Number 306: The Winning Issue / Great Cars Special

Enjoy the here and now, or flip over and revel in the “then.” We’ll let you decide where to start with the latest issue of RACER magazine (No. 306 Sept./Oct. 2020).

Heading up the here and now is our exclusive interview with Takuma Sato, winner of the 104th Indianapolis 500. It’s victory No. 2 for Sato in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” and as he reveals, this one was a masterclass in planning and execution.

A masked Takuma is one of our cover stars, along with the guy on top of the Borg-Warner Trophy (yes, of course he’s masked, too – after all, they were only a few inches apart). And speaking of planning and execution, it’s a big shout out to ace lensman Michael Levitt for pulling that one off, with special thanks to the IMS crew who manhandled the biggest trophy in motorsports over to our shoot location.

We’ve called the front end of this RACER “The Winning Issue,” and as well as Sato, it features Max Verstappen (pretty much the only guy in F1 who can get within visual range of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes on a regular basis), NASCAR Cup Series rookie and race winner Cole Custer, and a record-breaking Bill Auberlen. Bill’s just eclipsed Scott Pruett’s IMSA race-win record, taking his total to 61 and counting – and at a still highly-motivated 51-years old, we’re figuring he’s got a bunch more in him yet.   

Flip over and you’ll find our annual Great Cars Special. This year, with Ferrari celebrating its 1,000th Formula 1 World Championship grand prix start (“celebrating” being a relative term, given its current woeful form), we’re all over the Scuderia.

Ferrari’s F1 heritage provides the subject matter for another incredible cover illustration by RACER’s in-house artist, Paul Laguette. But Paul’s input doesn’t end with Nigel Mansell’s sparking 640 from 1989 – check out more from the maestro as we count down the Prancing Horse’s five greatest F1 cars, and let us know if you agree or vehemently disagree with our choices. Same goes for our take on the cars that besmirched its name…

Staying with the Ferrari theme, we take a look at an unexpectedly memorable period of IMSA racing. The World Sports Car era could have been a disaster but, thanks to two very different protagonists, provided epic competition in the mid-’90s. In the red corner, Ferrari’s 333 SP and its F1-derived engine and tech. And in the red, white and blue corner, Riley & Scott’s Indiana corn-fed Mk III, a car that pretty much defines “simple, but effective.” 

Add in a fascinating feature story on 2000’s “Renske,” a Penske-ized version of the Reynard 2KI that just so happens to be the fastest Indy car of all time, and this was a fun section to put together. We hope you enjoy it, too.