The Borg-Warner Trophy has gone on tour around Japan, home of Honda and Takuma Sato, who were the 2017 winners of the Indianapolis 500.
The legendary event is considered one of the greatest motor races in the world, and it is the first time the trophy has ever left the United States in the race’s 82 year history. The trophy has always sat in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, but until December 12 will go on a 15-day tour of Japan, stopping off at the Twin Ring Motegi race track and the cities of Fukuroi and Nabari.
The idea behind the tour is to celebrate Honda’s 12th win of the famous Indy 500, and the first by a Japanese driver. The trophy will travel around 12,780 miles in total, which is over 25 times more than the Indy 500 itself. Standing five feet high and weighing 110lb, the Borg-Warner Trophy currently has a value of approximately $3.5m, and is probably one of the largest engraved awards in the world.
The trophy bears the face of every winner of the race, including two sets of dual winners dating from 1924 and 1941, when the relief drivers shared victory with the primary drivers. A total of 103 faces are cast in silver, while the 104th is 14-carat gold and is the face of Tony Hulman, the former owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The winning countries are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, England, France, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, the United States and now Japan.