The Circuito di Ospedaletti commonly known as the Ospedaletti Circuit (official name: Autodromo di Ospedaletti) was a motor racing road course in the north-western coastal town of

Ospedaletti Ospedaletti () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region of Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Imperia. Ospedaletti borders the following municipalities: Bordighera, Sanremo, ...

(

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

), active from 1947 to 1972.

Circuit history

The Autodromo di Ospedaletti was the second designated venue for the

San Remo Grand Prix The Gran Premio Automobilistico di San Remo, commonly known as the San Remo Grand Prix, was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix / Formula One and Motorcycle racing, motorcycle race held in the north-western coastal town of Sanremo, San Remo (I ...

from 1947 to 1951, after the original San Remo street circuit of the 1937 Grand Prix was no longer able to support the changing requirements of post-war Grand Prix racing. The circuit opened in 1947 as a

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport race track, racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor racing, motor races. Airport Runway, runways and Taxiway, taxiways are also sometimes part of ...

for the II Gran Premio di San Remo. In 1948 the circuit was reconfigured to a distance of prior to the third San Remo Grand Prix.

Race history

1947. The II Gran Premio di San Remo was held on April 13, for International Sports Cars. The race was run clock-wise over 25 laps on the short circuit and was won by

Yves Giraud-Cabantous Yves Aristide Marius Giraud-Cabantous (; 8 October 1904 – 30 March 1973) was a racing driver from France. He drove in Formula One from to , participating in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, plus numerous non-Championship Formula One and Form ...

in a

Delahaye 135 The Delahaye 135 is a luxury car manufactured by French automaker Delahaye. Designed by engineer Jean François, it was produced from 1935 until 1954 in many different body styles. A sporting tourer, it was also popular for racing. History The D ...

. It was also the inaugural year of the "Gran Trofeo" for Motorcycles (official name: Gran Trofeo Motociclistico di San Remo) (1947 to 1972). 1948. The third San Remo Grand prix was held on June 27, on the reconfigured circuit for

Voiturette A voiturette is a miniature automobile. History ''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers ...

class cars running to the new Formula One regulations. The competition was run counter clock-wise over 90 laps and was won from pole position by

Alberto Ascari Alberto Ascari (13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ascari won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Ferrari, and won 13 Grands Prix across ...

driving a

Maserati 4CLT/48 The Maserati 4CL and its derived sister model the Maserati 4CLT are single-seat open-wheel Grand Prix racing cars that were designed and built by Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 Decem ...

Luigi Villoresi Luigi "Gigi" Villoresi (16 May 1909 – 24 August 1997) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Villoresi contested 34 Formula One Grands Prix across seven seasons for Italian teams Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia, and C ...

set the first lap record of 2'02.6 min (99.37 km/h) also in a Maserati 4CLT/48. 1949. The Maserati dominance at Ospedaletti continued for the 4CLT at the April 3, 1949 San Remo Grand Prix. The race was contested counter clock-wise over two 45 lap heats which were won by

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (, ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "el Chueco" and "el Maestro", Fangio won five Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the ti ...

to take the overall title by aggregate time of 3 h, 1'28.6 min (99.26 km/h) for both heats. B. Bira posted the fastest lap in 1'56.0 min, also driving a Maserati 4CLT/48. 1950. The 1950 San Remo Grand Prix, held on April 16, was a non-championship round of the inaugural F.I.A. Drivers World Championship season. The race was won again by

, this time in an Alfa Romeo 158 s/c, marking the end of the Maserati dominance. 1951. The

1951 San Remo Grand Prix The 1951 San Remo Grand Prix was a non-Championship Formula One motor race held on 22 April 1951 at the Autodromo di Ospedaletti, in San Remo, Liguria, Italy. It was the fourth race of the 1951 Formula One season. The 90-lap race was won by Ferr ...

was the last year for Formula One to race at Ospedaletti and the last edition of the San Remo Grand Prix. The non-championship event was won from pole position by

in a Ferrari 375, setting the final lap record of 1'53.8, averaging 105.53 km/h.

Results by year

References

External links

Voiturette Racing
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305022642/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/intro.htm , date=2014-03-05 Voiturette class cars as base formula for F1
Gran Trofeo di San Remo
Motorcycle Racing at Ospedaletti

The Formula One Archives
Ospedaletti Circuit (1948-1951) on Google Maps
(Historic Formula 1 Tracks) San Remo Grand Prix

Ospedaletti