Indianapolis 500 1957
| Racing data | ||
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| 3rd of 8 races of the 1957 Automobile World Championship | ||
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| Surname: | 41th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes | |
| Date: | May 30, 1957 | |
| Place: | Indianapolis , USA | |
| Course: | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |
| Length: | 805 km in 200 laps of 4.025 km
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| Weather: | sunny, dry | |
| Spectator: | ~ 200,000 | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Pat O'Connor
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Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
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| Time: | 1: 02.52 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
Jim Rathmann
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Epperly-Offenhauser
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| Time: | 1: 02.75 min | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
Sam Hanks
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Epperly-Offenhauser
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| Second: |
Jim Rathmann
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Epperly-Offenhauser
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| Third: |
Jimmy Bryan
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Kuzma-Offenhauser
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The Indianapolis 500 1957 took place on May 30, 1957 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway near Indianapolis and was the third race of the 1957 Automobile World Championship and the first race of the 1957 USAC season .
Reports
background
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1957, but was viewed by the European teams as a deletion. Since the 1957 French Grand Prix was held a week after the race , none of the European teams took part in the Indianapolis 500.
Compared to the previous year, the pit lane on the track has been changed. While in the previous year the pit lane was still directly on the track, it has now been separated from the home straight by a concrete wall and equipped with asphalt. The start procedure has also been changed. Instead of an introductory lap, there were two laps for 1957 and 1958, one to correctly position the drivers according to the starting grid and one lap to prepare the speed of the cars for the flying start. This procedure caused confusion and was only used once, on the Indianapolis 500 in 1958 .
As in previous years, the Kurtis Kraft racing car was used by most of the teams, but Kuzma was also well represented. Almost all teams used the Offenhauser units , a few from Novi . With Troy Ruttman and Johnnie Parsons , two former winners took part in the race. Former Formula 1 world champion Giuseppe Farina was the only European driver registered.
In previous years it was common for each team to only take part in the race with one car, and rarely a team with two cars. At the Indianapolis 500 1957 there were already five teams that brought at least two cars to the start, for Chapman S. Root even three drivers qualified.
training
Four time trial competitions over four days, beginning on May 18, determined the starting grid for the Indianapolis 500. Previously, there were training drives during which Farina had great problems getting his car up to a sufficient speed. He passed the car on to his teammate Andrews, who skidded on turn four. A subsequent attempt to bring the car under control failed and Andrews drove into the boundary wall of the pit lane, which broke at this point due to the hard impact. Andrew's car continued to slide down the start straight, spinning several times. In another crash with the wall, which also broke at this second point, he hit the rear of the car and was pressed against the steering wheel of the car. He broke his neck as a result and was instantly dead. Andrews, who had competed in two Indianapolis 500s in previous years, was the first fatality in the 1957 Formula 1 season. The accident occurred at a time when it was mostly the Indianapolis have regularly been fatal accidents. For this reason, the safety regulations were increased, the demarcation wall of the pit lane and fireproof clothing were the first signs of an improvement in safety in the USAC. Farina withdrew his participation due to the fatal accident of his teammate and the complete destruction of the car.
On the first day of the time trial, only nine drivers competed because they couldn't drive for four hours due to persistent rain showers. However, the times on this day had a higher priority than those on the following days, which meant that these drivers secured the pole position among themselves. Pat O'Connor secured first place in a Kurtis Kraft car with a time of 1: 02.52 minutes. This was his only pole position in a Formula 1 race. Eddie Sachs , Troy Ruttman and Fred Agabashian qualified behind O'Connor . Last year's winner Pat Flaherty did not take part due to a two-year injury break.
The second time trial day of the first weekend was canceled due to heavy rain. A week later, the other drivers qualified in significantly better conditions. The times were faster than the pole time, but qualification was only possible from position nine. On May 26th, the last time trial, there were still nine places to start. A total of 33 riders qualified out of 43 who tried.
run
O'Connor used the pole position at the flying start and kept the lead from Agabashian, while Ruttman improved to third on the first lap. Eddie Russo and Elmer George collided and were the first retirements of the race before completing the first lap. O'Connor initially retained the lead on the following laps, while Ruttman overtook Agabashian and on lap five also O'Connor. Paul Russo won two places and at that point was fourth behind Agabashian and Sam Hanks in fifth. In the following laps of the race, these drivers dueled for the top positions and the lead changed often. Ruttman stayed in first place for two laps, then O'Connor passed him again. However, three laps later, Ruttman was back in front before retiring on lap twelve with an engine failure. The lead was taken on this lap by Russo, who overtook O'Connor immediately after Ruttman's failure. Hanks also passed O'Connor and then dueled with Russo for several laps. On lap 35 he then managed to take and extend the lead after Russo made a pit stop.
When Rodger Ward was eliminated due to technical problems, Jim Rathmann , who had started from 32nd position, was in second place. However, after he also made a pit stop to have new tires fitted, Russo was again eight seconds ahead of him. Hanks also used a pit stop to change tires and refuel, but kept his lead ahead of Russo and Rathman, who passed Russo a few laps later. Johnny Thomson passed all three leading drivers and held the lead for five laps before falling back after a pit stop. The race then saw two caution phases, Jimmy Daywalt had a crash on lap 53, and Al Keller spun off the track on lap 75. Both drivers were uninjured.
In the second half of the race, Hanks initially led easily ahead of Rathman. He was able to overtake Hanks after an earlier and shorter pit stop and led by ten seconds. However, Hanks continuously reduced his deficit, on lap 135 he ran into Rathmann. Hanks won this duel and did not give up position one until the end of the race. With a lead of 21 seconds, Hanks won the race ahead of Rathmann, and after the race he ended his career. Jimmy Bryan completed the podium, one lap behind, in third place. This was also the only Formula 1 victory for Hanks and the first of two victories for an Epperly car.
In the Formula 1 drivers' championship, Hanks took second position and Rathmann third. However, neither took part in any other races of the 1957 World Automobile Championship . Bryan won the title in the USAC season in 1957 , Indianapolis 500 winner Hanks was ninth after his retirement, Rathmann secured second place.
Registration list
The entry list only shows the vehicles that have passed the qualification.
Classifications
Starting grid
run
World Cup stand after the race
The first five of the race got 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 points. The driver with the fastest race lap received an additional 1 point. Only the five best results from eight races counted.
Driver ranking
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