#CruisingPeachy BorgWarner Presents 2021 Indianapolis 500 Winner Helio Castroneves with Baby Borg Trophy
BorgWarner presented the coveted BorgWarner Championship Driver's Trophy™ to the 2021 Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves, at a ceremony in Indianapolis, Indiana last Friday. The Trophy, also widely known as the 'Baby Borg', is a 19-inch miniature version of the iconic, 110-pound sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy® with the winning driver's sculpture on it. The Baby Borg weighs five pounds, rests on a cylindrical stained wooden base and is inscribed with the winner's name, team name, average speed for 500 miles and year of his win.
Frédéric Lissalde, President and CEO of BorgWarner, presents 2021 Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves with his fourth Baby Borg trophy during a special ceremony in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 13, 2022.
The fourth addition of Castroneves' likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy – crafted by William Behrends – was unveiled during a ceremony that took place on March 3 at the Indiana Statehouse in downtown Indianapolis. Castroneves' most recent Indy 500 victory making him the 108th placement on the Borg-Warner Trophy, which was commissioned in 1935 and sports the faces of every Indy 500 winner.
In addition to Castroneves, his team owners, Michael Shank and Jim Meyer of Meyer Shank Racing, also received a trophy: the Championship Team Owner's Trophy™. This is a significant memento for Meyer Shank Racing, as it marks the team owners' first time receiving the Trophy.
"Presenting the Baby Borg and Championship Team Owner's Trophy is always a momentous occasion," said Frédéric Lissalde, President and CEO, BorgWarner. "While the driver's legacy and Borg-Warner Trophy lives on forever, permanently on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, the replica trophies are personal keepsakes that can be enjoyed by those that earn them for years to come."
The Baby Borg was first created in 1988, with the Championship Team Owner's Trophy established 10 years later.
"Winning the Indianapolis 500 and seeing the Borg-Warner Trophy in Victory Circle is one of the most amazing feelings as a driver," said Castroneves. "I am incredibly proud to have my face permanently on the trophy four times and am thrilled to be presented with the 2021 Baby Borg. It's a reminder of the significant milestone I achieved in last year's Indy 500 – joining A.J., Al and Rick. I'm looking forward to another exciting race and hope to meet the BorgWarner team in Victory Circle again!"
"We could not be more proud of Helio and his successful career as a driver," said Shank. "He not only has won the biggest race in history four times, but he also gave me and everyone at Meyer Shank Racing our very first IndyCar win - it's something that we will remember forever. His performances over the years have given him the recognition as one of the greatest drivers in history and we're very proud to have him as a member of Meyer Shank Racing. Thank you BorgWarner for helping us commemorate our 2021 Indianapolis 500 win and including us in the Baby Borg presentation. We will always treasure our Baby Borg and we already have a very special place for it in our trophy case in the shop."
If Castroneves wins this year's Indy 500 race, he would go down in history as the first driver with five Indianapolis 500 wins. Currently, he is one of four drivers to win the race four times, along with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Helio's wins have come in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021. Additionally, he is one of four drivers that has ever won an Indy 500 back-to-back. In addition to a new record in the history books, Castroneves could also be the recipient of BorgWarner's $400,000 rolling jackpot, destined for the next back-to-back Indy 500 winner.
About BorgWarner
For more than 130 years, BorgWarner has been a transformative global product leader bringing successful mobility innovation to market. Today, we're accelerating the world's transition to eMobility — to help build a cleaner, healthier, safer future for all.
The Borg-Warner Trophy, BorgWarner Championship Driver's Trophy, and BorgWarner Championship Team Owner's Trophy are trademarks of BorgWarner Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements as contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that are based on management's current outlook, expectations, estimates and projections. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "continues," "could," "designed," "effect," "estimates," "evaluates," "expects," "forecasts," "goal," "guidance," "initiative," "intends," "may," "outlook," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should," "target," "when," "will," "would," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Further, all statements, other than statements of historical fact contained or incorporated by reference in this press release that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future regarding our financial position, business strategy and measures to implement that strategy, including changes to operations, competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of our business and operations, plans, references to future success and other such matters, are forward-looking statements. Accounting estimates, such as those described under the heading "Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates" in Item 7 of our most recently-filed Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Form 10-K"), are inherently forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and the Company's actual results may differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, among others, include: supply disruptions impacting us or our customers, such as the current shortage of semiconductor chips that has impacted original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") customers and their suppliers, including us; commodities availability and pricing; competitive challenges from existing and new competitors including OEM customers; the challenges associated with rapidly-changing technologies, particularly as relates to electric vehicles, and our ability to innovate in response; uncertainties regarding the extent and duration of impacts of matters associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including additional production disruptions; the difficulty in forecasting demand for electric vehicles and our electric vehicles revenue growth; potential disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine; the ability to identify targets and consummate acquisitions on acceptable terms; failure to realize the expected benefits of acquisitions on a timely basis including our recent acquisitions of AKASOL AG and Santroll's light vehicle eMotor business and our 2020 acquisition of Delphi Technologies PLC; the ability to identify appropriate combustion portfolio businesses for disposition and consummate planned dispositions on acceptable terms; the failure to promptly and effectively integrate acquired businesses; the potential for unknown or inestimable liabilities relating to the acquired businesses; our dependence on automotive and truck production, both of which are highly cyclical and subject to disruptions; our reliance on major OEM customers; fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on information systems; the uncertainty of the global economic environment; the outcome of existing or any future legal proceedings, including litigation with respect to various claims; future changes in laws and regulations, including, by way of example, taxes and tariffs, in the countries in which we operate; impacts from any potential future acquisition or disposition transactions; and the other risks noted in reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our most recently-filed Form 10-K and/or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake any obligation to update or announce publicly any updates to or revisions to any of the forward-looking statements in this press release to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, circumstances, or assumptions underlying the statements.
