Juan Manuel Fangio II (born September 19, 1956 in
Balcarce, Buenos Aires
San José de Balcarce (shortened to Balcarce) is a city in Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) about west of Mar del Plata with a population of approx 44,064 (2010 census). It is the ''cabecera'' (head town) of the Balcarce Partido (District of Bal ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
) is an Argentine former
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
driver. He is the nephew of five-time
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
champion
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...
.
After some experience in European Formula Three, Fangio debuted as a professional auto racer in
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
in 1984 in the Miami Grand Prix in a Porsche 935 with Hugo Gralia. He had an award-winning career, winning two
GTP driver's championships, as well as 2 manufacturer titles when he was racing for
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
and
All American Racers
All American Racers is an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as ...
. Fangio further established his legacy in the world of auto racing by winning the prestigious
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...
two times (as did his uncle), posting 21 GTP wins, and establishing an IMSA record with 19 solo victories. His victories came while driving the
Eagle HF89
The Eagle HF89 and its evolution, the Eagle HF90, is a racing car built and entered by Dan Gurney's All American Racers team, for the IMSA GT Championship. It was raced from 1989 until 1991 in IMSA's premier sports-car racing category, the GTP (G ...
/90 and
Eagle MkIII
The Eagle MkIII is a sports prototype racing car built by All American Racers in 1991 to IMSA GTP specifications. Powered by a turbocharged Toyota inline-4 engine, the car was campaigned in the IMSA Camel GT series by Dan Gurney's Toyota-sponsored ...
GTP cars.
Fangio won ten pole positions during his career. He made most of his driving career in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and was chosen in 1992 and 1993 as an "All-American" by the
American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA), an organization which also named Fangio their 1992 driver of the year. He also participated in the
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
series, but did not win any races, a fact that he regretted.
His boss, and also a personal friend, was
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...
. In 1997, Fangio called Gurney to let him know that he was retiring from CART competition. He told Gurney, "I have discovered that regardless of what my passion says, despite what I command my mind to do, I am no longer able to give my whole being, my total focus at the exclusion of everything else to this sport that I love. 99% is not enough, I shall stop." Gurney described Fangio as "A gentleman in a driver's suit with a core of steel exuding an aura of
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n dignity and honor even in the worst of circumstances will be missing from the grid".
Fangio returned home in 1998 to race in the
South American Super Touring Car Championship
The South American Super Touring Car Championship (known locally as the Copa de las Naciones Super Turismo then as the Copa de Superturismo Sudamericano) was an international touring car racing series in South America which used FIA Super Touring ...
. He finished fifth in the standings with one win and five podiums at the wheel of a
Peugeot 406
The Peugeot 406 is a mid-size car, large family car that was produced by France, French automaker Peugeot between 1995 and 2004. Available in sedan (car), saloon, station wagon, estate and coupé bodystyles with a choice of petrol or turbodiesel en ...
. Shortly after, he retired from motorsports after a final appearance at the 12 Hours of Sebring in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
with a
Ferrari 333 SP
The Ferrari 333 SP is a sports prototype race car that was built by Italian race car manufacturer Dallara and later Michelotto to compete in the World Sports Car championship for Ferrari. Unveiled at the end of 1993, at the behest of amateur rac ...
, finishing in sixth place for Doyle-
Risi Racing.
Fangio currently resides in his hometown of
Balcarce, Argentina.
Career results
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete IMSA GTP results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
American Open-Wheel racing results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
Indy Lights
CART
Complete American Le Mans Series results
International Race of Champions
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
External links
*
On his retirement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fangio, Juan Manuel II
1956 births
Argentine racing drivers
Champ Car drivers
Indy Lights drivers
Atlantic Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Living people
Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province
International Race of Champions drivers
Argentine people of Italian descent
International Formula 3000 drivers
Barber Pro Series drivers
12 Hours of Sebring drivers
PacWest Racing drivers
TOM'S drivers