Historic Minardi Day marks tenth edition with 20,000 fans and 34 F1 cars
The tenth edition of Historic Minardi Day concluded at Imola's Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, drawing over 20,000 enthusiasts and fielding 590 racing cars across two days. The event, which has run annually since 2016, transformed the circuit into a dynamic motorsport museum, with an additional 200 vehicles participating in parades and static displays.
The weekend opened with a ceremonial lap by Gian Carlo Minardi, driving a 1956 Lotus Eleven powered by a Coventry Climax 1000cc engine and piloted by Roberto Farneti. The on-track programme featured an extensive grid of historic single-seaters spanning Formula Junior, Formula Abarth, Formula Italia, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 4, GP3, GP2, F3000, prototypes, and historic GT cars, supported by clubs including Scuderia del Portello, Scuderia Nuvolari Italia, and Club Motori Modena.
The centrepiece remained the 34 historic Formula 1 cars, representing over four decades of championship evolution. The grid ranged from a 1971 Ferrari 312 B2 to a 2013 Toro Rosso STR8 ex–Jean-Éric Vergne, and included notable machines such as Graham Hill's 1973 Shadow DN1, the six-wheeled 1977 Tyrrell P34/2, Riccardo Patrese's 1978 Arrows A1B, and a 1:1 scale replica of the McLaren MP4/15. Aston Martin brought a Formula 1 showcar to Imola via Fondmetal, marking the wheel supplier's return to the championship after 26 years—a symbolic closure given that Fondmetal last competed in F1 in 2000 alongside Minardi with Fernando Alonso as test driver.
The event attracted numerous motorsport figures including engineers Aldo Costa, Gabriele Tredozi, and Nigel Cowperthwaite, alongside former drivers Thierry Boutsen, Bruno Giacomelli, Pierluigi Martini, Arturo Merzario, Riccardo Patrese, and Gabriele Tarquini. The Checco Costa Museum hosted presentations, book signings, and talks, while the Museo Checco Costa displayed six Minardi single-seaters spanning the team's history, plus two Racing Bulls. On Sunday 20 September, the ACI Storico Festival organised the Raduno Terre di Romagna, with 120 crews departing the circuit for Faenza before returning for a parade lap. The fifth Memorial Ferdinando Minardi award was presented to Massimo Campodoni, a leading automobilia expert and motorsport historian.