F1 race at Imola to have just one practice session

Imola, Aug 5 (IANS) Formula One drivers will have a new challenge at hand when they travel to Imola in November for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. According to the organisers, there will be just one practice session prior to the main qualifying round and eventually the final race the next day.

Usually, a race is preceded by three practice sessions, followed by qualifying round and then the race, but to accommodate a Grand Prix in just two days, organisers have put forward this cramped schedule.

According to FormulaOne.com, the morning of October 31 will witness a 90-minute practice session followed by the qualification round in the afternoon. The race will take place on Sunday i.e November 1.

The race in Imola will be the third race in Italy this year after Italian Grand Prix at Monza and the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello (both being held in September).

Earlier, Imola became part of three new races that were included in the revamped 2020 calendar to take the total number of races to 13 this year.

The Algarve International Circuit in Portimao will host the Portuguese Grand Prix on October 23-25, two weeks after the Grand Prix at Germany’s Nurburgring. This will be followed by the two-day event in Imola.

“We are pleased that we continue to make strong progress in finalising our plans for the 2020 season and are excited to welcome Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola to the revised calendar,” Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula 1, had said last month.

“We want to thank the promoters, the teams, and the FIA for their full support in our efforts to bring our fans exciting racing this season during an unprecedented time.”

–IANS

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