04/09/2012
NEWS STORY
A special presentation was held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza today ahead of the 83rd Grand Prix to be hosted at the legendary circuit which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year.
Indeed, on 3rd September 1922, Pietro Bordino won the first race ever on the new track driving a FIAT 804, the circuit having been built in just 110 days.
For the occasion, a kind of silent truce has been agreed with recent judicial troubles and scandals that have resulted in changes to the Societa Incremento Automobilismo e Sport (SIAS) management, which manages the circuit, and board put on the backburner and only hinted at by the host of the presentation.
Instead, every effort was made to make this edition of the Grand Prix at Monza a memorable one and with this aim a considerable amount of work has been undertaken in recent months including.
Work at the first chicane with 900 metres of guard rail replaced
A drainage trench at the Parabolica with 2,300 cubic metres of gravel.
14,000 square metres of new paving.
Strengthening of the television signal, in order to reach today 70 television companies with a potential audience of 550 millions people.
The launch of monzarace.tv, the circuit's own web television service which will be available in Italian and English, and already has with over 250 film clips available.
For 2012, the goal is to surpass the 140.000 people attending the Grand Prix in 2011, a feat made a little easier by the fact that Ferrari star Fernando Alonso is leading the championship, something which was unthinkable earlier this season. The circuit certainly has the capacity, when one considers that the grandstands have capacity for 53.000 fans.
However, the Autodromo Nazionale isn't simply about emotion it also means business and jobs for the entire Brianza region with more than 30 millions euro of additional income, mainly in the tourist and hospitality sector.
Indeed, it is worth remembering that the brand value of the Monza Grand Prix has recently estimated at 3.8 billion euro by research that considered a composite set of parameters (international awareness, tourists flow generated by the event, economic competitiveness of the region, and the attractiveness of the event and of the region).