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 Mario Andretti's
life story captured the essence of
the great American dream. Born near
Trieste in the early months of the
Second World War, his family spent
the first seven years of his life in
a displaced person's camp before
immigrating to the USA in 1955.
Childhood memories of
Alberto
Ascari and the Mille Miglia
fueled Mario's passion for racing.
He competed in the Indianapolis 500
for the first time in 1965 and won
this classic American race four
years later. He qualified a works
Lotus
49B on pole position for the
US Grand
Prix at
Watkins
Glen and won his first Grand
Prix victory at the wheel of a
Ferrari
in
South
Africa three years later. Yet
the whole point about Mario was his
passion for racing. Sure, he made a
living out of it, a good one, but
the basic thing was to be battling
away behind the wheel. He was one of
the most versatile drivers of all
time, winning regularly in F1, Champcars, oval racers and long
distance sports car races.
In 1978
he drove the sensational Lotus 79 to
the World Championship title and
raced intermittently in F1 through
to the end of 1982. He would be
53-years old when he won his last Champcar race at Phoenix, Arizona,
in 1993 and although he celebrated
his 60th birthday at the start of
2000 he was still angling after a
drive at Le Mans.
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