The Greatest Event in All of Motorsports?

[SUfan21]

With three of the world's most storied, important, and exciting events all being run on the same day this coming Sunday, alot of talk has been made about which of the three events (Indy 500, Coke 600, GP of Monaco). This sort of got me thinking, out of all the big events that each sanctioning body has to offer...where do they all rank in importance and prestige? Lets find out.

This is an admittedly uncomprohensive list of all the "crown jewel" events that each of the big racing series around the world have to offer. Rank these in order of importance/prestige/excitement:

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Daytona 500 @ Daytona (Biggest NASCAR Event)
Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte
Brickyard 400 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Southern 500 @ Darlington
Aarons 499 @ Talladega
Irwin Tools Night Race @ Bristol

Formula 1
Grand Prix of Monaco @ Circuit de Monaco (Biggest F1 Event)
Italian Grand Prix @ Monza
Belgian Grand Prix @ Spa
British Grand Prix @ Silverstone
Brazilian Grand Prix @ Interlagos

IndyCar
Indianapolis 500 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Biggest IndyCar Event)
Grand Prix of Long Beach @ Long Beach GP Circuit
IZOD IndyCar World Championship @ Auto Club

WEC
24 Hours of LeMans @ Circuit de la Sarthe (Biggest WEC Event)
12 Hours of Sebring @ Sebring
6 Hours of Spa @ Spa

Grand-Am
24 Hours of Daytona @ Daytona (Biggest Grand-Am Event)
Sahlen's 6 Hours of the Glen @ Watkins Glen
Super Weekend at the Brickyard @ Indianapolis

V8 Supercars
Bathurst 1000 @ Mt. Panorama Circuit (Biggest V8 Supercars Event)
Clipsal 500 @ Adelaide
Gold Coast 600 @ Surfers Paradise

Super GT
1000 KM of Suzuka (Biggest Super GT Event)

NHRA
US Nationals @ ORP (Biggest NHRA Event)

Other Special Events
24 Hours of the Nurburgring @ Nurburgring
Grand Prix of Macau @ Macau GP Circuit
Petit Le Mans @ Road Atlanta
Rally Finland @ Rally Finland Track (Biggest WRC Event)
Knoxville Nationals @ Knoxville Raceway

 

[SUfan21]

My Rankings:

1. Indianapolis 500
2. Grand Prix of Monaco
3. Daytona 500
4. 24 Hours of Le Mans
5. Brickyard 400
6. 24 Hours of Daytona
7. Bathurst 1000
8. Belgian Grand Prix
9. Coca-Cola 600
10. 12 Hours of Sebring
11. Italian Grand Prix
12. Southern 500
13. 6 Hours of Spa
14. Brazilian Grand Prix
15. Rally Finland
16. Irwin Tools Night Race
17. Izod IndyCar World Championship Race
18. Aarons 499
19. British Grand Prix
20. Sahlen's 6 Hours of the Glen
21. Gold Coast 600
22. Grand Prix of Long Beach
23. 1000 KM of Suzuka
24. US Nationals
25. Petit Le Mans
26. 24 Hours of Nurburgring
27. Grand Prix of Macau
28. Knoxville Nationals
29. Clipsal 500
30. Super Weekend at the Brickyard Grand-Am Race

 

[Ardius]

That list features a lot US races that I know little about, so I'll just make a list I from ones I know:

1. Monaco Grand Prix - because its easily the most famous but also because its the most intense street track in the whole world with the fastest cars going around it.
2. Le Mans 24 Hours - again because its the most famous only second to Monaco.
3. Indy 500
4. Monte Carlo Rally
5. Nurburgring 24 Hours

After that the list gets subjective. But near the top 10 would have to be:
Bathurst 1000, Canadian GP, Brazilian GP, Belgian GP, Daytona 24 Hours, Grand Prix of Macau.

Anything else I don't consider to be "greatest". Series like SuperGT don't really show up on the radar due to a severe lack of coverage. I can't comment on NASCAR.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

That list features a lot US races that I know little about

Yeah, I think there is perhaps a bit too much emphasis on American races here. To me, some of the events listed are just rounds of the NASCAR championship, with little to distinguish them from the other rounds, and so failing the definition of a "great event". The net effect is that the list might as well have included the World Touring Car race at the Slovakiaring or V8 Supercars at Hidden Valley.

 

[peter_vod69]

That list features a lot US races that I know little about, so I'll just make a list I from ones I know:

1. Monaco Grand Prix - because its easily the most famous but also because its the most intense street track in the whole world with the fastest cars going around it.
2. Le Mans 24 Hours - again because its the most famous only second to Monaco.
3. Indy 500
4. Monte Carlo Rally
5. Nurburgring 24 Hours

After that the list gets subjective. But near the top 10 would have to be:
Bathurst 1000, Canadian GP, Brazilian GP, Belgian GP, Daytona 24 Hours, Grand Prix of Macau.

Anything else I don't consider to be "greatest". Series like SuperGT don't really show up on the radar due to a severe lack of coverage. I can't comment on NASCAR.

I'd agree with your top five, but I'd put the Le Mans 24hr at the top. I'd also say that, as harsh as it sounds, NASCAR doesn't really matter to the rest of the world. It is a distinctly North American twist on motorsport, and I'd say that its marketability to casual motorsport fans outside of the USA is severely limited. I'd also point out that besides the Indianapolis 500, the Indy series doesn't really matter to the rest of the world either.

However, I have become increasingly interested in NASCAR racing as we get coverage here these days and the racing has been fairly good, and the cars themselves are great fun to drive on GT5. And what little I've seen of the current Indy series has been entertaining, weird-looking cars aside.

 

[LancerEvo7]

Indy 500
Monaco Grand Prix
Macau Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Nurburgring
24 Hours of Daytona
Daytona 500
Rally Finland
Petit Le Mans

In no particular order.

 

[GTPorsche]

There's only 3 major NASCAR events.

They are the Daytona 500, Coke 600, and the Brickyard 400.

 

[Sam48]

1. Indy 500
2. Monaco Grand Prix
3. 24 Hours of Lemans
4. British Grand Prix
5. The Rolex 24 at Daytona
6. Daytona 500
7. Bathurst 1000

 

[Spacegoat]

1. 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2. Grand Prix of Monaco.
3. Indy 500.
4. Daytona 500.
5. 24 Hours of the Nurburgring.
6. Bathurst 1000.

 

[tribolik]

1. 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2. Grand Prix of Monaco.
3. Bathurst 1000.
4. 24 Hours of the Nurburgring.
5. Belgian Grand Prix
6. Brazilian Grand Prix
7. Clipsal 500

 

[Earth]

Well, it's really hard to say with the prestige of the races changing often.

Up until 1996 the Indianapolis 500 was the truly "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing", for many reasons.

First of all, its by far the oldest.

1911 - Indianapolis 500 (95 races)
1923 - 24 Hours of LeMans (79 races)
1929 - Monaco Grand Prix (69 races)

The next great thing about Indinapolis is the track. The fact that after 101 years its still the exact same track with only a different surface, while LeMans and Monaco have very different layouts from 50 years ago Indianapolis has had the same layout for 101 years. Le Mans has its layout altered almost every year which hurt's it's history IMO. And if you ask Indianapolis 500 master A.J. Foyt about Le Mans he'll call it "a little 'ol couintry road" after dominating the race in his only appearnce.

Then there is the tradition behind the Indianapolis 500. It's the only race in the world I know of where your qualifying time is a 4 lap average, not one single lap. It's the only major race I know of that has a 3 wide rolling start. LeMans use to have a unique start where the drivers ran to the cars, but that was abandoned due to safety concerns.

The Indianapolis 500 got so big that in the 1960s it actually became a part of the Formula 1 Championship. Drivers could score points toward the F1 championship by competing in the race. Thats when F1 greats like Phil Hill and Jim Clark came to the speedway

Anyways, those three races are called the Triple Crown of motorsport for a reasons. Every other race runs second to them.


At the moment I rank them as follows

1. Monaco Grand Prix
2. 24 Hours of Le Mans
3. Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis is on it's way back but its not quite there. In it's glory days it had 5-6 different engine manufacturers and 5-6 chassis. Its nothing close to that today. LeMans isn't quite as good as it use to be either with only 1 or two big manufacturers contesting the race for the ovearll win every year. The race needs 3 big time manufacturers in LMP1 and at least two full manufacturer supported GT cars to challenge Monaco's top spot.

 

[Tesla]

Well, it's really hard to say with the prestige of the races changing often.

Up until 1996 the Indianapolis 500 was the truly "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing", for many reasons.

First of all, its by far the oldest.

1911 - Indianapolis 500 (95 races)
1923 - 24 Hours of LeMans (79 races)
1929 - Monaco Grand Prix (69 races)

The next great thing about Indinapolis is the track. The fact that after 101 years its still the exact same track with only a different surface, while LeMans and Monaco have very different layouts from 50 years ago Indianapolis has had the same layout for 101 years. Le Mans has its layout altered almost every year which hurt's it's history IMO. And if you ask Indianapolis 500 master A.J. Foyt about Le Mans he'll call it "a little 'ol couintry road" after dominating the race in his only appearnce.

It's a little hard to change the layout of something with only four left handers.

 

[Prince.M5]

My list, in order.

• Grand Prix of Monaco
  
• 24 Hours of LeMans
  
• 24 Hours of Nurburgring
  
• Daytona 500
  
• Indy 500
  
• Bathurst 1000
  
• Gold Coast 600

 

[Earth]

It's a little hard to change the layout of something with only four left handers.

And that's the beauty of it. Why should a circuit be changed? Thats one of the things I've always disliked about road racing, the fact the courses are almost always being changed. Alot of it is for more safety, which I can understand, but in the case of tracks like Hockenheim they get butchered for the sake of "better viewing" which is total garbage.

If you look at the wikipedia page of the Le Mans track you'll see that the lap record is a 3'19 from 2010. How can that be when cars were circling the track easily in under 3'15 in the 80s? Because the layout has changed, and sadly it changes almost every year. So nobody has any idea how fast today's cars would lap the circuit compared to older cars, only guess work. Monaco has had it's changes too

LeMans track changes over the years

On the other hand the lap record at the Indianpolis Motorspeedway is 237.498 mph in 1996, a lap record that's truly faster then any before it and will stand until it is truly beaten, it won't be wiped out by any changes in the track because there never will be any.

Anyways, as I have said, It's the Indianapolis 500, Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 hours, then theres everyone else. These three stand head and shoulders above them all on an international scale, where any fan or driver worth a salt would care for and appreciate. All other races are domestic affairs with nowhere near the international presence and prestige of the Triple Crown.

David Letterman talks about the prestige of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500

 

[Jahgee]

Gonna get some hate, but here it goes

1. Indianapolis 500
2. Monaco Grand Prix
3. 24 Hours of Le Mans
4. Daytona 500
5. Bathurst 1000
6. Suzuka 1000
7. Rolex 24 At Daytona
8. Coca Cola 600
9. 24 Hours of Nurburgring
10. Chili Bowl Midget Nationals

 

[prisonermonkeys]

but in the case of tracks like Hockenheim they get butchered for the sake of "better viewing" which is total garbage.

Hockenheim was trimmed for safety reasons. There was virtually no access for marshalls and medical crews at the old Ostkurve. In the event of an accident in which a driver was injured, the medical crews would have to be deployed from pit lane and make their way down to the corner, which would take a lot of time.

Also, the drivers hated the old Hockenheim layout. At the 2010 German Grand Prix, Martin Brundle commented that he preferred the new layout because he found the old version boring, and that the race was almost always decided by who had the most powerful engine. The changes to the circuit might not be the most exhilirating in the world, but the design was clearly limited to the infield of the old circuit, and given the shape of the old circuit, there was never going to be much that could be done. This is perhaps the oly alternative I could come up with in the same space, and that's hardly the greatest circuit in the world.

 

[Grand Prix]

If not current events only, I'd say the Mille Miglia, La Carrera Panamericana and the Targa Florio, in that order. It really doesn't get much more classic and storied than those three. The Le Mans 24 Hours and Monaco Grand Prix are very close. The Indy 500 is definitely up there as well.

The likes of Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche and Maserati all made a name for themselves in these classic events.


I'd have to say the Mille Miglia is especially impressive to me though. 1000 miles of open Italian roads and city streets; a monumental achievement of organization, (though not always completely organized, this is Italy we are talking about here ) and a real race of endurance for both man and machine. With mobs of spectators at the side of rough country roads, needless to say, it was a bit dangerous and insane as well.

"When I talk about the Mille Miglia, I feel quite moved, for it played such a big part in my life. I knew it as a driver, a team director and a constructor ... and was always an admirer of its champions. In fact, the Mille Miglia not only provided enormous technical advances during its three decades, it really did breed champions.

I was present at every one of the twenty-four Mille Miglias that were run and was numbed by the tragic accident in 1957 when the marchese de Portago was killed driving one of my cars, causing the race to be banned.

In my opinion, the Mille Miglia was an epoch-making event, which told a wonderful story. The Mille Miglia created our cars and the Italian automobile industry. The Mille Miglia permitted the birth of GT, or grand touring cars, which are now sold all over the world. The Mille Miglia proved that by racing over open roads for 1,000 miles, there were great technical lessons to be learned by the petrol and oil companies and by brake, clutch, transmission, electrical and lighting component manufacturers, fully justifying the old adage that motor racing improves the breed."

- Enzo Ferrari

 

[Liquid]

And if you ask Indianapolis 500 master A.J. Foyt about Le Mans he'll call it "a little 'ol couintry road" after dominating the race in his only appearnce.

And Graham Hill or Jim Clark would describe Indy as "a plain, flat oval with four left-handers", considering they crushed the opposition in 1966.

It's all about opinion. I liked old Hockenheim much more than the new one, others don't. That's up to them.

---

1. Monegasque Grand Prix

Still brings in all sorts of not interested in motorsports celebrities due to the major pulling power and appeal of the race and the spectace.

2. Indianapolis 500

Big event in a country with a big passion for oval racing.

3. 24 Hours of Le Mans

The classic endurance special.

 

[Ardius]

Actually, I'd like to add the Isle of Man TT at 3rd ahead of the Indy 500 and so on. It is a motorsport event after all, just on 2 wheels instead of 4.
1. Monaco
2. Le Mans 24
3. Isle of Man TT
4. Indy 500
5. Monte Carlo Rally

 

[F1 fan]

The isle of man Tt definitely deserves a mention. Another important event is the one that started it all. The French grand prix. Dating back to 1906, it is an event that is sorely missed on the calendar.

The most prestigious has to be Monaco. Not only is it the biggest event in racing, it is also (arguably) the most famous race in the world. The likes of Indy and Daytona don't rank too highly in my books. Despite the prestige associated with these events, they are ovals. While that may not be a bad thing, they are too similar to all the other ovals out there. There is nothing else quite like Monaco.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

This is probably my list:

1 - Monaco Grand Prix
2 - Rallye Monte Carlo
3 - Brazilian Grand Prix
4 - Wales Rally GB
5 - British Grand Prix
6 - Belgian Grand Prix
7 - Australian Grand Prix
8 - Bathurst 1000
9 - Rally Finland
10 - Le Mans 24 Hours

 

[dhandeh]

Going on the basis of events that I would like actually be there and watch it unfold infront of my eyes, I will go for

Monaco GP
Indy 500
Le Mans 24 Hours

 

[Earth]

And Graham Hill or Jim Clark would describe Indy as "a plain, flat oval with four left-handers", considering they crushed the opposition in 1966.

Fair enough, they did crush the field, but Foyt's quote was real, as noted at the 25:35 mark in this video

Indianapolis has alot going for it to be considered one of the if not the greatest motorsport event, a long history, exclusive and unique tradition like the 4 lap qualifying procedure, bump day, a 3-wide rolling start, the winner drinking milk, and a pit wall where the only thing between the pitboard crew members and 230mph cars is a 2 foot wall. You just dont see that anywhere.

Here is a nice pic of the front straight at the start, theres no crew there as I dont think they allow them there during the start. Notice one guy ducking, you will see them do that alot during the race. Its incredible dangerous but its probably the only race in the world where the crew is still that close with so little protection and it adds to the race's greatness

Im torn on the Nurburgring 24 hours. While it is probably the greatest celebration of automobile car racing on the planet, it lacks a great history, and isn't very prestigious. But because its such a great celebration of cars and racing I do think it should be mentioned in some ways as one of the greatest races out there.

 

[F1 fan]

the winner drinking milk,

I can't be the only one who finds that a little cheesy. No pun intended.

 

[Liquid]

I can't be the only one who finds that a little cheesy. No pun intended.

It's a nice tradition I suppose, but Fittipaldi was booed when he drank orange juice instead...

 

[Tired Tyres]

For me it's the Nurburgring 24 hours. Nothing else comes close.

 

[Mic_Col]

It's a nice tradition I suppose, but Fittipaldi was booed when he drank orange juice instead...

Is he Lactose intolerant??

For me number one event: Monaco GP

I don't have to state why.

Another race Motorsport event that I'd care to name is: Dakar Rally.

Those cars / trucks / motorbikes have to battle through intense conditions and it's really a contest of durability against some of the toughest conditions on earth for 2 weeks. Since the Rally has been re-located to South America they're driving on some of the highest altitude roads on earth, plus through the Atticama (sp?) desert, the driest place on earth. So dry that parts of it cannot support life of any kind. I know that dryness isn't a car killer, I'm stating that as a indicator of how extreme the locations are that the Dakar goes through.

Sure Dakar Rally isn't so much of a driver's event. It's a manufacturers challenge but still it's a major event.

 

[Liquid]

Is he Lactose intolerant??

He wanted to promote his orange groves so he drank that instead. Didn't go down well, he was booed the following week.

 

[Mic_Col]

He wanted to promote his orange groves so he drank that instead. Didn't go down well, he was booed the following week.

Now that you say it, that rings a bell.

Gotta say that dumping something that's a long held tradition just to do a side promotion is pretty lousy.

 

[Dotini]

In a recent interview, Rubens Barrichello said some interesting things...

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120518/INDYCAR/120519787
Q: Rubens, you came from Ferrari. What can you tell to the Ferrari and Formula One fans how to enjoy a huge race like the Indy 500?

RUBENS BARRICHELLO: Well, I don't know. It's the culture of racing, you know. The Italians, they like when there is an Italian racing. If there is no Italian racing, that's very difficult for them to turn the TV on and check it out. It's just different. I don't know. I've been a fan of the sport for many years. For me, a happy Sunday means sitting on the sofa with the kids and watching racing, whatever racing it is. I'm pretty sure that many, like me, doing that. But if somebody just like races that it's street circuit, road circuit, you got to bring them here for them to see what a good show it is. I've been here in '93, and I watch the race myself. It was fantastic. I mean, I've always thought maybe one day, who knows, I would at least like to try that. But for someone that never saw that, you know, they think it's pretty easy just going for four corners. I tell you, it's the most difficult four corners in my life. It's different.

You can tell a lot about the prestige of a race by where it is in the calendar, and whether it has a traditional lockdown on that certain date.

Always, the Indy 500, LeMans 24hr, Daytona 500, Monaco GP and Italian GP get their choicest dates.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve