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Motor racing in 4K

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola is a legendary place for every motoring enthusiast. Since 1953, the Emilia-Romagna circuit is the beating heart of a land historically tied to speed and the scene of epic sporting achievements.

“A small Nürburgring, with the same technical and spectacular resources and an ideal track length,” says Drake Enzo Ferrari, founder of the iconic racing team and automotive company and after whom the circuit was named (along with his son Dino) in 1988.

The Autodromo hosted Formula One Grand Prix from 1980 to 2006. After a long break, it resumed operation on November 1, 2020 for the debut of GP dell’Emilia-Romagna, which sanctioned the return of single-seaters on the Imolese asphalt track. With this comeback, the management of Autodromo also decided to entrust the revamping of its video monitoring system to Dahua Technology and DZ Engineering.

“We took the chance from the return of Formula One to deploy and enhance our control and security system, particularly the video, which makes us one of the most technologically advanced racing circuits worldwide,” says Pietro Benvenuti, general manager of the Autodromo Internazionale.

They needed a system that monitors the whole track, empowering the client to handle everything that happens on the track at any time with high-definition technology. To help the client achieve more value, Dahua designed a project tailored for such events with the experience it gained from its partnership with DZ Engineering in both national and international racing tracks.

“In this regard, our proposal consists of a 4K video system with fixed and motorised cameras all along the circuit, connected via Dahua switches to an appropriately-sized network infrastructure to avoid latency, while our customised DSS server manages real-time records and instant playback inside the control room,” explains Diego Schiraldi, area sales manager of Emilia-Romagna, a region of Dahua Technology Italy.

Together with DZ Engineering, Dahua successfully delivered the new CCTV system: 26 fixed cameras with 4K definition and 11 PTZ cameras with 4 MP resolution were installed to cover the entire circuit.

Massimiliano Ghinassi, who is responsible for track services and the director of motor racing events, described his experience using the Dahua system, saying the quality of images and selection of cameras was excellent. The improvement is clear, especially when it comes to racing with cars and motorbikes of the same type where numbers might be difficult to distinguish.

“Zooming, resolutions and frame rates are considerably better and the interaction of different cameras guarantee maximum security in our facility. The resolution is excellent and we can export files in real-time to examine them, throughout and after the races.”

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