Listening to Andretti describe his 50-year-old love affair with Le Mans, it's clear the event also connected with something deeper-something spiritual-inside racing's Greatest of All Time.
Class wins we were second overall but first in class." "A lot of people say, 'you never won Le Mans.' Well, if I didn't win Le Mans, then Corvette never won Le Mans. "Still one class in 1995, so I can claim I won Le Mans," he said.
Another long pause would come as Andretti retired from Ind圜ar competition after the 1994 season, and with his schedule finally open, he made three consecutive starts from 1995-1997.ġ995 would mark Andretti's finest outing as he placed second overall and won the WSC class, which still stands as a point of pride. It finally came in 1983 in a Porsche 956 where he finished third overall, and five more years passed before the German manufacturer assembled an all-Andretti car for Mario, his son Michael, and his nephew John for 1988 where they finished sixth. A win at the 1969 Indy 500, famous sports car wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and other events outside of Le Mans, and his crowning achievement-winning the 1978 Formula 1 world driver's championship-all took place while he waited for a chance to return to France for the 24 Hour. And of all things, it had to be foggy right at that spot."Īndretti would race for Ford at Le Mans through 1967 and suffer two frustrating failures before turning his attention back to Indy cars. It was always foggy there at night because of the river. I mean, you miscue there, you're freaking going to smithereens. There was the White House before they the Porsche Curves, and we were going across that freaking unprotected bridge. "You know, the safety factor, not that we, anywhere we ran was like that, but there were a couple places that I took particular notice.
"It was quite daunting actually because it was really fast," Mario told.
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