Triple Crown of Motorsport

The Triple Crown of Motorsport is an unofficial motorsport achievement, most often regarded as winning three of the most prestigious races in the world in one's career: the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix.^[1][2][3][4]

Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the Triple Crown, as he won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969; the Indianapolis 500 in 1966; and finally the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972.

From 1950–1960, the Indianapolis 500 counted toward the World Drivers' Championship (now known as the Formula One World Championship), and Le Mans was a weekend race that did not conflict with the rest of the Championship. The Triple Crown feat was regarded as similar to the tennis Grand Slam, in which the latter's three (and later four) major tournaments were on the season schedule.

Since then, the Triple Crown has been more difficult to win, as each race is part of a different governing body. Since 1960, the Indy 500 has been sanctioned by United States governing bodies separate from the World Championship, being part of CART since 1979 and the United States Automobile Club/Indy Racing League after 1995. The practice session for Monaco overlaps with that for the Indianapolis 500, and the races themselves sometimes clash. As the two races take place on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean and form part of different championships, it is difficult for one driver to compete effectively in both races.^[5]

An alternative definition replaces the Monaco Grand Prix with the Formula One World Championship, though Graham Hill is still the only driver to have accomplished this, winning the F1 Drivers' Title in 1962 and 1968.^[6][7][8] Some American fans have suggested substituting the Daytona 500, long considered the most prestigious NASCAR race, in place of the Monaco GP or Le Mans. This would have made A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti Triple Crown winners, respectively. ^{[9][10][11][12]}

Another rare feat in motorsport includes winning the Indy 500, CART Championship, and Formula 1 Drivers' Title, which has been accomplished by Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Jacques Villeneuve. Nigel Mansell had dominated the 1992 Monaco GP and led the 1993 Indy 500, finishing second and third, respectively, enroute to winning the F1 and CART titles.

As of 2008^[update], the only active drivers who have won two legs of the Crown are Juan Pablo Montoya (currently racing in NASCAR) and Jacques Villeneuve. Villeneuve competed in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans where he finished in second place, a victory there would have allowed him to complete the Triple Crown (under the latter definition that includes the F1 Drivers' Championship, under the former definition of the Monaco GP his best finish was 4th in 2001).^[13]

Endurance sports car racing has its own Triple Crown which features Le Mans and has added 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring which has been won by A. J. Foyt. See Triple Crown (endurance racing).

Driver	Indianapolis winner	Le Mans winner	Monaco Grand Prix winner	F1 World Champion
Tazio Nuvolari	—	1933	1932	—
Maurice Trintignant	—	1954	1955, 1958	—
Mike Hawthorn	—	1955	—	1958
Phil Hill	—	1958, 1961, 1962	—	1961
Jim Clark	1965	—	—	1963, 1965
A.J. Foyt	1961, 1964, 1967, 1977	1967	—	—
Bruce McLaren	—	1966	1962	—
Graham Hill	1966	1972	1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969	1962, 1968
Jochen Rindt	—	1965	1970	1970
Mario Andretti	1969	—	—	1978
Emerson Fittipaldi	1989, 1993	—	—	1972, 1974
Jacques Villeneuve	1995	—	—	1997
Juan Pablo Montoya	2000	—	2003	—

Key: Drivers who are still active are indicated in bold.

See also

• Triple Crown

References