Film now showing
Graham Hill wins the 1966
Indianapolis 500 at his first attempt
The Indianapolis 500 in the 1960s
Duration: 3 mins. 8 seconds
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The Indianapolis 500 has long been regarded as one of the world's classic motor racing events and the 1960s marked its Golden Anniversary.
As always, the event captured the imagination like no other with huge crowds arriving at Indianapolis each Memorial Day to witness this great test of man and machine against the clock, with the winning driver claiming one of the most lucrative prizes in sport.
During World War 2, the race had been suspended as all attention was placed on the war effort, but following its return to prominence in the immediate post-war era, the 1960s proved another hugely successful decade. This was the first time that many of the leading drivers from around the world competed at Indy, with some of them, such as Jim Clark and Graham Hill, taking this most coveted of motor racing crowns out of America.
The speed of the cars also increased significantly during the decade, with the winner’s average lap time rising from 135 mph at the end of the 1950s, to more than 163 miles an hour by the early 1970s. This was partly due to the drivers being fitter and better prepared, but mostly due to the technological advances that had been made to the cars -including better aerodynamics and tyres.
Rear-engine revolution
The most significant development was the introduction of rear engined cars, with the first, a Cooper Climax, being driven by Australian, Jack Brabham, in 1961. Although he was not victorious, all the other manufacturers took note of this clever innovation and it wasn’t long before all the leading Indy cars had their engine in the rear.
Amongst the drivers, the most successful of the decade was Texan A.J. Foyt -one of America’s greatest ever race drivers- who won the race in 1961, 1964 and 1967. But the 1960s also saw the emergence of Mario Andretti and Parnelli Jones, amongst others, who were to enjoy success throughout the sport.
The British era
During the mid '60s, it was the British who enjoyed most succes at Indy. In 1963, Scotsman Jim Clark came second in his Lotus-Ford, but won the race in 1965 in a Lotus 38 when he became the first driver ever to have an average lap time throughout the race of more than 150 miles an hour. Clark returned a year later, but this time he was beaten into second place by his great rival, Graham Hill, who won at his first attempt, driving a British made, Lola.
In 1967, Lotus was almost successful again. This time, Parnelli Jones led for more than 170 laps in a revolutionary Lotus 56 gas powered, 4 wheel drive "dream car", but with just three laps to go (about eight miles from the finish), the car broke down and A. J. Foyt passed him in a car he had designed himself.
The Americans were to dominate in the following years. In 1968, Bobby Unser won the first of his three races at Indy, while Mario Andretti (a naturalized American) won the event in 1969. Strangely, for such a talented and devoted driver, this was Andretti’s only Indy success, although, over a hugely successul racing career, he actually started 29 Indianapolis 500 races to make him one of the event's most celebrated competitors ever.
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(c) Universal Motoring History Enterprises
Up to 250,000 people regularly attended
the Indy 500 race during the 1960s
The event has always attracted a huge assortment of spectators and the 1960s was no exception
The start of the 1966 race was marred by a terrible accident which caused mayhem on the track
Despite the carnage, no-one was badly injured and the race was restarted 90 minutes later
Parnelli Jones competed seven times at Indy during the 1960s, but his only victory came in 1963
In 1966, Graham Hill became the first Englishman to win the Indy 500 at this first attempt
In total, Mario Andretti entered the Indy 500 29 times, but his only success came in 1969
The 1960s saw the Indy 500 cement its place as one of the world's leading annual sports events
In 1965, the Lotus 35 (car #82), was the first rear engined car to win at Indy
In 1967, A.J. Foyt became only the fourth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions
During the decade, the coveted Indy 500 trophy was won by eight different drivers
Scotsman Jim Clark waits for the start of the 1965 race with his Lotus team manager, Colin Chapman
Releasing the pre-race balloons has been an Indy tradition for decades
Many of motor racing's greatest drivers of the era
visited Indy's famous "gasoline alley" during the decade
The winning Indy car from 1965 has been fully restored and is now at the Henry Ford museum
The innovative Lotus 56 which almost won in 1967 and is shown above has also been fully restored and put on show