“Honestly, even now, the thought still gives me goosebumps.”
Everyone remembers the first time they hear and see a Formula 1 car in person for the very first time. But not many people’s first exposure to the sport is the screaming symphony of a Ferrari V12 engine, echoing around the hills and valleys of its native Italian countryside.
Back in April of 1994, Claire Campbell was travelling in Italy with her boyfriend, exploring a country she had wanted to visit since her childhood. The pair planned their journey around one central element – attending the third round of the 1994 Formula 1 world championship, the San Marino Grand Prix.
“We’d specifically gone for the grand prix,” Claire recalls. “I’m a bit of an Italophile and being in Imola, I’d read all about the Tifosi on the hill at the Rivazza, watching the race. So being in the hometown of Ferrari, if you like, made it even better.”
While her boyfriend was by far the bigger Formula 1 fan of the two at the time,…