“It was a lot of fun, for us anyway, because those F1 guys really didn’t have a chance,” recalls Watson, the master mechanic whose roadsters ruled Indy in the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. “Their cars just weren’t very good. Not for that place.”
The F1 line-up, which sported biggies such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn and Moss, mustered some hope in qualifying after Luigi Musso captured the pole position at 174.653mph in his Ferrari (by contrast, Rathmann earned the Indianapolis pole at 145.974mph a few weeks before).
Fangio, in the Dean Van Lines roadster driven at Indy by a kid named AJ Foyt, wound up third quickest at 171.400mph. But his next closest ally was Moss, who started 11th in his specially-built V8 Maserati after turning 164.385mph.
Musso gave the Italians something to shout about by trading the lead with Eddie Sachs early on. Starting seventh, Rathmann had been fooled when the flag dropped.
“I thought it was some national flag and they were waving it to celebrate the race and by the time I figured out everybody was racing, I was half a lap behind and that Musso was long gone,” says Rathmann with a chuckle.
Musso took pole, but was ultimately caught by Rathmann
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“But then I caught his ass and tucked him away.”
Even though he drove away to a comfortable win over Bryan and Bob Veith, Rathmann was quick to credit Musso, who had finished sixth, three laps behind after giving way to Hawthorn on lap 27. “He was that guy who stood up in his seat occasionally and didn’t at first wear a seat belt. I knew he was brave but he had to be crazy because that track was so rocky and bumpy. It was banging the hell out of me, I know that.”