Overview

A historic circuit of professional motor racing

In the province of Parma, within the municipality of Varano de’ Melegari, is the Riccardo Paletti racetrack. The circuit was created in 1969, born out of an idea by Ennio Dallara, Romano Meggi, Giuseppe Dalla Chiesa, Giorgio Bonzani and engineer Giampaolo Dallara, known worldwide for his work at Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini, designing cars such as the Lamborghini Miura.

After a few years, it underwent its first modifications and in 1976, drivers including Regazzoni, Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda, then F1 world champion, took to the track for a charity event. In 1983, the Autodromo was renamed Riccardo Paletti, in honour of the young driver who died during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix of the same year, and who began his career at Varano.

To this day, the track is still a benchmark for the training of promising young drivers, including world champions such as Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg and Jacques Villeneuve. The Autodromo also hosts competitions for cars and motorbikes, such as the Italian Speed Championship and Mini GP, and offers free practice for highway and competition cars and safe driving courses, among other services.