The Legendary Races Issue? It’s a pretty subjective thing, what it is that constitutes a legendary race, but for us it’s an event that, through its history, its challenge, its scale, its profile, or even its notoriety, gives it a presence and meaning beyond just the finite world that you, us and our sport of choice inhabit.
You don’t have to be a motorsports fan to have heard of the Indianapolis 500, Monaco Grand Prix, or 24 Hours of Le Mans. Maybe the Isle of Man TT, too. Whether a non-motorsports fan knows Josef Newgarden won Indy, or that the first Ferrari factory program at Le Mans in 50 years took the victory in the centenary running of the French enduro, well, that’s perhaps more of a stretch…
Thing is, for Newgarden, or Ferrari AF Corse, or even for TT serial winner Peter Hickman, the fact that their event somehow resonates beyond the world of racing gives it elevated meaning, and winning, while not the end of a racing journey, is still some kind of end in itself.
As Newgarden told RACER after winning the 107th Indianapolis 500 – his 12th start in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” – “You get a weight lifted. Everybody just changes their tone as soon as something like this happens.”
For a driver such as Max Verstappen, who won 15 Formula 1 grands prix in 2022 with Red Bull Racing, and had already stood on the top step of the podium eight times in ’23, including a second Monaco GP win, as this issue of RACER went to press – make that nine now – the weight lifted a long time ago, but the desire to win remains just as strong.
No doubt, that’s exactly the case for Josef Newgarden. A first Indy win is a box ticked, a mission accomplished, but two, three, or the four 500 wins earned by just four drivers are rarefied air and the stuff of legend from a legendary race. Will the Team Penske driver be as motivated and focused come next year’s 108th running? You bet he will.
You can read our exclusive interview with 2023 Indy 500 winner Newgarden in RACER No. 323, which is mailing to subscribers right now, as well as enjoy some fascinating insight on Ferrari’s winning 24 Hours of Le Mans return and on the continuing dominance of Verstappen and Red Bull Racing in F1.
The F1 theme continues with a look at the art and science of a grand prix start, and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it choreography of a pit stop. And over in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, we check in with Paul Miller Racing as it targets a second title in the close-fought GTD class.
And there’s more, with rising rally star Oliver Solberg taking us inside his WRC journey and, switching to two wheels, Isle of Man TT racer Peter Hickman explaining the difference between calculated risk and utter craziness.
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