Races facts

Milk. The tradition of drinking milk was founded in 1933. Since 1956, only one driver has broken it: In 1993, Emerson Fittipaldi drank a celebratory bottle of orange juice. He owned several orange groves in Sao Paolo, and wanted to promote the citrus industry.

Germany. For decades until the introduction of sponsorship liveries, each country had its traditional color in automobile racing. Italian race cars were red (still used by Ferrari), British ones green, and French blue. Today, Mercedes-Benz Formula One cars are also silver.

Car racing. Paul Newman first became interested in motorsports while training at the Watkins Glen Racing School for the filming of Winning, a 1969 film. He was a frequent competitor in Sports Car Club of America, eventually winning four national championships. He also finished in second place in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans and became the oldest driver to date to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race, winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC. 2016 was the last year Volkswagen put its car into the World Rally Championship.

Stéphane Peterhansel. Mr. Dakar Stephane Peterhansel won for the 12th time.

500 miles. The circuit is 2,5 mile long, so it takes 200 laps to complete the 500 mile race.

Mario Andretti has taken part in many different racing categories, including dragster races. In 1969 he won Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and 12 hours of Sebring. The 1978 season belonged to Mario Andretti where he became F1 World Champion.

Three. Until the 1980s, there were teams in which only two drivers competed. By the end of the decade, the rules were changed to stipulate that at least three drivers must drive each car, for safety reasons.

Le Mans 24h. Over the 24 hour period of Le Mans endurance race, modern competitors will complete race distances well over 5,000 km (3,110 mi). It is a distance over six times longer than the Indianapolis 500, or approximately 18 times longer than a Formula One Grand Prix.