Nestled deep within the forest of Monza Park is a historic relic with a tragic history. So notorious is this circuit that almost every racing enthusiast on the planet has surely fantasized about visiting it. I am of course talking about the Pista di Alta Velocità, one of the last surviving remnants of a dangerous era of racing that is now only a distant memory.
In the aftermath of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, the racing world was in shock. On the verge of winning his very first Formula 1 World Championship, Wolfgang von Trips had suffered a fatal accident when his Ferrari became airborne after a collision with Jim Clark.
Adding to the tragedy was the fact that the German’s 156 ‘Sharknose’ had also killed fifteen spectators when it veered into the crowd on that fateful September afternoon.
Images from the scene of the crash were shocking and the incident received international attention, shining a spotlight on the dangers of Formula 1. There were many calls for racing to be banned and Enzo Ferrari even withdrew his cars from the final event of the 1961 World Championship in response to the horrific accident.
At the center of the debate on safety within the sport was a controversial piece of banking that had first hosted a Formula 1 race only six years earlier.
With its incredibly steep sides that helped to increase speeds that were already high to begin with, the Pista di Alta Velocità, was viewed by many as being too dangerous to race upon in Formula 1 cars. In fact, in 1960 a group of British teams, including Cooper, Lotus and B.R.M., boycotted the Italian Grand Prix for this exact reason.
Even though Wolfgang von Trips’s accident occurred along the approach to the Parabolica corner and not on the banking itself, Formula 1 racing never used that part of the circuit again after 1961.
In the years that have followed, the banking has been left to decay and hasn’t seen any sustained action since 1969. Instead, it has become a famous destination for motorsports enthusiasts who are looking to visualize the type of courage and skill that it took to be a racing driver more than fifty years ago.
Being a passionate Formula 1 fanatic myself, the Pista di Alta Velocità had always been at the top of my list of places to visit. It will therefore come as no surprise that when I moved to Italy earlier last year, I wasted no time in fulfilling that dream and made my way to the Autodromo di Monza on one particularly hot July afternoon.
I had read online that one of the best places to get onto the banking is located right beside one of the circuit’s modern grandstands.
Overlooking the first corner, the rather appropriately named “Alta Velocità” grandstand is situated right above the historic banking and as I made my way onto the older circuit below, I could see the Pista di Alta Velocità elevating in the distance.
The thing that instantly struck me was just how high the banking really is. Photos and films do not really do it justice and it is in fact so steep in some places that it appears to be almost vertical.
Admit it, at some point we have all watched racing documentaries where various presenters struggled to climb the banking and secretly told ourselves that we could reach the top easily. My assumptions proved to be incorrect, as I was only able to get just over halfway to the top and I did so mostly by shuffling on my bottom awkwardly.
At one point, I happened to let go of my purse for a moment and was both surprised and amused to observe it topple over and slide all the way down the side of the track.
I have no idea how on earth classic Formula 1 cars managed to negotiate it at racing speed and it is no wonder that the Pista di Alta Velocità’s demise was due to its dangerous nature. Looking upon its weathered surface invoked images of the great men who lost their lives at the Autodromo di Monza and the banking harbored a ghostly presence.
Maybe the only reason for this was because the area was spookily still and quiet, but personally I think that it is the circuit’s history of tragedy that gives its silence meaning.
As I wandered along the banking, the rusted metal barriers creaked from time to time in the wind and I couldn’t help but feel a rush of emotion come over me.
Enzo Ferrari once called racing cars his terrible joys because they were his greatest passion and yet at the same time they ended the lives of so many of the people he loved. It was when I stood at the foot of the Alta Velocità banking that I truly came to appreciate how these two conflicting emotions can sometimes walk hand in hand.
If you are lucky enough to find yourself in Italy, be sure that you take a trip to the Autodromo di Monza and view this marvel up close for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
By Danielle Blaschuk
Photo Credits: Danielle Blaschuk
PHOTO GALLERY
VIDEO