Date: 6th April, 2001 

Imola to put F1 hopeful back on track 

Arden International front-runner Darren Manning is confident of good results this weekend when he takes to the track in San Marino for the second leg of the F3000 series, despite a rough ride in Brazil recently. 

The 25-year-old raced and tested last year at the Imola racetrack, and went back there earlier this year for an official test. 

He said: "I know Imola very well, and the set up we have should work a lot better there than it did at Brazil a fortnight ago. 

"The Interlagos track in Brazil was a difficult one to negotiate – famous for its sharp bends.  The fact that we'd never driven there before made it more difficult, and resulted in a lot of drivers up front who are outside of the top ten. 

"Imola is more in line with most other race tracks, so I'd expect to see the main championship front-runners up front." 

Darren will travel out to the track on Thursday to prepare for qualifying on Friday and racing on Saturday. 

The Imola circuit was built in 1950, and is famous for being the track where Ayrton Senna lost his life. 

It has held a Grand Prix since 1981 and has been the scene of many memorable races and some huge accidents, such as the one involving Gerhard Berger in 1989. 

Typical of any Italian circuit, all eyes are on Ferrari, after Patrick Tambay's emotional 1983 victory it would be another 16 years before the Tifosi could celebrate a victory for their beloved scarlet squad after Michael Schumacher pipped McLaren's David Coulthard last season. 

This classic Grand Prix circuit is surrounded by beautiful Italian countryside, but safety changes made in the wakes of the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna have slowed the track significantly. 

Tumbrel, the scene of Senna's accident, has been re-profiled, and the Villeneuve kink has been broken up by a chicane, making Tosa much easier than before. 

Despite the changes Imola has gone through, it is still one of the more challenging venues on the calendar, with some of the least offensive chicanes in the world. 

The next stop for Darren in F3000 will be Barcelona on April 28th.  He is also test and reserve driver for BAR-Honda, and his next test will be on May 1st at Silverstone.