Indianapolis racing into new sister city relationship with French motorsports city
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In 1956, Pat Flaherty won the Indianapolis 500 with an average speed of 128.490 miles per hour, and President Dwight Eisenhower started a program for U.S. cities to build lasting relationships with other cities across the globe.
Fast forward to today, and Robert Shwartzman has won the pole position with a four-lap average speed of 232.790 mph, and Indianapolis is celebrating its 11th sister city relationship.
The Sister Cities International Program promotes Indianapolis as a global city. On Friday, Indianapolis waved the green flag on the partnership with Le Mans, France—a place that also has a vibrant racing history.
During the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race each June, three categories of cars spend an entire day racing around a 13.626 km (8.469 mile) circuit.
“Both cities have a rich history of motorsports, racing and the automotive industry,” Martin Baier, president and CEO of The International Center, said in an interview airing this weekend on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick. “Le Mans actually has similar what we have here, a lot of automotive and racing industries close to the race, actually in a Techno Park inside the 8.5 mile race circuit.”
One of the track’s corners is named Indianapolis because it is banked like an oval and a layer of bricks was found under the track when it was asphalted.
Baier, who also serves as Honorary Consul of France to Indiana, says the idea for the partnership began in 2017, when Le Mans expressed interest in becoming a sister city. Le Mans city representatives visited the Indy 500 in 2019 and witnessed fellow Frenchman Simon Pagenaud winning the Borg Warner Trophy.
Baier sees the sister city relationship as an opportunity for economic development and development within the automotive industry.
“Number one would be probably sports tourism. The race in Le Mans and of course the Indy 500 is on the bucket list of every race fan around the world,” Baier said. “Both cities can partner and working on concepts for the future and then, of course, we might see some of the French automotive industry and racing industry settle here in Indianapolis.”
Officials are in the process of establishing an Indianapolis-Le Mans Sister City committee to explore opportunities, with a focus on educational exchanges.