To celebrate the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 this year, we will profile all the British, and British born drivers who have taken on the speedway since 1911, looking at their time at IMS, results and in some cases interviews with some of the drivers. In Part Six we look at the first British winner, a driver who was so close to the milk and 'The Hawk'.
Dario Resta
Dario Resta, with riding mechanic Fred McCarthy at the 1916 Indy '500', well 300 (Indycar Media)
The first British winner Dario Resta, was born in Livorno, Italy. At the age of two, his family moved to London. His first racing experiences came in his twenties when he competed at Brooklands, then at Grand Prix events around Europe. In 1915, Dario moved to the US, taking part in a number of races before making his début at IMS in May. Driving a Peugeot, for whom he was an employee. Resta would eventually finish second behind Ralph DePalma, a fellow Italian born racer). But it was the following year which Dario Resta really established himself in the race, after growing his reputation with victories all over the US. For 1916, the race was reduced to 300 miles, after Carl Fisher reduced the number of laps as he thought that is what the fans wanted. He was wrong and the full complement of 200 laps returned after the break for the war. Resta was dominate after starting on the second row, he look the lead after 60 miles and by 75 miles, lapped the whole field. It turned out to be a comfortable victory, and the first for a Brit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, toying with the rest of the field as they drew towards the closing laps. His prize money for winning the race, $12,000.
 | The race would not return until 1919 after the war, and it would be 1923 before Resta would take to the track, still racing with Peugeot put together by Packard. But his time away had caught up with him, he wasn't as quick and after starting in third, was forced out of the race with a blown head gasket on lap 87 finishing in 14th place out of 24 starters. Resta would continue to race around the US but a return to Brooklands to attempt to set a new land speed record, driving a Sunbeam, he crashed, killing him instantly. The Desert News reported the death of 'One of the greatest drivers' |
Sir Jackie Stewart
Only two starts at the Speedway for a legend of Formula One, but what an impact he made. A rookie in 1966, Stewart was 10 laps away from winning the race in his first attempt until he had a problem with his oil pressure and had to return to the pits. Upon asking why didn't he go back out and complete the race, he responded that he had his owners machinery to protect. Stewart would be award the Rookie of the Year Honours, even with Graham Hill winning the race. Stewart started the race in 15th position and throughout the race would go on to lead 40 laps before his car failed on him.
He returned in 1967 and had a struggle to get into the race driving a Mecom Lola, being bumped out on the first weekend then eventually making his way back in to qualify in the 29th position. The race itself did not fair too much better for Stewart, his engine let go on lap 168, this would be his last run at the 500, despite being on the card to run a steam car for inventor Bill Lear.
Here's an interesting side note, Stewart once assisted in making an arrest while riding with an Indianapolis policeman.
That wasn't the end of his connection to IMS, he became the ABC Wide World of Sports commentator in the 70s and 80s as well as driving the pace car in 1979.
He returned in 1967 and had a struggle to get into the race driving a Mecom Lola, being bumped out on the first weekend then eventually making his way back in to qualify in the 29th position. The race itself did not fair too much better for Stewart, his engine let go on lap 168, this would be his last run at the 500, despite being on the card to run a steam car for inventor Bill Lear.
Here's an interesting side note, Stewart once assisted in making an arrest while riding with an Indianapolis policeman.
That wasn't the end of his connection to IMS, he became the ABC Wide World of Sports commentator in the 70s and 80s as well as driving the pace car in 1979.
Jack Hawksworth
Hawksworth on the outside of Saavedra in 2015 (J.Haines)
I had the chance to sit down in Jack's garage during practice for the 500 to talk about his career leading up to this years 500 and his time, and thoughts about the Indinapolis Motor Speedway
Previous Chapters in our feature of 'A British 500'
Part One - Hughes, Hill & Taylor
Part Two - Eldridge, Crawford & Jakes
Part Three - Duff, Wilson & Jakes
Part Four - Moss, Ward & Legge
Part Five - Jenkins, Mansell & Lloyd
Bump Day Special
Part One - Hughes, Hill & Taylor
Part Two - Eldridge, Crawford & Jakes
Part Three - Duff, Wilson & Jakes
Part Four - Moss, Ward & Legge
Part Five - Jenkins, Mansell & Lloyd
Bump Day Special
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