Team story
Origins
Lujie Lesovsky’s single-seaters belonged to the world of Indianapolis: chassis built for American owners and drivers, rather than a team competing in European Grands Prix. The name entered the World Championship through the 1950 Indianapolis 500, where George Connor is listed eighth and Troy Ruttman fifteenth. It was the race itself, included in the championship from 1950 to 1960, that created this connection.
The Formula 1 journey
Johnny Thomson put a Lesovsky on pole in 1959 and took third in the race, also setting the fastest lap. The number 3 Racing Associates Special thus achieved three different distinctions at the same event. Thomson is listed fifth in 1960: this was the last Indianapolis race to count towards the World Championship, and the marque’s final season in this archive.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Lesovsky
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Indianapolis 500
George Connor · Indianapolis 500 1950. The recorded position is P8; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Indianapolis 500
Johnny Thomson · Indianapolis 500 1959. The recorded position is P3; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Indianapolis 500
Johnny Thomson · Indianapolis 500 1960. The recorded position is P5; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
A photographic account from 1959 shows how specifically the design was tailored to the oval. The Offenhauser engine was steeply inclined, the driveline ran along the right-hand side and the cockpit was offset to the left. The layout sought an advantage in corners always taken in the same direction; even the driving position was studied around Thomson’s physical characteristics.
What remains
Lesovsky is remembered above all for shaping a car around a particular American requirement. Connor, Duane Carter, Rodger Ward and Thomson appear at different stages of his involvement at Indianapolis. The 1959 podium remains a genuine World Championship result, but it does not turn those roadsters into single-seaters designed to European Formula 1 conventions.