🇮🇹Autodromo Riccardo Paletti (Varano)

Autodromo Riccardo Paletti is a 1.800 km, 11-corner motor racing circuit at Varano de' Melegari in the Province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, around 30 km south-west of Parma in the hills above the Ceno valley. The circuit was born in late 1969 on the initiative of a group of local motorsport enthusiasts led by Ennio Dallara, Romano Meggi, Giuseppe Dalla Chiesa, the mayor Giorgio Bonzani and engineer Giampaolo Dallara — the same man who would go on to found the famous Dallara constructor. The first track measured only 550 m and practically bordered the town's soccer field. A first extension in 1971 took it to 1,200 m, and the full 1.800 km, 11-turn layout was officially inaugurated on 26 March 1972. The circuit was renamed in 1983 in memory of Italian Formula One driver Riccardo Paletti (1958–1982), a Varano local who learned his craft on the track before his fatal accident at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix. Famous sections of the modern layout include the 1st and 2nd Esse on the northern stretch, the ICKX Chicane (named after Belgian sportscar legend Jacky Ickx), the Ferro di Cavallo (horseshoe) and the final Tornantino. Varano's combination of rapid direction changes, blind corners, slight gradients and a uniquely intimate "village circuit" feel make it one of the most technical tracks in Italy and a long-running fixture of the Italian motorcycle CIV and Italian Formula Three championships. The on-site Dallara factory and Dallara Academy use Varano as their primary test and development facility.