Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500, often just called the Indy 500, is held since 30 May 1911, is one of the oldest and most traditional circuit racing car race in the world (the oldest race that is not played today, the Targa Florio, the was first staged in 1906). It is since 1996 the highlight of the racing calendar of the IndyCar Series, or until 1995, the former Indy Car World Series. It is well over 400,000 spectators on site, the world's largest annual one-day sporting event and is considered one of the Grand Slam race.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was in 1909 the first purpose-built for car racing track in the United States. It is located in the Indianapolis Speedway fully enclosed city in the U.S. state of Indiana, has the shape of an oval and consists of four 9 ° 12 ' inflated banked curves that measure from corner entry to corner exit each 400 feet. The section has a total length of 2.5 miles.

The surface originally consisted of gravel and tar. After the route was, however, badly damaged in the opening race, she received a new coating of over three million bricks, which earned her the nickname " The Brickyard " in the fall of 1909. 1936 one began so on parts of the track to asphalt and by 1941 the entire route was almost paved, only the largest part of the start / finish line was still unpaved. In the fall of 1961, finally, the entire route was paved, with the exception of the 1 yard ( 91.44 cm) wide start / finish stroke. However, most of the tiles are still in place under the asphalt.

Race and History

The race distance is exactly 200 laps, 500 miles or 804.5 kilometers. In a today's top speed of over 300 km / h under green flag racing and a period of usually about three hours of this race is, among other Super Speedway events the highest burden for drivers and stuff.

Be achieved in a race where speed limits to 380 km / h, it depends on a very precise preparation and attitude of the race car. For example, lost Emerson Fittipaldi few years ago this race because he got mounted a rear tire during a pit stop, the air pressure of 0.2 bar was too low - the tire overheated, the road holding his car was getting worse, Fittipaldi was not able to to keep the pace as the front runner and fell back.

On 30 May 1911, the first 500-mile race at Indianapolis was discharged. The winner was Ray Harroun Marmon Wasp on a, the 6 hours, 42 minutes and 11 seconds required for the 500 miles. This corresponded to an average speed of 72.602 miles per hour ( 116.89 km / h ). The race, in the U.S. a Motorsport euphoria and pulled the construction of many other Speedway or Super Speedway routes to be.

Famous is the Indianapolis 500 is missing, mainly due to a variety of unique facets that other car racing. So the winner drinks, for example, since 1936 a swig from a bottle of milk, and his face is immortalized in the BorgWarner Cup.

Many winners kissing after the race and the finish line, the so-called "Yard of Bricks ".

Other features include a flying start in triple - formation, which is also known as Indianapolis Start, and a high number of overtaking maneuvers. Originally, the form of the launch was a temporary solution, because the cars have a hard drive off from the state. You can see the fact that after the pit stops Mechanics helped push.

Instead of a national anthem, the " unofficial anthem " of Indiana Back Home Again is played or sung in Indiana since 1946, before the race. Are also known to thousands of balloons ascend into heaven before the race.

A. J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Al Unser ( 1970, 1971, 1978, 1987) and Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) have won the Indianapolis 500 four times.

Other famous winners are Mario Andretti (1969 ), Emerson Fittipaldi (1989 and 1993), Al Unser Jr. (1992 and 1994), Jacques Villeneuve (1995) and Juan Pablo Montoya ( 2000).

Even Europeans wrote here motorsports history, the most successful is Dario Franchitti with three victories (2007, 2010, 2012 ), Arie Luyendyk and Dan Wheldon brought each with 2 victories. Also, the Formula 1 world champion Jim Clark ( 1965) and Graham Hill ( 1966) were able to enter victories.

The fastest race ended 2013 Tony Kanaan with an average speed of 187.433 mph ( 301.645 km / h ) as the winner.

Formula 1 race

From 1950 to 1960 was one of the race of the Formula 1 World Championship.

Qualification

The current system of qualifications for the Indy 500 is unique compared to other automobile race extremely complicated, which is especially justified by the limited number of launch sites. Each driver has a choice to four contiguous rounds, which corresponds to a total distance of ten miles. Over this distance, the average speed is determined that ultimately decides on the starting grid.

On the first day of the qualifying session the first eleven places will be determined only on the grid. To this end, each driver has three qualifying attempts, one of which the last one. On the second and third day, the corresponding procedure for places 12 to 22 or 23 as a driver making up 33 So who is faster on the previous day, starts anyway behind this. On the fourth day, the so-called "Bump Day", another driver may try to qualify for the race. For this, they need to be faster than a driver who has qualified in one of the days before. Only now then it flies from the field and all of the following on her back.

This number applies to the driver; the qualification as such but for the team, so that when a change of driver, the vehicle is placed at the end of the field.

All winners of the Indy 500

Performances in the context of program

On 29 May 2011, the American Tanner Foust accelerated the American pickup prototypes SCORE using a 30 meter high ramp to 170 km / h and hit a jump and flew in for about 4 seconds 101 meters. He set a new world record in the car long jump. Was sponsored the event by Hot Wheels.

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