Indy 500 sculptor gets his own ‘Baby Borg’ after completing his 33rd winner’s face

INDIANAPOLIS – When Marcus Ericsson’s sculpted, bass relief face cast in sterling silver was attached to the Borg-Warner Trophy, it was the 33rd face of an Indy 500-winning driver that had been created by sculptor William Behrends.

It’s Ericsson’s lasting tribute for winning the 106th Indianapolis 500, joining the legends of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway such as four-time winners AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves, and Ray Harroun, the first winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911.

The number “33” is important at the Indianapolis 500. For much of its history, with a few rare exceptions, that is the number of cars on the starting grid for the world’s biggest race.

That got Michelle Collins, Global Director, Marketing and Public Relations, BorgWarner, thinking of honoring Behrends with his very own “Baby Borg” Trophy.

The actual Borg-Warner Trophy is on permanent display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Baby Borgs” are smaller versions of the larger Borg-Warner Trophy and awarded to the winning driver and winning team owner at a special ceremony sometime before the next Indianapolis 500.

“We realized that the last face Will did for us was the 33rd face, and we know that has significance in IndyCar for the 33 drivers in the starting lineup for the Indianapolis 500,” Collins told NBC Sports. “We thought that would be a really neat tie-in to do something very special for him.

“There is nobody outside of the driver that has the love and passion for the trophy like Will Behrends does. We had the idea, pitched it to (Indianapolis Motor Speedway president) Doug Boles, asked if he would be open to us weaving it into the Indianapolis 500 Victory Awards Celebration. He said, of course and we were able to make