Now that the May issue of Motor Sport is out, celebrating the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 100th anniversary, I thought I’d take the chance to write about some of the Indy 500’s greatest drivers. Over the next two months I’ll occasionally blog about past superstars who dominated the great race for brief periods of time. I begin this week with Bill Vukovich and Parnelli Jones.

Vukovich started five Indianapolis 500s and won the race twice, in 1953 and ’54, driving a series of Harold Keck’s beautiful Kurtis 500-Offenhausers. Bill dominated the event for four years from 1952-55, but in the ‘52 race he was leading with just 10 laps to go when his steering failed, and he was killed in ‘55 while leading comfortably yet again – an innocent victim of a multi-car accident. In total, Vukovich led 485 of the 676 laps he completed at the Speedway over five races from 1951-55.

Jones won the 500 just once, in 1963, but led five of the seven 500s he started for a total of 492 laps – and never qualified below the first two rows. Parnelli retired from open-cockpit racing after almost winning the 500 a second time in 1967 aboard Andy Granatelli’s STP turbine car, and went on to win the 1970 Trans-Am championship and the Baja 1000 off-road race in 1971-72. The likes of Mario Andretti and Bobby and Al Unser say Parnelli was the best driver they’ve ever seen at Indy, and Colin Chapman famously offered Jones a Formula 1 ride beside Jim Clark. Jones turned Chapman down declaring, “I’m not number two to anybody, Jim Clark included.”

Both Vukovich and Jones were from California, a rural paradise in those days, and they came up through the ranks the hard way about a decade apart. Vukovich started racing in 1938, winning the West Coast Midget championship in 1946-47. Once he finally made it to Indy or Championship cars Vukovich stuck to them, running only at Indianapolis during his final years and building a fearsome reputation as the man to beat at the Speedway.

Parnelli started racing in the early ‘50s at the Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino aboard jalopy stock cars. In 1961-62 he won the IMCA and USAC sprint car titles before going on to success at Indy the following year. That was the race where Parnelli beat Jim Clark in the rear-engined Lotus-Ford’s Indy debut, when there was some wrangling that Jones should have been black-flagged for an oil leak. Parnelli (below) also led the 1964 500, battling with A J Foyt before he was stopped by a pit fire, and then finished second to Clark in ‘65. He dominated with the turbine car in ‘67 before dropping out when a driveshaft bearing broke with just three laps to go.

Vukovich and Jones raced through the height of the great ‘roadster’ era with most of the cars powered by the venerable four-cylinder Offenhauser engine. Frank Kurtis, builder of Vukovich’s cars, was a dominant force at Indianapolis through most of the ‘50s with his svelte torsion bar-suspended cars, but late in that decade and into the early ‘60s he was superseded by more effective roadsters built by George Salih, A J Watson, Quin Epperly, Floyd Trevis, Eddie Kuzma and others. The classic Watson roadster Jones raced from 1961-64 was owned by west coast race promoter J C Agajanian and known as ‘Calhoun’.

Without doubt Vukovich and Jones are among the greatest drivers to race and win at Indianapolis. Over the next two months I’ll write about a few more of the true greats from the Speedway’s epic 100-year history.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

When Dario Franchitti first went to the Indianapolis 500, he tried to approach it like any other motor race. But as he admits during his lunch interview with Simon Taylor in the May issue of Motor Sport, he couldn’t help being affected by ‘The Brickyard’. The size and scale of the place, the buzz surrounding the town through the month of May, how much it mattered to everyone around him: he knew this was special, and for a driver with a rare passion for racing history and an obsession with Jim Clark, Dario couldn’t avoid the magical draw of America’s greatest race.

That it remains in 2011, despite the scars of the split that almost destroyed the sport of Indycars. The ‘500’ was the glue that kept single-seater oval racing intact in an era dominated by NASCAR. The race – the event – was quite simply too big to go down.

This May Indianapolis will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a yearly occasion that fired a nondescript Midwestern city into the consciousness of any true sports fan anywhere in the world. It is a landmark that we at Motor Sport felt compelled to celebrate – which is why we have dedicated a sizeable chunk of the May issue to the wonderful history of the race.

So why should a British magazine get so excited about an event in which 33 drivers only turn left around a four-corner rectangle for 500 miles? Read Robin Miller’s article on his own personal relationship with the Speedway to find out. The determination, strength and humour of the racing spirit is the oxygen that gives life to our magazine, and Robin’s piece is high on it! At the Speedway, it’s so strong you can taste it, as John Cooper, Colin Chapman, Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Dan Wheldon, Franchitti and many others from ‘over here’ found out when they travelled ‘over there’.

Britain’s relationship with the 500 has ebbed and flowed over the century, but it’s always existed. Take the Speedway’s great historian Donald Davidson: you wouldn’t know it speaking to him now, but he’s a Brit. But on his first visit to the Speedway in 1964, he knew he’d found his true home. As the locals found out, no one has more understanding and knowledge of the race, and he was the obvious choice to put a 100 years of racing history into context.

Now, that sounds like the subject of a doorstop-sized book, so how could we distil it into a magazine article? Donald thought long and hard. What he came up with – the greatest, most dramatic finishes in the 500’s history – does so beautifully. Even if you’re an Indy doubter, I’d urge you to read it.

The British theme continues via Ian Wagstaff, who has written a recent book on the subject. We’ve steered clear of the rear-engined revolution of the 1960s because so much has already been said, as any regular reader of Motor Sport will know. No, too obvious for us! So Ian tells the story of the second British invasion of Indianapolis that in its own way changed the shape of the race as much as the pioneering years of the mid-60s.

Add the interview with Dario and another with the Unsers – the first family of the 500 – and I hope you’ll find it does justice to 100 years of incredible speed and action.

Now, I know US oval racing is not everyone’s shot of bourbon. So as usual there is plenty more in the May issue to keep you reading for the month. Nigel Roebuck is typically forthright in his assessment of Formula 1’s recent entanglement in real-world politics, and as usual he puts the Bahrain debacle in context beautifully by reflecting on previous occasions when the sport has found itself on dodgy ethical ground. Then there’s his description of the Cuban Grand Prix – a race at which Juan Manuel Fangio found himself being kidnapped. Writing about it in 2011, it’s hard to imagine it actually took place. Fernando, count yourself lucky…

Nigel also sits down with Stirling Moss to revisit what many consider his greatest race, the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix – yes, another anniversary, this time just a mere half-century ago. We also print an edited version (God, he’d go mad at us for cutting his copy!) of Denis Jenkinson’s original race report for Motor Sport and reproduce some of his beautifully neat and detailed notes from the weekend when Moss beat the ‘Sharknose’ Ferraris.

Alan Henry talks to Ron Dennis about his formative years in team management, in Formula 2 during the early 1970s; Patrick Head recalls the breakthrough years of the Williams FW07; and Tiff Needell opens his personal scrapbooks to show us his collection of racing photos that he snapped from the spectator banks of the 1960s – when his love of the sport took hold.

And if that’s not enough, don’t miss our free supplement* on the Motor Sport Hall of Fame, in association with TAG Heuer, which took place in London during February. It seems like ages ago already. Before we know it, we’ll be heading back to the Roundhouse in 2012 for the next one…

*Available in the UK only

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Jim Hall (below) is happy to hear that there’s so much interest in his Chaparral Can-Am and long-distance sport cars, as well as in the rapid rate of evolution motor racing went through in the 1960s and ’70s as documented in the February edition of Motor Sport. “It was a really interesting time, and I think it’s just one of those things that happens during life or history,” says Hall. “As I look back on it, the way those cars developed during that 10 years or so was really an amazing thing. I’m really proud to have been part of it.”

But when the ground-effect era finally arrived with full force it settled on a Lotus 79-like concept that has remained unchanged over the 30 following years. “What happened was everybody ended up with the same configuration and that’s where the innovation stops a little bit because once everybody’s focused around what works the best it’s hard to jump to something new,” observes Hall. “Once you zero in on what works best it’s damn difficult for anybody to say that there’s a better way to do it.”

Hall’s Chaparral 2K (below, sponsored by Pennzoil) – designed by John Barnard and driven in 1979 by Al Unser and in 1980-81 by Johnny Rutherford – achieved the same effect in Indycar racing. “We kind of copied the Lotus 79 and put together an Indycar with the radiators in the sidepods. The position of the tunnels and everything in that car was similar to the Lotus 79, and after that every Indycar practically up to this time remains the same in essential layout and concept. They’re certainly much more sophisticated in their manufacture and have a lot more performance in a lot of ways, but the configuration is basically the same.”

Does Hall see any possibility for change? “Well, I’m not close enough to the sport these days to be able to say. But it seems like with all types of racing today the rules are written so tightly that there’s no room for what we did with the Chaparrals and what [Colin] Chapman and other guys did in Formula 1. Like I say, it was a certain time in history that came along and now it’s gone. I guess that’s the way life and history works.”

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

This weekend’s Italian Grand Prix marks the 40th anniversary since the death of Jochen Rindt, who was killed at Monza in practice for the 1970 race. Having been that season’s dominant driver for Lotus – first in the 49B, then in the 72 – he came to Monza with 45 points and a 20-point lead over nearest rival Jack Brabham. It would be enough to confirm him as champion two races later when Ferrari’s Jacky Ickx, by then the only man who could overhaul Rindt, finished fourth at Watkins Glen. The three points he scored meant Rindt would remain out of reach and become Formula 1’s first posthumous World Champion.

He was also Austria’s first World Champion, and in his home country he remains feted to this day.

A hugely charismatic figure, Rindt was not, however, universally popular and some of his rivals, in particular, considered him aloof, even arrogant.

Fifteen of the 26 drivers entered for the 1970 Italian GP are still alive and to commemorate a majestic driver, cut down in his prime, we’ve spoken to all but one of them. Here are some of their recollections, with more to follow in the run-up to this weekend’s race at Monza.

Jackie Stewart

GB, Tyrrell

“By the time the race came around a lot of the immediate emotion had somewhat reduced. The day before had been very traumatic. Helen went to the hospital with Nina and that’s never a nice thing for a wife to do, to look after another wife.

“I think I finished second. I can’t remember where I was on the grid [he was fourth]. I went out and did quite a good qualifying after Jochen died. It’s in Winning is not Enough. Tried the March, went back to the Tyrrell, and then the March. As a racing driver, when the visor goes down and the lights go out, you have to get on with it. Driving a car, you are so totally consumed by what you are doing, you’re never allowed to be distracted. In that respect it was maybe it was one of the advantages I had: being able to block things out. I always tried to remove emotion and I was able to do that. I had won the championship the year before. From about halfway through ’68 I suddenly matured mentally and was able to manage everything better in my own head.

“That was a bad year, 1970. Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage were killed, and of course Jochen. It was quite difficult to deal with these things, because it’s not just at the track, and seeing the things I saw. It’s brought back to you the next week because of the funeral, and two months later there’s a memorial service. Monza was one of those circuits where we didn’t have a problem with safety. We’d refused to go to the Nürburgring and that was a big deal. Jochen was part of that with me.

“There’s always emotion involved at the start of the race. I was lucky enough to be able to remove most of it. I can’t remember much about it. To finish second in the March was a good result.”

And the Coke bottle-smashing incident after qualifying?

“I make no excuses for that. I’d been to Jochen. I’d been to him and come back to Nina, who had disappeared with Helen. Then Ken…

“Going back out was the right thing to do. The barrier had been fixed, but I suppose because of what I had seen when I went out I was in tears. But when I had the visor down that was when I did my qualifying time, which was the best lap I had ever done at Monza. I didn’t have a death wish. But as I came back in, my best friend John Lindsay handed me a Coca Cola. I took a drink and I will never forget I had it in my hand and I was so angry, I took the bottle and smashed it against the concrete wall that separated the pits from the track. That was my emotion. But not in the race. That’s what I remember.”

Jackie Oliver

GB, BRM

“I remember that most of us were staying the Hotel de Ville on the edge of the park. I had breakfast with Jochen’s wife and we went to the circuit together. We certainly all knew each other.

“Jochen had certain people he wanted to associate with and others he didn’t. He tended to be very self-centred, which isn’t unusual in a successful racing driver. I wouldn’t count him as a friend. He associated with people, I believe, who were as good as him and then he’d make a judgement on the others and didn’t give them space in his life.

“We raced together in Formula 2 the year before and then again in F1. Colin Chapman, Jochen’s boss at Lotus, saw Jochen as a replacement for Jim Clark, and he was probably right about that.

“It was a very dangerous period for motor racing. Lots of us were getting nailed. The cars were not as safe as they are now. They tended to catch light in a crash. No fuel bags. In that situation, it was a bit like being in the military, I imagine. There was no point in dwelling on it. If you were dwelling on it for too long, you weren’t doing a good job. You were better off doing something else.

“I didn’t dwell on it. I knew there were people dealing with the situation so I shut myself down. A few drivers were able to engage with the death of another driver, perhaps because they needed to immerse themselves. Certainly Jackie Stewart felt he had to be involved because he was pushing to get improved safety standards. But I just went my own way and thought ‘there’s another one of us gone and it will never happen to me.’

“No remorse. No sadness. No tears. As far as I was concerned Jochen was just gone. Looking back it was probably an inappropriate way to behave, but I suppose a number of others were exactly the same.”

Jacky Ickx

BE, Ferrari

“Not winning at Watkins Glen was such a release. How could you beat someone not able to defend his own chances? The fact that Jochen won the World Championship was the most perfect solution. As for me not having won, it doesn’t create any kind of sorrow at all. Now, when I think back, I feel so sad for all those around me – probably more talented than I was, and certainly more dedicated, who didn’t have that extra piece of luck that made you a survivor. That was the great thing about that era – survival.”

Anthony Rowlinson

Anthony Rowlinson is executive editor of The Red Bulletin

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

As my namesake Hannibal Smith said in just about every episode of The A-Team: “I love it when a plan comes together.” The 1980s TV-gold catchphrase, not to mention George Peppard’s cigar-chomping grin, sprang to mind several times as the deadline loomed for the August issue. Why? Because this one made us sweat even more than Jacky Ickx and Mario Andretti last month, and when our cover story plan finally did come together, it was Havanas all round.

Last summer Jim Clark’s Indy 500-winning Lotus 38 returned to these shores and stole the show at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as a static display. Clive Chapman, son of Colin and the boss of Classic Team Lotus, told us about a plan to carry out the most sensitive of restorations to this monumentally important relic of racing history in order for the car to run up the hill in 2010. That was enough for me. I decided there and then that the restored 38 had to be on the cover of Motor Sport ahead of this year’s Festival – and luckily for me, Clive agreed.

Deputy editor Gordon Cruickshank tracked progress at CTL through the winter, paying a visit to Norfolk in January to witness the original Team Lotus ‘boys’ get reacquainted with the old girl. But as winter turned to spring, Clive had bad news. He had doubts that 38 would be ready for us to photograph in time to make the issue. Crikey. Now where did I file that plan B?

But in true Lotus style, Clive gritted his teeth and made a decision. His boys would meet their deadline – and hence help us hit ours – and do whatever it took to get the car ready. He was determined that Jimmy’s Indy winner would grace Motor Sport’s front cover, as we’d all hoped.

We booked one of our favourite snappers, Greg Pajo, lined up a studio local to the team and crossed our fingers. Clive had asked if the shoot could be carried out in the evening, to give the team more time to complete the finishing touches. It was that tight. In the office we pressed on with other pages, nervously waiting for news. Then a message from Greg: the green-with-a-yellow-stripe racer with the odd-looking offset wishbones was being wheeled out of a truck and into the studio. It was gonna be all right.

In the days that followed, Greg delivered his gorgeous images, Gordon’s words were laid out on the page, we put the cover together and the anxiety drained away. Thanks to Clive and everyone at CTL, we had our cover and a cracking story to match. It’s one I’m particularly proud of. When you see the issue, I think you’ll see why.

Don’t miss the chance to see the Lotus 38 and two other Jim Clark classics – the 25 and 49 – at the Lotus Festival at Snetterton on June 20. Motor Sport will be there to join the celebrations. Do come and say hello.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The Lotus name returns to Formula 1 this year. Neither Tony Fernandes nor Mike Gascoyne are pretending this new team has any direct link to Colin Chapman’s great squad, but still the use of the Lotus badge is seen as controversial in some quarters. After all, the legacy is a huge one to live up to and anyone who goes racing under the auspices of “Britain’s Ferrari” (as Johnny Herbert so correctly describes the marque) accepts great responsibility.

We have our own reservations about the use of the name by an all-new squad, but would those most closely associated with Team Lotus feel the same? We asked Paul Fearnley to find out as part of our celebration of Lotus in F1, the centrepiece of the March issue of Motor Sport. The verdict? Well, read the magazine to find out!

As part of the Lotus special, editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck recounts his personal memories of Team Lotus and explains why the team means so much to him. Meanwhile, lucky Andrew Frankel gets behind the wheel of the F1 car that first inspired him: Mario Andretti’s Type 79, the ‘wing’ car that stormed the 1978 World Championship. And Rob Widdows meets Fernandes and Gascoyne to hear about the revival of Lotus in F1.

From a personal point of view, this issue felt like a long time coming. In fact, it seemed as if it would never end! Hopefully that should come across when you read it (in a good way) because there is plenty between the covers.

Highlights include more from the 1970s, as dep ed Gordon Cruickshank witnesses a very cool reunion: Andy Rouse and the British Leyland Jaguar XJC tin-topper, the epitome of that romantic motor racing standard – the glorious failure! Then it’s that man Frankel again as we remember the Tour of Britain, which attracted stars from stage and track – plus the odd Radio 1 DJ…

Finally, I must mention Simon Taylor’s latest ‘Lunch with’ interview. He met March co-founder Robin Herd for what would prove to be an entertaining bout of reminiscence, but in a venue with a twist. You’ll find out what I mean on page 74.

The April issue is already well underway, and so far it’s coming together nicely. In fact, I’d better get back to it! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the March edition and do let us know your thoughts on the return of Lotus to F1.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine