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 ( lij, Spiareti) 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: Bordigh ...

(

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) 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 ...

region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), 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 / Formula One and motorcycle race held in the north-western coastal town of San Remo (Italy) from 1937 to 1972. The first Grand Prix was he ...

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 racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the p ...

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 Marius Aristide Yves 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 Formu ...

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 t ...

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 and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...

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. The 4CL was introduced at the beginning of the 1939 season, as a rival to the Alfa Romeo 1 ...

Luigi Villoresi Luigi Villoresi (16 May 1909 – 24 August 1997) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver who continued racing on the Formula One circuit at the time of its inception. Biography Born in Milan, Lombardy, and nicknamed "Gigi", he was the older ...

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 1949 San Remo Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at San Remo on 3 April 1949. The race, held over two heats, was won by Juan Manuel Fangio. Entries Classification First heat Second heat Aggregate References {{Grand Prix r ...

. The race was contested counter clock-wise over two 45 lap heats which were won by

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

to take the overall title by aggregate time of 3 h, 1'28.6 min (99.26 km/h) for both heats.

B. Bira Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh ( th, พีรพงศ์ภาณุเดช; ; 15 July 191423 December 1985), better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand) or by his ''nom de course'' B. Bira, was a member of the Thai royal ...

posted the fastest lap in 1'56.0 min, also driving a Maserati 4CLT/48. 1950. The

1950 San Remo Grand Prix The 1950 San Remo Grand Prix was a non-Championship Formula One motor race held on 16 April 1950 at the Autodromo di Ospedaletti, in Sanremo, Liguria, Italy. It was the third race of the 1950 Formula One season. The 90-lap race was won by Alfa Rom ...

, 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 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 :''See also the 340 and 375 road cars sharing the same engine'' After finding only modest success with the supercharged 125 F1 car in Formula One, Ferrari decided to switch for 1950 to the naturally aspirated 4.5-litre formula for the series. Ca ...

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

Results by year

References

{{Reflist

External links

Voiturette Racing
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