Beginners’ luck
Already a multiple Monaco Grand Prix winner in F1, Graham Hill added a second jewel to his famous “triple crown” (before winning at Le Mans in 1972) by winning the 500 Miles of Indianapolis, at his first attempt in 1966.
One year after Jim Clark’s triumph in Colin Chapman’s Lotus, first success of a rear-engined single-seater at Indy, Hill mastered the Speedway in a Lola T90 designed by Eric Broadley (picture below) and entered by Mecom Racing Team.
If you don’t count the pre-war pioneers, Hill was the first rookie to win, before Juan Pablo Montoya (2000), Hélio Castroneves (2001) and Alexander Rossi (2016). Oddly, he was not declared “Rookie of the Year”, that honour going to his teammate at Lola Jackie Stewart, who had led for most of the race, before retiring close to the finish.
The 1966 edition of the 500 Miles was marked by an enormous pileup at the start, that eliminated one-third of the field. Hill’s victory was contested after the race by Lotus, arguing that Clark was leading his new teammate (in F1) by one lap, despite two spins during the race.