The Triple Crown of Motorsport is an unofficial motorsport achievement, often regarded as winning three of the most prestigious motor races in the world in one's career. Those races being:
In different periods all three races were parts of various FIA World Championships:
Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the Triple Crown. Nineteen drivers in motorsports history have competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown and have won at least one of the events. [5] Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso are the only active drivers to have won two of the three events, needing to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Indianapolis 500 respectively to complete the Triple Crown.
An earlier definition, as espoused by Triple Crown winner Graham Hill, [6] replaces the Monaco Grand Prix with the Formula One World Championship; Graham Hill is also the only driver to have accomplished this, winning the F1 Drivers' Title in 1962 and 1968. [7] [8] [9]
Triple Crown in endurance racing features Le Mans and has added the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. This crown has been won by several drivers, namely A. J. Foyt, Hans Herrmann, Jackie Oliver, Al Holbert, Hurley Haywood, Mauro Baldi, Andy Wallace, Marco Werner and Timo Bernhard. Many drivers have come close to winning the crown with second-place finishes in the third event, such as Ken Miles (1966 24 Hours of Le Mans), Mario Andretti (Le Mans 1995) and Allan McNish (Daytona 2012).
In the period of 1971–1989, Indy car racing contested their own Triple Crown. From 1971 to 1980 it consisted of the three 500-mile events on the calendar: the Indianapolis 500, Pocono 500, and California 500. Ontario Motor Speedway was closed in 1980, and the California 500 was replaced with the Michigan 500. The triple crown continued through 1989, after which the Pocono race was discontinued. No driver won all three events during the 1980s.
The IndyCar Triple Crown was revived in 2013, with the 1971–80 format of the Indianapolis 500 (in May), Pocono 500 (in July - 400 miles the first year), and the MAVTV 500 (in October, held at Fontana). A $1 million bonus prize was offered for any driver to win all three races. [10]
For 2014, Pocono returned to the 500-mile format, Fontana was moved to the season ending race in August and all three events awarded double championship points. Since the California 500's return under IndyCar sanction, it has been a night race.
In 2015, Fontana moved to July, while Pocono was the penultimate race of the season in August. Fontana was removed from the IndyCar calendar after 2015, and Pocono was removed from the IndyCar calendar after 2019
Of all variations of the IndyCar Triple Crown, only six drivers have achieved the feat over their career, namely Bobby Unser, A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Danny Sullivan and Rick Mears, with Al Unser the only one to achieve it in a single season, 1978.
The term is often used during the season in the National Hot Rod Association to refer to its three most prestigious races, the Winternationals, the U.S. Nationals, and the Finals. The Winternationals is the event that kicks off the NHRA season, held during the second weekend in February, the U.S. Nationals is often called "The oldest, richest, and most prestigious race in the NHRA," and carries the largest purse of any event on the schedule, and the Auto Club Finals at Pomona are held to mark the end of the NHRA season.
Both the Winternationals, and the Auto Club Finals are held on the same track, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, while the U.S. Nationals has been held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis since 1961 (prior to that, the race was held on a now demolished track in Detroit). By far, the person with the most Triple Crown wins in his division is 16-time funny car champion John Force.
A. J. Foyt and Mario Andretti are the only drivers to have won both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Both drivers also won the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. Foyt won four editions of the Indianapolis 500, and collected seven open-wheel titles and a 24 Hours of Le Mans win. Mario Andretti won three editions of the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 1969 Indianapolis 500, and also won four open-wheel titles, a Formula One world championship, and a class win and second overall finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In Australia, a driver is said to have achieved the "Triple Crown" if they win the Sandown 500, the Bathurst 1000 and the Supercars Championship (formerly the Australian Touring Car Championship) in the same year. [11] Only two drivers have achieved this feat: Peter Brock in 1978 and 1980 and Craig Lowndes in 1996.
The Japanese Triple Crown is achieved by winning titles in Japanese Formula 3, Super Formula, and Super GT. The only driver to have completed the feat is current Formula E driver Nick Cassidy. [12]
As of May 2023 [update] , the only active drivers who have won two legs of the traditional Triple Crown are Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso. Both have won the Monaco Grand Prix (Montoya in 2003, Alonso in 2006 and 2007). Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2000 and 2015) while Alonso has two overall wins for the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2018 and 2019).
For the alternative Triple Crown, the only active drivers who have won two legs are Jacques Villeneuve and Fernando Alonso. Villeneuve won the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 and is the F1 World Champion for 1997. Alonso is the F1 World Champion for 2005 and 2006, along with winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in 2018 and 2019.
Events which make up the traditional (Indy 500 / Le Mans 24hr / Monaco GP) and the alternative (Indy 500 / Le Mans 24hr / F1 WDC) definitions are included below.
Driver | Indianapolis 500 winner | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner | Monaco Grand Prix winner | F1 World Champion |
---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Hill | 1966 | 1972 | 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969 | 1962, 1968 |
The drivers listed below have completed two of the three legs for either version of the Triple Crown.
Driver | Indianapolis 500 winner | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner | Monaco Grand Prix winner | F1 World Champion | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tazio Nuvolari | — | 1933 | 1932 | — [lower-alpha 1] | |
Maurice Trintignant | — | 1954 | 1955, 1958 | — | |
Mike Hawthorn | — | 1955 | — | 1958 | |
Phil Hill | — | 1958, 1961, 1962 | — | 1961 | |
A. J. Foyt | 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977 | 1967 | — | — | |
Bruce McLaren | — | 1966 | 1962 | — | |
Jim Clark | 1965 | — | — | 1963, 1965 | |
Jochen Rindt | — | 1965 | 1970 | 1970 | |
Mario Andretti | 1969 | — [lower-alpha 2] | — | 1978 | |
Emerson Fittipaldi | 1989, 1993 | — | — | 1972, 1974 | |
Jacques Villeneuve | 1995 | — | — | 1997 | [13] |
Juan Pablo Montoya | 2000, 2015 | — [lower-alpha 3] | 2003 | — | |
Fernando Alonso | — | 2018, 2019 | 2006, 2007 | 2005, 2006 |
Key: Active drivers are highlighted in bold.
Listed below are the chassis and engine manufacturers to have completed the Triple Crown. Though the achievement is typically used to refer to an individual driver's achievements, some manufacturers have also been credited for their wins across multiple drivers. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] As of 2024 [update] , only three entities completed the Triple Crown:
Additionally, as an engine manufacturer only, Mercedes won the Indianapolis 500 in 1994, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1989 and the Monaco Grand Prix in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
No entity has completed the Triple Crown as a team or an entrant .
Manufacturer | Indianapolis 500 winner | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner | Monaco Grand Prix winner |
---|---|---|---|
McLaren | 1972 , 1974, 1976 | 1995 | 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 |
Mercedes | 1915 | 1952 | 1935, 1936, 1937, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 |
Ford | 1965–1967, 1969–1971, 1995–1996 | 1966–1969, 1975, 1980 | 1968 , 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1993, 1994 |
A pink background indicates a privately-run entry of a winning chassis manufacturer.A highlighting in bold indicates the Triple Crown completion.
The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, and is one of the races—along with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans—that form the Triple Crown of Motorsport. It is the only Grand Prix that does not adhere to the FIA's mandated 305-kilometre (190-mile) minimum race distance for F1 races.
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One chassis constructor, the second oldest active team and the second most successful Formula One team after Ferrari, having won 183 races, 12 Drivers' Championships and 8 Constructors' Championships. McLaren also has a history of competing in American open wheel racing, as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. McLaren is also one of only three constructors to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport, a feat that McLaren achieved as a chassis manufacturer by winning the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team.
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán, is a Colombian racing driver who has competed in open-wheel car, sports car and stock car racing events. He won the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) Drivers' Championship in 1999; the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 and 2015; the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2007, 2008 and 2013 and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2019.
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Aston Martin in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Minardi. With Toyota, Alonso won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in 2018 and 2019, and the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2018–19. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing in 2019. As of 2024, Alonso is the only driver to win both the F1 World Drivers' Championship and the World Endurance Championship, even if the World Sportscar Championship is included in WEC.
Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in 1962 and 1968 as well as being runner-up on three occasions. Despite not passing his driving test until 1953 when he was already 24 years of age, and only entering the world of motorsports a year later, Hill went on to become one of the greatest drivers of his generation. Hill is most celebrated for being the only driver ever to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport, an achievement which he defined as winning the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. While several of his peers have also espoused this definition, including fellow F1 World Champions Jacques Villeneuve, and Fernando Alonso, the achievement is today most commonly defined as including the Monaco Grand Prix rather than the Formula One World Championship. By this newer definition, Hill is still the only driver to have ever won the Triple Crown, since Alonso has not won the Indy 500. Hill also won at Monaco with such frequency in the 1960s that he became known as "Mr. Monaco". Hill crashed at the 1969 United States Grand Prix and was seriously injured, breaking both his legs and ending his season. Although he recovered and continued to race until 1975, Hill's career never again reached the same heights, and the Monaco Grand Prix victory earlier in 1969 was his last victory in Formula One.
Peter Jeffrey Revlon Revson was an American race car driver and heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune. He was the Can-Am Champion for the 1971 season, and finished fifth overall in the World Drivers' Championship for both the 1972 and 1973 Formula One seasons.
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Michael Mario Andretti is an American former racing driver, and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART championship, and amassed 42 race victories, the most in the CART era and fourth-most all time. Since his retirement, Andretti has owned Andretti Autosport, which has won four IndyCar Series championships and five Indianapolis 500 races. He is the son of Mario Andretti, a multi-time champion, and is the father of IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti.
Masten Gregory was an American racing driver. He raced in Formula One between 1957 and 1965, participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races. He was also a successful sports car racer, winning the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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