inadequate to test modern racing cars. The proposal was initially discussed with interest, but eventually stalled due to lack of political will. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the negotiations, Ferrari then proceeded to buy the land adjacent to his factory and build the

Fiorano Circuit The Fiorano Circuit () is a private racetrack owned by Ferrari for development and testing purposes. It is located in Fiorano Modenese, near the Italian town of Maranello. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license. Work begun in 1971 and officially ...

, a long track still in use these days to test Ferrari racing and road cars. In 1972 Automobile Club d'Italia decided to invest in the nearby semi-permanent

Imola circuit The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, is a motor racing circuit in the town of Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, east of Bologna. It is one of the few major international circuits to run in an an ...

, effectively ending Modena's prospects of holding a modern Formula One race. The circuit was subsequently demolished, and the site redeveloped as a public park to honour

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italians, Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari ...

in 1991. In 2011 the new Modena Autodrome re-opened in the Marzaglia area close to

Via Aemilia The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ' ...

. The track is long and is mostly used for local competitions.

Modena Grand Prix

The first two editions of the Modena Grand Prix took place on a 12 km-long road track around the area where the autodrome would be eventually built.

won on both occasions. The race was then discontinued until 1938, when it took place on a shorter permutation of the circuit known as ''Circuito del Parco'' or ''Anello dei Viali''.

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and single-seaters. A resident of Mantua, he was known as 'Il Mantovano Volante' (Th ...

won three times. In 1947, following a serious accident that resulted in the death of five spectators, the race track was the subject of a significant number of upgrades, and the Modena Grand Prix was re-introduced in 1950. The last race was held on 3 September 1961 and was won by

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

in a

Lotus 18/21 Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

Winners of the Modena Grand Prix

References

{{reflist Motorsport venues in Italy Defunct motorsport venues in Italy Modena