Season 40 – 1955 Grand Prix – Round 8 – Privateers - Indianapolis
This race announcement is for the PRIVATEERS.
The seventh race in the 1955 Grand Prix series takes us to Indianapolis in the USA. Constructed in 1909, Indianapolis was the second purpose built banked oval racing circuit after Brooklands and the first to be called a 'speedway'. It has a permanent seating capacity of 257,325 with infield seating raising the grand total capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. An estimated 80,000 spectators attended the first 500-mile (800 km) race on Memorial Day, May 30, 1911. Forty cars competed with Ray Harroun winning at an average speed of 74.602 miles per hour (120.060 km/h). The 500 mile race remained a regular event at the "brickyard" during the 20s, 30s and 40s. Eventually it became part of the Formula One World Championship between 1950 and 1960. None of the Indy drivers of that era raced in Formula One and only Ferrari's F1 driver, Alberto Ascari, raced in the 500 in 1952. The 1955 Indy 500 was won by Bob Sweikert in a Kurtis Kraft powered by an Offenhauser engine. However, the race is notable to many as the race in which Bill Vukovich was killed in a crash while seemingly on his way to winning an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500. Five-time world champion Juan Fangio practiced at the speedway in 1958, but ultimately decided against racing there.
Sadly, Tony Brookes passed away this week at the age of 90. He had an illustrious career in Grand Prix racing and was widely regarded (along with Stirling Moss) as one of the best drivers never to win the World Drivers championship. He competed in non-championship races in 1955 before competing in the Formula 1 world championships between 1956 and 1961. He finish third in the 1958 and second in the 1959 driver's championship. Although the Indianapolis 500 was part of the driver's championship for 5 years (1956 to 1961), Tony Brookes (along with most other Formula 1 drivers) did not race there. Only 5 of the 9 rounds counted towards the championship so most drivers decided not to compete. Presumably because of the unique nature of the circuit and the need for a dedicated chassis.
Race list | = | iGOR |
Server | = | UKGPL04_60fps |
IP address Server | = | 146.199.161.253:32766 |
Password | = | see above |
GPL Mod | = | 55 |
60fps Patch | = | 60fpsV2newmod |
Track download | = | link |
Track directory | = | ims |
Qualifying starts | = | 20:45 UK time - 45 minutes |
Race starts | = | ~ 21:30 UK time |
Race length | = | 43 laps |
Replay | = | here |
Please restrict chat to emergency messages only including at the end of the race until
ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.
Driver lists and division specific rules can be found on the
championship standings page.
Available Tokens:Note: These are the tokens available to each driver
before the 10 tokens are added for making the race start.
Driver | Tokens | Status |
Albert Hallu | 18 | Privateer |
Bernie | 19 | Privateer |
covisi2016 | 10 | Privateer |
dave curtis | 12 | Privateer |
Dulima | 26 | Privateer |
francesco | 3 | Privateer |
Gareth | 40 | Privateer |
JPettet | 10 | Privateer |
PaulV | 5 | Privateer |
Philippe Girard | 14 | Privateer |
R_Jungle | 10 | Privateer |
Rainier | 8 | Privateer |
Ricardo Valim da Silva | 20 | Privateer |