fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio Tribute

February 23, 2026 By pete

Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt,
Captions by staff

From the Archives, September 2011

Juan Manuel Fangio impressed the European racing scene the second he stepped foot in the Old World in 1949. In his first season with the Maserati 4CLT/48, he won the San Remo, Pau and Roussillon Gran Prix. In 1950, he won the Gran Prix of Pau again, with a Maserati 4CLT/50. But it was at San Remo where Fangio truly proved his worth as both a driver and mechanic. A big end went the day before the event. That night he removed the sump, found the bad bearing, and polished the crankshaft with a piece of emery cloth. This alone took him two hours. Then he installed a new bearing and fixed it so it wouldn’t spin. Finally, “I told the mechanics to put the sump on while I went to bed. And the next day I won the race.”

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Dale LaFollette: Heroes at Long Beach,1976

June 12, 2023 By pete

At first, a small group of famous drivers gathered for the cameras; Moss, Fangio, Dreyfus, Hill and Gurney.

Here is Dale LaFollette’s version of Heroes at the Long Beach Grand Prix of 1976. Please also read Larry Crane’s version (click here). Note the two photographers did not know each other at the time and didn’t know one was shooting the same scene from a different angle.–Ed.

Story and photos by Dale LaFollette

My May issue of MotorSport magazine arrived some time ago and as I thumbed through it, memories came flooding back as there was a story about a historic race in 1976 that I was quite familiar with.

In 1976, my closest friend Frank Fitch and I decided we needed to be at the first Long Beach Grand Prix, scheduled for March 28th. Frank was a service engineer for Mazda and a Formula B racer whose financial obligations had halted his racing program. I was three years into a career as manager of Portland International Raceway and I wanted to see how the folks in Long Beach would transform city streets into a racetrack overnight. Frank just wanted to see the race.

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Larry Crane: Heroes at Long Beach, 1976

June 12, 2023 By pete

Heroes: International champions spellbound by their hero, Rene Dreyfus (in blue sportscoat), at the 1976 Long Beach Vintage Grand Prix.

Here is Larry Crane’s version of the same meeting. Note that Larry and Dale were not acquainted with each other; this was all pure coincidence. Click here to see Dale’s version:https://velocetoday.com/larry-crane-heroes-at-long-beach-1976/

Also, Larry still has prints to sell. An 11 X 14 inch signed copy of “Heroes” as seen above is available for $200 from Larry Crane at mailto:CasaVetturaProductions@gmail.com.

Story by Larry Crane

Joel Finn had been my host for nearly a week. We were assembling the pieces for his soon to be produced history of Ferrari’s 250 Testa Rossa. As I prepared my luggage for a next-day departure, he suggested I leave a little earlier the next morning to have time to stop in Manhattan for lunch at Le Chanteclair Restaurant and Bar on 18 East 49th, the legend-filled necessary stop for every one in the world of motor sport.

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Juan Fangio and Suixtil

November 1, 2021 By pete

At Modena in 1957, Juan Manuel Fangio, shows Maserati chief engineer Giulio Alfieri, in jacket shirt and tie, and Swiss journalist Hans Tanner, back to camera, his bandaged wrist. Fangio would bring attention to a line of racing suits from an Argentinean-based company named Suixtil.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld unless otherwise noted

From the VeloceToday Archives May 2017

European motor racing in the years immediately following World War II tended to be a strictly European affair; that is until the arrival of the great Juan Manuel Fangio in 1948. Unlike Europe, where there was a war to contend with, young Fangio learned his motor racing craft in the wild and dangerous racing in Argentina in the 1930s and 1940s.

He proved to be not only a tough competitor but also a winner. Who better to be an ambassador for the Salomon Rudman’s Argentinean-based Suixtil company’s entry into the area of motor racing? Rudman’s enthusiasm for motor racing saw him produce clothing, which would not only be stylish but also comfortable. He took advice from his motor racing friends like Fangio as to design and functionality.

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