{"id":59354,"date":"2008-01-01T13:30:19","date_gmt":"2008-01-01T13:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=59354"},"modified":"2024-01-14T07:10:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-14T07:10:53","slug":"remembering-fangio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Fangio"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the fifties, everyone\u2019s hero was Juan Manuel Fangio. He won the World Driving Championship five times, an achievement that would not be equaled for almost 50 years. The race that put the fifth crown on his head was at the world\u2019s most challenging circuit, the old N\u00fcrburgring. At the wheel of an outdated and underpowered Maserati, he beat the best there was at the time.<\/p>\n

My wife, Alicia, remembers Fangio from when she was a small girl. Early in his career, Fangio, an Argentinean, competed in South American open road races. The longest and most difficult started at Buenos Aires\u2014at sea level on the Atlantic coast\u2014climbed over the Andes through a 14,000-foot pass, down to Chile on the Pacific coast, north through the Atacama Desert and finished at Lima, capitol of Peru. Alicia was born in and grew up in Lima. She remembers seeing Fangio during the wild celebrations that took place as the cars crossed the finish line.<\/p>\n

During 1958, I had a yearlong assignment shooting film in South America. I wanted to visit the 14,000-foot pass, so I rented the least-expensive car available\u2014a Fiat 500\u2014and set off from Santiago, Chile. The Fiat and I climbed and climbed and climbed. Finally, we came to a hill that the little car wouldn\u2019t climb. I turned it around and tried to back up, but it was a no go. I had to return it and rent a more powerful car. I understand that the Atacama Desert is one of the world\u2019s hottest and most desolate places. The N\u00fcrburgring must have seemed like a cruise in the park by comparison!<\/p>\n

While I was in Buenos Aires that year, I made it a point to visit Fangio and try to get to know him a little. He was most gracious and friendly. If anyone deserved an ego, it was Fangio, but he didn\u2019t exhibit a trace. Due to his winning the championship for Daimler-Benz in 1954 and 1955, he had been granted a distributorship and had a showroom in Buenos Aires. His second-story office had a window that overlooked the sales floor. Frequently, he would come down and help sell cars. From what I could gather, he was a great salesman and always dressed conservatively in a suit and tie.<\/p>\n

One day he offered to show me the autodromo, the racetrack at Buenos Aires. We started out in a small sedan, Fangio at the wheel, me riding shotgun. As we drove through the city streets, some pedestrians saw who was in the car. A few, running behind, waved their hands in the air and shouted, \u201cMaestro, maestro!\u201d Ten years after he had retired, he was still their national hero.<\/p>\n

\"Juan<\/a>
Juan Manuel Fangio<\/p>\n

Photo: Art Evans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we got to the autodromo gate, the guard waved us through with a huge smile and a few \u201cmaestros.\u201d The autodromo was in a park-like setting, but it was flat as a pancake. We started to do a lap. Fangio, in his suit and tie, with his left arm out the window, was smoking while all the time talking about the circuit.<\/p>\n

The last turn before the pit straight was a flat \u201cU.\u201d The road surface was tarmac and the inside of the curve was bounded by a cement curb. Weeds were growing between the tarmac and the cement. As this was a right-hand turn, I could look out my window and see the apex. Driving with one hand, Fangio didn\u2019t seem to be paying any attention to the road. But I could see that the car was in a full four-wheel drift with the right-front tire clipping the weeds.<\/p>\n

For all the years after my visit and until his death, we exchanged Christmas cards. Alicia has kept every one and treasures them. The last time I saw Fangio was when he was inducted into the San Diego Automotive Museum Hall of Fame on July 24, 1990. By then, I had started my self-assigned task of taking portraits of fifties-era race legends. Fangio agreed to let me shoot him before the ceremonies started. We went outside, to the front of the museum building, and I brought a chair for him to sit in. Every now and then, while I was shooting, some self-important personage would try to get his attention. He politely shooed them away, telling them (in a language they probably couldn\u2019t fully understand) that we were occupied just then, continuing to give me his full attention. That\u2019s the kind of a guy he was.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of Fangio’s auto dealerships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.<\/p>\n

Photo: Art Evans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After processing the film, I made a few 11×14-inch prints and, at a gathering a few weeks later, he most graciously autographed them. I sent one to Stirling Moss, who had started me off on my portrait project and another was a present for John Fitch. (Moss and Fitch were Fangio\u2019s 1955 Mercedes teammates.) I kept two, and they are among my most prized possessions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the fifties, everyone\u2019s hero was Juan Manuel Fangio. He won the World Driving Championship five times, an achievement that would not be equaled for almost 50 years. The race that put the fifth crown on his head was at the world\u2019s most challenging circuit, the old N\u00fcrburgring. At the wheel of an outdated and underpowered Maserati, he beat the best there was at the time. My wife, Alicia, remembers Fangio from when she was a small girl. Early in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":604386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,18114,18330],"tags":[17152,18435,11307,18107,16791],"class_list":["post-59354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-culture","category-people","category-profiles-car-culture","tag-car-culture","tag-people","tag-juan-manuel-fangio","tag-people-profiles","tag-profiles"],"yoast_head":"\nRemembering Fangio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Art Evans fondly recalls a trip to Argentina that launched a long friendship with \u201cThe Maestro.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering Fangio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Art Evans fondly recalls a trip to Argentina that launched a long friendship with \u201cThe Maestro.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Supercars.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Supercars.net\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-01-01T13:30:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-14T07:10:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Art Evans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@supercars_net\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@supercars_net\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Art Evans\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Art Evans\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cc1bdfceb5198fc557ef54c1dfcd1b1\"},\"headline\":\"Remembering Fangio\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-01-01T13:30:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-14T07:10:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":852,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/01\\\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Car Culture\",\"People\",\"People (Juan Manuel Fangio)\",\"People Profiles (All)\",\"Profiles (All)\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Car Culture\",\"People\",\"Profiles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/\",\"name\":\"Remembering Fangio\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/01\\\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-01-01T13:30:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-14T07:10:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cc1bdfceb5198fc557ef54c1dfcd1b1\"},\"description\":\"Art Evans fondly recalls a trip to Argentina that launched a long friendship with \u201cThe Maestro.\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/01\\\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/01\\\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":695},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/remembering-fangio\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Remembering Fangio\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Supercars.net\",\"description\":\"Exotic and Supercar news, information, pictures and videos\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cc1bdfceb5198fc557ef54c1dfcd1b1\",\"name\":\"Art Evans\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/evans-293x293.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/evans-293x293.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/evans-293x293.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Art Evans\"},\"description\":\"Art Evans has a varied and extensive background. During the fifties, he and his partner, OCee Ritch, had a public relations and advertising company that represented the MG Mitten Company, Devin Enterprises and Gough Industries among other car-related organizations. The author of ten books about photography plus others on different subjects, Evans has written numerous articles for photography and automotive magazines as well as professional journals. In addition, he has written eleven books about motor racing. In retirement, Evans pursues pastimes including writing about the fabulous fifties and serving as secretary and newsletter editor of The Fabulous Fifties Association.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/art-evans\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Remembering Fangio","description":"Art Evans fondly recalls a trip to Argentina that launched a long friendship with \u201cThe Maestro.\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering Fangio","og_description":"Art Evans fondly recalls a trip to Argentina that launched a long friendship with \u201cThe Maestro.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/","og_site_name":"Supercars.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Supercars.net\/","article_published_time":"2008-01-01T13:30:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-14T07:10:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":695,"url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Art Evans","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@supercars_net","twitter_site":"@supercars_net","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Art Evans","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/"},"author":{"name":"Art Evans","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8cc1bdfceb5198fc557ef54c1dfcd1b1"},"headline":"Remembering Fangio","datePublished":"2008-01-01T13:30:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-14T07:10:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/"},"wordCount":852,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg","keywords":["Car Culture","People","People (Juan Manuel Fangio)","People Profiles (All)","Profiles (All)"],"articleSection":["Car Culture","People","Profiles"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/","name":"Remembering Fangio","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg","datePublished":"2008-01-01T13:30:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-14T07:10:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8cc1bdfceb5198fc557ef54c1dfcd1b1"},"description":"Art Evans fondly recalls a trip to Argentina that launched a long friendship with \u201cThe Maestro.\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/FF200801-p1-1.jpg","width":1080,"height":695},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/remembering-fangio\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Remembering Fangio"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/","name":"Supercars.net","description":"Exotic and Supercar news, information, pictures and videos","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8cc1bdfceb5198fc557ef54c1dfcd1b1","name":"Art Evans","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/evans-293x293.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/evans-293x293.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/evans-293x293.jpg","caption":"Art Evans"},"description":"Art Evans has a varied and extensive background. During the fifties, he and his partner, OCee Ritch, had a public relations and advertising company that represented the MG Mitten Company, Devin Enterprises and Gough Industries among other car-related organizations. The author of ten books about photography plus others on different subjects, Evans has written numerous articles for photography and automotive magazines as well as professional journals. In addition, he has written eleven books about motor racing. In retirement, Evans pursues pastimes including writing about the fabulous fifties and serving as secretary and newsletter editor of The Fabulous Fifties Association.","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/author\/art-evans\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}