Have you ever ever questioned what would occur if America’s greatest IndyCar drivers challenged Europe’s high Formulation 1 expertise to a duel? Consider it or not, that really occurred again within the Nineteen Fifties, and it was known as the Race of Two Worlds.
The occasion, hosted on the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza, got here with an enormous prize purse for the final word winner and the bragging rights to match — however as I am certain you may think about, tensions flared proper from the very begin.
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The Race of Two Worlds: An Italian Grand Prix idea… gone unsuitable
The story of the Race of Two Worlds begins with an unloved renovation at Monza.
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza was the third purpose-built race observe in motorsport historical past, and it was opened in 1922 with the concept it might be the right approach for Italian racing expertise to start taking on the world. That unique structure was 6.2 miles (or 10 kilometers) in size, and it was composed of two distinct options: a 3.4-mile street course and a 2.79-mile banked oval observe. Organizers might host a race on both loop, or they might mix each loops to create a street course that featured a piece of excessive banking.
Sadly, the banking turned out to be extraordinarily harmful. No less than one driver was killed whereas racing at Monza nearly yearly, and when three outstanding racers had been killed in 1933, observe organizers determined to scrap the banked part. It was simply too harmful. And after they set to work renovating Monza in 1938, they really utterly destroyed the banking.
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It wasn’t till 1955 that Monza’s organizers began to marvel in the event that they hadn’t been a little bit hasty in tearing down the oval; the delivery of Formulation 1 and the fast developments in know-how after World Warfare II inspired the observe’s stewards to reconstruct the banking to be used within the Italian Grand Prix.
However as it will end up… F1 drivers hated the banking.
For one factor, F1 automobiles merely weren’t designed to deal with the centrifugal forces exerted by driving on a banked floor. Suspension-wise, Grand Prix automobiles had been constructed to be low to the bottom; racing on a banked oval pushed automobiles nearer to the asphalt, which meant the underside of the physique would scrape alongside the banking until crew members stiffened the suspension to forestall it. However stiffer suspension was assured to make for a bumpy, uncomfortable trip round the remainder of Monza.
The tires of the period weren’t geared up for that form of loading, both. Over on the Indianapolis 500, tire suppliers like Firestone had a long time of expertise below their belt to accommodate oval racing, however that was a brand-new idea to F1’s slew of tire suppliers at the moment: Dunlop, Pirelli, and Englebert. There was a really affordable concern up and down the grid {that a} tire might explode on that banked part and declare one other life.
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Juan Manuel Fangio gained the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, adopted by Stirling Moss in 1956. Come 1957, the drivers had managed to efficiently protest the banking off the F1 schedule.
The concept of as soon as once more abandoning the banking after having spent tens of millions reviving it didn’t enchantment to the oldsters at Monza. As a substitute, they got here up with an audacious advertising and marketing concept: let’s invite the very best drivers from the Indianapolis 500 over to Monza to problem the Formulation 1 area in a “Race of Two Worlds.”
The 1957 Race of Two Worlds (Picture Credit score: IMS Picture)
“Cheese champions” vs. “uncouth scrappers”
American journalist Robert Daley traveled with the Formulation 1 circus for a number of years, and, in his 1961 ebook Vehicles at Pace, he makes a case that the Race of Two Worlds truly created a rivalry between F1 and IndyCar that did not exist earlier than.
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It is value remembering that, whereas there could not have been a particular rivalry between the American and European racing scenes at this level, there have been positively important variations within the respective approaches towards racing. In America, the place racing was primarily executed on oval tracks, there was a desire towards energy and pace over all else. In Europe, with its twisty road-based race circuits, lighter and extra agile automobiles had the higher hand, even when they did not produce tons of horsepower. European drivers noticed the 4 corners at Indianapolis and wrote your complete race off as being simple, although F1 skills like Alberto Ascari tried and did not make an impression on the 500. American drivers noticed the small, underpowered European automobiles as being simple to drive, although they usually featured extra mechanical complexity than an American automobile.
So when the Individuals turned up calling the European drivers “cheese champions” — an insult levied at a gaggle of males the Individuals noticed as doing nothing however consuming cheese and consuming wine — the Europeans received a little bit defensive.
From the attitude of Europeans, Indy drivers, Daley writes, “are scrappers, males who’ve fought their approach up from nothing to the purpose the place a whole nation watches them for a couple of hours in the future a 12 months — and can have nothing to do with them the remainder of the time, relating to them as reckless, uncouth, soiled.”
However for all the head-butting, 1957’s large race would nearly fail to occur.
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The European boycott jeopardizes all the things
For as a lot as they liked the concept of the Race of Two Worlds, the organizers at Monza knew it will require an entire lot of cash to allow it to go off with out a hitch. To get the Individuals abroad, they knew they’d need to pay for journey. To get Europeans to participate, they knew they’d want to supply a prize value racing for.
The inherent variations between the American and European automobiles, although, meant that the race would must be run in accordance with American requirements. Within the Nineteen Fifties, Indy automobiles solely featured two gears and wanted to be push-started, so organizers agreed to host the race with a rolling begin. That flew within the face of the standing begins that Grand Prix drivers had been used to. American drivers raced counterclockwise, so Monza would host its race counterclockwise. And engine limits had been decided primarily based on the omnipresent 4.2-liter Offenhausers utilized by Indy drivers, although the most important Grand Prix automobile engine was 2.5 liters.
It was clear to the European drivers that the principles weren’t of their favor. So, with the Individuals already on the bottom in Italy forward of the June twenty ninth occasion, they refused to race!
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They fashioned the Worldwide Skilled Drivers’ Union with a purpose to current a united entrance, and the Grand Prix area declined in unison to participate. In moments, the entire prospect of the race regarded set to collapse, and the American drivers had their impression of European racers — specifically, that they had been hen and could not deal with the extraordinary fashion of American racing — confirmed. Solely Maserati deigned to enter a automobile for its driver Jean Behra, whereas a privateer named Mario Borniggia entered his personal Ferrari.
A powerful contingent of Individuals had already flown to Italy by this level — Tony Bettenhausen, Eddie Sachs, Troy Ruttman, Jim Rathmann, Johnnie Parsons, Jimmy Bryan, Bob Veith, Pat O’Connor, Paul Russo, and Andy Linden — and it regarded like they’d have a straightforward cruise to the checkered flag.
For a second, not less than.
The organizers of the Race of Two Worlds had managed to safe monetary backing from a slew of oil corporations, which meant that the prize for victory was a whopping $35,000 — or, over $400,000 at this time when adjusted for inflation.
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Whereas European drivers had been usually contracted to their race groups, that means they had been paid a wage and assured a reduce of the entry and prize purses, there have been no different races on the continent that provided that a lot cash for successful.
That caught the eye of a Scottish race crew known as Ecurie Ecosse. Now, Ecurie Ecosse did not compete in Formulation 1, nevertheless it had simply gained the 24 Hours of Le Mans the week prior with its Jaguar D-Sort sports activities automobiles, and since the Race of Two Worlds rules solely specified engine displacement and never automobile kind, it was completely authorized to enter these automobiles. So, Ecurie Ecosse entered three of its personal racers to problem for victory. That they had a a lot decrease high pace than the Indy automobiles, however as a result of the race was run over the course of three shorter heats, they felt they’d have a fairly good likelihood of not less than raking in some spectacular prize cash. If the Grand Prix drivers would boycott, the Jaguars would take advantage of it.
1957: IndyCar drivers dominate at Monza
As anticipated, the Indy drivers dominated at Monza throughout qualifying. Tony Bettenhausen, who would grow to be a two-time champion in American open-wheel racing, snagged pole place with a median pace of simply over 177 mph, which meant he lapped the observe in simply 53.7 seconds. For comparability, driver Jack Fairman was the very best Jaguar qualifier, and he might solely handle a lap time of 59.8 seconds. Mario Borniggia withdrew his privateer Ferrari with out turning a lap after seeing what the American automobiles might do; Maserati withdrew as nicely when driver Jean Behra might solely handle a time of 1:03.2 in a Formulation 1 machine; it would not look good to have an F1 automobile outpaced by each Indy machines and sports activities automobiles.
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In accordance with Robert Daley, the beginning of the 1957 Race of Two Worlds introduced with it an entire lot of laughter from the European contingent. As a result of the Indy automobiles solely had two gears, it took them longer to climb to their full pace, so on the conclusion of the primary lap of the primary warmth, one of many Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars truly led the sector. Nonetheless, by the tip of the occasion, the Indy machines had been clearly the category of the sector.
Jimmy Bryan would win the 1957 Race of Two Worlds driving his Indy 500 race automobile (Picture Credit score: Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
American Jimmy Bryan introduced dwelling the $35,000 prize as the one driver to finish all 189 laps over the course of all three heats — however the three Jaguars completed fourth, fifth, and sixth and introduced dwelling a significantly spectacular paycheck of their very own.
A problem in America that Juan Manuel Fangio could not refuse
There was one other main affect, too: Juan Manuel Fangio determined to strive his hand on the 1958 Indianapolis 500.
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When Fangio joined the European contingent’s boycott of the Race of Two Worlds, American writer turned crew proprietor Floyd Clymer boldly claimed to the media that Fangio could not be thought-about a “true” World Champion if he did not strive his hand on the Indianapolis 500. In reality, he made a really public wager: If Fangio handed the rookie check, he’d give Fangio $500. If Fangio certified within the 33-car area, he’d give Fangio $1,000. If Fangio completed the five hundred greater than fifth whereas driving an American automobile, he’d give Fangio $2,500. If Fangio might end the five hundred greater than fifth whereas driving a overseas automobile, he’d give Fangio $5,000.
Fangio accepted. He handed the rookie check and took on a couple of follow classes, however he finally withdrew from competitors earlier than qualifying. He donated the $500 he’d earned from Clymer to a neighborhood most cancers charity, then flew dwelling to Europe.
F1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio tried his hand on the 1958 Indianapolis 500 after a problem he acquired throughout the 1957 Race of Two Worlds (Picture Credit score: Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1958: Formulation 1 lastly comes out to play
The inaugural Race of Two Worlds was profitable sufficient that the oldsters at Monza scheduled a second working in June of 1958 — and this time, the Formulation 1 area was able to compete.
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It was the prize purse that modified their minds. A very top-notch racer in Europe might solely anticipate to make $35,000 over the course of a full season, however Jimmy Bryan gained that a lot for successful a single race — and the Jaguars that had completed fourth, fifth, and sixth had introduced dwelling loads of cash, too. And with the same purse on the road for 1958, F1 was able to play.
Ten Individuals had been shipped over instantly following the 1958 Indy 500: defending Race of Two Worlds and reigning Indy 500 winner Jimmy Bryan, Rodger Ward, Jimmy Reece, Don Freeland, Ray Crawford, A. J. Foyt, Johnny Thompson, Ruttman, Rathmann, and Veith. However this time, there have been loads of Grand Prix drivers readily available to enter the fray.
In reality, two of them opted to compete in an Indy automobile: Juan Manuel Fangio and Maurice Trintignant each raced Kuzma-Offenhausers entered by totally different groups.
On the Grand Prix entrance, two entries got here from Scuderia Ferrari, however the problem of the race meant these two automobiles had been shared between three drivers: Luigi Musso, Phil Hill, and Mike Hawthorn. An Indianapolis-spec Ferrari was entered by Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Workforce for Harry Schell, whereas Stirling Moss entered a custom-built open-wheel Maserati. Ecurie Ecosse, too, got here with two Jaguar D-Sorts and one {custom} Lister-Jaguar.
Scuderia Ferrari driver Luigi Musso was considered one of only a handful of Grand Prix racers to enter the 1958 Race of Two Worlds (Picture Credit score: Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1958-06-29_500_Miglia_Monza_Ferrari_412_Musso.jpg)
As soon as once more, tensions between the Indy drivers and the Grand Prix drivers simmered away, although three of the 9 non-Indy racers had been truly American! Masten Gregory, Phil Hill, and Harry Schell all raced below American licenses, although they’d opted to compete abroad as a substitute of at dwelling. They usually weren’t afraid to rib each other.
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On race day, Daley says that Gregory pulled Jimmy Bryan to the facet and introduced, “I am going to be careful for you in my mirror, Jim, and allow you to go any time. The place do you wish to go, excessive or low?”
“Masten,” Bryan replied, “it do not make a rattling to me what you do. I am going to go by you so quick it will not make any distinction in any respect.”
Chaos reigned proper from the beginning. Rumor had it that Fangio had been handsomely paid by the organizers to compete within the Kuzma-Offenhauser as a part of a ploy to get extra followers within the stands. However each time he lined up on the grid for one of many three heats, he claimed some mysterious mechanical fault had plagued him, and he finally solely contested three laps.
But once more, an American — Jim Rathmann — got here out on high. Solely the Ferrari shared by Phil Hill, Luigi Musso, and Mike Hawthorn managed to final the length of the race.
Jim Rathmann, final winner of the 1958 Race of Two Worlds, poses forward of the 1958 Indianapolis 500 (Picture Credit score: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum)
The racing stopped, the rivalries continued
Sadly, that may be it for the Race of Two Worlds. The prospect of seeing Indy automobiles problem Formulation 1 machines had failed to attract sufficient of a crowd for Monza’s organizers to make a revenue off the occasion. Monza tried to re-implement the banked oval as a part of its F1 structure for the Italian Grand Prix in 1960 and 1961, however the critiques remained, and the banking was deserted.
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Within the years that adopted, Formulation 1 and IndyCar have remained separated by their automobiles, circuits, rules, and racing philosophies. Whereas the experiment did not bridge these sequence commercially and culturally, there’s something race followers can agree on this weekend: that whether or not you are cheering in your “cheese champions” in Monza or your “uncouth scrappers” at Laguna Seca, there’s at all times a rival sequence you may root towards, identical to in generations previous.
