What's in a name ?
However you slice it, The Race Of Two Worlds, 500 Miglia di Monza or Monzanapolis was a grudge match between the boys from the Brickyard and the best Europe had to offer. For two short years Formula One went head to head with the Indianapolis roadsters. The overall race winner was determined by the driver who finished all three heats with the highest average speed. The Americans had the advantage, their cars perfectly suited to the high speed banking of the Monza circuit. 1957 saw the American Jimmy Bryan, in the Dean Van Lines Special, take the trophy with an average speed of 160 mph. Ferrari, Maserati and Jaguar lined up for 1958 hoping to keep the trophy on home soil. Jim Rathmann took the series again for the U.S.A, his Watson-Offy Leader Card Special winning with an amazing average speed of 166.756 mph.
On the October 1957 edition of Sport Cars illustrated there is very funny picture from the 1957 Monzanapolis where Jimmy Bryan's car is parked along the banking and he is climbing on the banking.
ReplyDelete"During practice, 170 mph slipstream pulled ten $10 bills from Bryan's pocket onto the track. He parked his car, scrambled to collect them"