2016 Triple Crown Of Motorsport Race Winners

The races which form the Triple Crown of Motorsport can make legends of those who win them. Let’s take a look over which drivers can tick at least one of the three off the list in 2016.

The Triple Crown of Motorsport is probably the most highly coveted (unofficial) accomplishment in the world of racing.

By winning the world’s three most prestigious races on the motorsport calendar (the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500, and Le Mans 24 Hours), a driver can lay claim to having completed the ‘Triple Crown’.

As you probably no doubt have guessed, it isn’t easy. Graham Hill is the only driver to have won all three to date.

So not easy, but definitely not impossible. And with each yearly installment of these three races presenting us with another set of drivers who may go on to claim the ‘Triple Crown’ one day themselves, it’s worth noting who took glory in 2016.

Monaco Grand Prix

Winning Team: Mercedes

Winning Driver: Lewis Hamilton

Formula One’s ‘jewel in the crown’ always promises to offer some of motorsport’s most hair-raising moments, and year after year it has done just this.

Though the racing at the front of the pack could be seen as processional in nature due to Mercedes’ utter dominance in recent years, a true F1 fan can’t help but hold their breath as million dollar machines race tyre to tyre, only inches from the barricades on either side.

In this Monaco is special. It doesn’t matter what position is being raced for, whether it be first or last, the level of excitement is unchanged.

This year all the action was concentrated to the front of the field, Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo battling it out with each other in spectacular fashion.

A Red Bull pit-stop hiccup cost Ricciardo the lead, yet the Australian made certain to keep Hamilton under pressure for the remainder of the race.

In typical style, the reigning world champion kept his cool in spite of the charging Red Bull behind him, and managed to take the win – his first for the season.

Indianapolis 500

Winning Team: Andretti Herta Autosport

Winning Driver: Alexander Rossi

2016 marked the 100^th running of the Indy 500, and like usual, fans were treated to a remarkable race and nail-biting finish – 350,000 people watching on as 500 miles of pure racing played out before their eyes.

Not one driver ever dominated the event with numerous lead changes occurring throughout the three hours of racing, yet the race winner was unexpected nonetheless.

For a time it appeared pole-sitter James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay or Hélio Castroneves were prime contenders, but it was Indianapolis rookie, Alexanader Rossi which took home the spoils by the race’s end.

With only a handful of laps to go, the teams realised that their cars would need to be re-fueled, though marginally, to get to the end of the race.

As such, the leaders pitted for a splash of fuel before re-joining the sprint to the finish line.

Not Rossi though.

The rookie stayed out and in doing so, inherited the lead.

Though for a time he was a pit-stop up on his closest rivals, this margin began to diminish at a considerable rate with two laps left.

His car practically running on fumes, and going much slower than the rest of the pack, Rossi managed to finally get the Andretti across the line – simultaneously earning a highly coveted page within motorsport’s history books.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Winning Team: Porsche

Winning Drivers: Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas, and Neel Jani

A Porsche victory seemed almost a certainty before this year’s Le Mans, but a few hours into the day long race it became apparent that Toyota had a good shot of winning.

More from Beyond the Flag

The Japanese cars had much better fuel economy than the Porsches or Audis, and as such, were able to run longer between pit-stops.

Though Porsche had superior pace, the extra time gained by the Toyota (up to over a minute per Porsche pit-stop), allowed them a comfortable buffer between the second placed 919.

So much so that when only five minutes of Le Mans remained, the leading Toyota held a 40 second gap between itself and the No. 2 Porsche.

And then it all evaporated within the space of two minutes.

The No. 5 hit mechanical issues that saw it come to a halt just as it had begun its final lap of the 24 hour race.

The No. 2 Porsche had passed it soon enough, and just over three and half minutes later, Porsche drivers Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas, and Neel Jani had been crowned Le Mans champions for 2016.

Home/Formula One