Donington 1993!!! Ayrton Senna started in 4th under heavy rain, driving an outclassed McLaren, dropped to 5th, and in 1 min 14 Secs, passed four cars and took the lead, and won the race. That first lap became a legend in F1. His drive in Monaco in 1984 was the first sign that an icon had been born. There is a clip in youtube , "Lap of life" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9qZu7h5ys0, where starting at 4:04 you can the expressions on the faces of the other drivers, icons themselves, in pure awe of the driving skills demonstrated in his pole position lap. The last driver shown, Prost, looks like a kid whose favorite toy has been taken away!
My favorite race is not even on 4 wheels. 2012 AMA Daytona 200. Jason DiSalvo (#9 Gary Nixon Commerative Triumph)has a problem, He comes in, gets it fixed, and then goes beast mode, and passes 40 bikes, to finish 2nd. Loses by 1 bike length (margin of victory was .048s). Only race to ever make me lose my voice from yelling.
My favorite race is not even on 4 wheels. 2012 AMA Daytona 200. Jason DiSalvo (#9 Gary Nixon tribute Triumph) has a problem, He comes in, gets it fixed, and then goes beast mode, and passes 40 bikes, to finish 2nd. Loses by 1 bike length (margin of victory was .048s). Only race to ever make me lose my voice from yelling. Last 15 minutes of race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOWUjO-fkvI Entire race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DIk2hBTils 2nd favorite would probably be 1991 Indy 500, with Rick Mears going on the outside of Michael Andretti with 8 laps to go.
Top 3 (without considering motorcycle races): Le Mans 2011 Sebring 2009 (ALMS) Silverstone 2015 (WEC) ... in no particular order.
Possibly 1999 European grand prix at the nurburgring, was the craziest most mixed up race I can remember.
Bathurst 1000 in 2014, not just because I was there but it was an Epic race. National Hot Rods 1986, again I was there but again an Epic battle between George Polley and winner Phil White.
What makes for the best races? I think the elements are: 1) lengthy back & forth battles 2) overcoming adversity 3) unpredictability (like whatever F1 race that was where so many cars ran out of fuel on the last lap)
Extract from Wikipedia In 1957 Fangio returned to Maserati, who were still using the same iconic 250F which Fangio had driven at the start of 1954. Fangio started the season with a hat-trick of wins in Argentina, Monaco and France, before retiring with engine problems in Britain. At the next race, the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring circuit, Fangio needed to extend his lead by six points to claim the title with two races to spare. From pole position Fangio dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Mike Hawthorn and Collins but managed to get past both by the end of the third lap. Fangio had started with half-full tanks since he expected that he would need new tyres halfway through the race. In the event Fangio pitted on lap 13 with a 30-second lead, but a disastrous stop left him back in third place and 50 seconds behind Collins and Hawthorn. Fangio came into his own, setting one fastest lap after another, culminating in a record-breaking time on lap 20 a full eleven seconds faster than the best the Ferraris could do. On the penultimate lap Fangio got back past both Collins and Hawthorn, and held on to take the win by just over three seconds. With Musso finishing down in fourth place, Fangio claimed his fifth title. This performance is often regarded as the greatest drive in Formula One history, and it was to be Fangio's last win. Pit stop at 4:00