Grand Prix - The Movie

[Mesa]

All,

I just viewed my new DVD of the 1966 (?) movie starring James Garner. One thing I cant figure out - in the final crash scene at Monza when the French hero flies off the banking and crashes onto the track below. I looked at a track map and cannot figure out how they could have had an over and under race lap configuration. Unless they split the main straight down the middle and made it two separate straights.

Anyone know the answer?

PS for a movie made way back then, the cinematography is incredible.

[Jay V]

Monza Track info

Monza track info, nice history of it.

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by Jay Vickers

Monza Track info

Monza track info, nice history of it.

Thanks I saw that....and I still could not figure out how an over and under configuration would have worked. Did you?

I'm thinking it was ''dramatic license'' on the part of the movie maker and the route the cars could take didnt really pass over itself in an actual race. The ''southern'' banking could have been used with the rest of the road course but the other banking where it psses over the road course could not.

Anybody know for sure?

[David Morton]

Much of the banked course is falling into disrepair and rust. There are still parts of it through the trees on the Lesmo (northerly) end and some of it (the flat area) is used for RV parking as well. None of the current circuit crosses over the old circuit and to my best belief under it as well. There is a golf course in there as well and through the golf course from the Arcore side is one of the main access routes for teams on Gp days and following that route in takes you across the old circuit. It's a megga historical place and very evocative. One of my tasks one day was to record a particular teams V12 car on a small UHER recorder as they went around the Lesmo corners so that some boffin could work out if they were running traction control, but the sounds in the trees and bouncing of the external walls of the Parc was just AMAZING.

[Tom Hudson]

Mesa

There is a layout of the full 10Km circuit, used from 1922 to 1933, on Wickipedia. I imagine, at that time, the main straight would have been split in two with a line of straw bails.

I have never been to Monza but it is clear from film & TV coverage that the main straight was wide enough to cope with being used with twin, parallel, tracks. Nowadays only the outer track is used but you can still see where the inner track starts to turn right, up onto the banking. I remember the very sad day that Ronnie Peterson crashed, and later died, at this point. The flag had been dropped before all the cars had come to a stop on the grid. This caused the cars towards the back of the grid to bunch up as they approached the narrowing, closed off inside track with horrendous consequences for Ronnie.

TV shots also show the exit off of the banking back onto the main straight. Nowadays when F1 cars exit the Parabolica they move across from the inner track to the outer track. I wonder if any crashes happened in the old days when a car lost it exiting the parabolica, slid wide through the straw bails, assuming they used them, and into the path of other cars coming off of the banking.

David said, “None of the current circuit crosses over the old circuit and to my best belief under it as well.” But I have always thought that the bridge we see from in car shots, as cars race down to the Ascari chicane must be where the old banking crosses over the current circuit? Hopefully I will be able to get there one day, walk what is left of the old banking, soak up the atmosphere and imagine what it must have been like to race there.

Tom

I just did a search on YouTube and “Monza 1931” shows, from 5-10secs, a clip of a car coming onto the main straights off the banking as other cars are exiting the Parabolica. Also visible is a line of what look like straw bails separating the two tracks but they only run for about 100m. I suppose that was to let cars from either track move over to the Pits.

[CraigB]

These were taken in 2006 on our trip to Monza.

View from ground level near the 1st chicane(entry to grandstand)

The Italian Marshals HAD to pose as soon as a camera was pointed at them!

Alta Velocita Grandstand view showing the banking entrance.


Underpass road/walkway towards the Lesmo curves

This does cross over the track on approach to the Ascari Curve (where Kimi binned it in Qualy last year). But I don't think they ever used it as an over/under circuit in 1966 when the film was shot.

Seen in France on our way back - Nice company

[Mesa]

Craig,
I had never seen the areas of your second and third shots.....cool. Judging from Google Earth...I knew the shot of the banking next to the chicane had to look like that but, I'd never seen any shots of the area! The third shot looks like were the old smaller ground level 'oval' (rectangle) passed under the banking. Again, had never seen any shots of the area, thanks.

As many have said the place just drips with history.

[David Morton]

Great photos - and thank's - I stand corrected - I forgot about the section between Curva Lesmo 2 and Ascari - the Tv cameras always
pick up the cars coming under that bridge into Ascari.
I love the place in spite of all the crime that goes on during the Gp.