Attack Of The Facts

The F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 in Two of the most amazing and adrenalin filled motorsports events in the world in one weekend: Indianapolis – and Lotus is a major part of the action! For all you fact fiends out there who like to show off in front of your buddies, check these out… Enjoy.

MONACO GRAND PRIX

Lotus won its first grand prix at Monaco in 1960. Stirling Moss was at the wheel of a privately entered Lotus 18. Moss and his Lotus did it again the following year too, exactly 50 years ago.

At Monaco, drivers change gear approximately 55 times per lap, which equates to over 4,300 changes during the race. It's not just the tyres that suffer blisters.

Lotus legend Graham Hill was known as Mr Monaco because he won the race five times – 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969. He reckoned the best prize was the free tab at Rosie's Bar on victory nights.

Accommodation at the Monaco GP is highly sought after. The most expensive digs can be found at the belle époque Hotel Hermitage, where the 175 square metre Diamond Suite is 42,600 Euros for a four night stay. Still, there's always the Novotel.

The Beatles attended the Monaco Grand Prix in 1969. A year later they released The Long and Winding Road. Inspiration?

The Principality of Monaco is just two square kilometers, making it the second smallest country in the world. The smallest: Vatican City... and the Pope cheers for Alonso.

The last time a Lotus won at Monaco was 1987. Ayrton Senna claimed the first of his record six wins here in his yellow Lotus 99T. He later said: "You will never know the feeling of a driver when winning a race. The helmet hides feelings that cannot be understood."

SEGA's Monaco GP arcade game, which came out in 1979, was one of the earliest racing sims. It was followed by Super Monaco GP in 1989. But, as every fan knows, every Monaco GP is super.

Lotus cars won seven Monaco grands prix, making it the third most successful marque after McLaren and Ferrari.

The first Monaco Grand Prix, in 1929, was won by a mysterious Englishman known as W Williams. He was later recruited as a spy.

INDIANAPOLIS 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway's gargantuan grandstands can hold 250,000 race fans. That makes it the biggest sporting facility in the world. A hot dog vendor's dream.

The Lotus 38 was the first mid-engined car to win the Indy 500, back in 1965. Jim Clark dominated that race. Soon, front-engined racers were a thing of the past.

Know why it's nicknamed 'The Brickyard'? Because when it was built in 1909 it was paved with 3.2 million bricks. Now it's been covered in asphalt, of course, but a famous 'yard of bricks' remains exposed on the start/finish line as a reminder of the past.

Mario Andretti and Colin Chapman met for the first time at Indianapolis in '65. In 1968, the American raced for Lotus in Formula One and a decade later won the world championship in the black and gold '79. A giant of US auto racing, he only won Indy once in 29 attempts. People have dubbed it "the Andretti curse".

There are an unprecedented four ladies racing at Indianapolis this year: Simona de Silvestro, Danica Patrick, Pippa Mann and Ana Beatriz. Pippa Mann makes history as being the first British woman ever to race in the 500.

The first event to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a helium balloon competition two months before the oval was completed in 1909. It wasn't much of a crowd puller.

Jim Clark missed the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix so he could race the Lotus 38 at Indy. His success provoked a wave of British drivers heading to Indiana in the following years. Incidentally, Clark never won Monaco.

Spectators at the Indy 500 drink 16,000 gallons of Coca-Cola and 14,000 gallons of beer. Burp.

Clark was the first foreigner in almost half a century to win the Indy 500. The following year, in 1966, Lotus chum and countryman Graham Hill drank the milk too.

The weight of Brickyard Burgers consumed on race weekend is equal to the weight of six Indy Cars. And that's without relish.