Indianapolis
The oldest track still in use today, Indianapolis is a true motor sport institution. Built in 1908, the original track cost $75,000 to build and was originally constructed of crushed stone and tar. Following a spate of accidents however, the decision was taken to replace the surface with bricks: 3.2 million of them to be precise. Thus the legend of 'the brickyard' was born.
The first Indianapolis 500 took place in 1911 and when Formula One was incepted in 1950, the Indy 500 was a championship round. And so it remained for 11 seasons, its final running as a Formula One event coming in 1960. Formula One teams carried on turning up to Indy for the fun of it and, following the resurfacing of the brickyard in asphalt in the early '60s, the rear-engined cars of Lotus blew the chunky American roadsters out of the water. Jim Clark scored a memorable victory in 1965 and Graham Hill took the spoils in 1966.
In 1998 Indianapolis made a deal with Formula One to host a round of the World Championship again. A brand new infield course was constructed and in 2000, almost a century after the track was built, Formula One racing returned to the world's most revered circuit. With the sport building its fan base up in America every year, this is one race that looks sure to go from strength to strength.
