No rest for Fangio

Oscar Espinoza

Juan Manuel Fangio, legendary champion, kidnap victim and a bit of a ladies man, cannot find peace in the great beyond.

The trouble comes from his relations with ladies and with children those relations produced: a judge in his native Argentina has ordered the exhumation of Fangio's body in order to perform a DNA paternity test.

That Fangio,  who never married,  had at least two sons has been know for years,  at least in Argentina.  The eldest is Oscar "Cacho" Espinosa,  now 77 with a past as a race car driver as well.   Espinosa is the son of "Beba"Berruet a married woman Fangio had a relationship with when he was 27 years old.

Espinosa's documents carry the Fangio name but how this came about is curious.
Espinosa was racing Formula 3 in Europe and his team was demanding the Fangio name for sponsorship reasons.   Juan Manuel called in a favor from a colonel who was in charge of the local civil registry  who changed Oscar's papers and added the famous name.

Fangio and Espinoza

But the champion never officially recognized Espinosa nor a younger son, Ruben Vasquez born four years after Espinoza to another married woman Fangio had an affair with.

The relationship between the champion and his son soured a couple of years before Fangio's death in 1995.   Espinoza had asked him why he would not officially recognize him to which the old man replied,  according to Espinoza's attorney,  "You have to show me you deserve it"

The two men never spoke again.

Why would Espinoza embark on this quest so late in life?  he told Clarin he's doing it in part as a tribute to one to his daughters who always told him he should not renounce his true identity.

Complicating this matter are the interests of the Foundation Fangio to which the master had donated all his artifacts and which has blocked the younger son's paternity quest n 2005.

Espinoza was able to present a strong enough case to convince the judge who ordered the exhumation to take place on August 7th and presumably will finally put this whole matter to rest.

The Sounds of Sebring.

Tomorrow you'll be able to tune into Fox Sports to follow the 2015 12 Hours of Sebring.  You'll get live timing and scoring, updates on Twitter and Facebook,  Before most of us were born, before there was an internet, before podcasting, before there was live TV for motor racing,  fans would either read about races or perhaps be lucky enough to score one of these audio documentaries on vinyl from Riverside Records.

Riverside was a jazz label in the 50s but its founder, Bill Grauer was a racing fan who produced these incredible recordings.

Given how attention span has decreased over the years, you might find it hard to listen to the whole thing: the 1956 edition is an hour long, the 1957 an hour and a half.  That would be a shame but,  if it's just too much, at least browse them,  there are some real gems here.  

Moss and Z.A-D

The 1956 edition, for example,  starts with a description of Stirling Moss:

"As a driver, Moss' style can described as erratic but terribly fast.  He sits well back in the car, arms outstretched to the wheel.  He's quite spectacular, honking his horn frequently at cars that do not pull over fast enough for him to pass, waving at spectators and flagmen.   In easier races he is inclined to aim for photographers who get too close on corners, all in fun of course, and while they bare him no malice, they learned to honor his right to the road and take their pictures from behind the fences."

Poetry Of Motion

"When all is going well and the engine sounds are harmonious, noise turns into music and the driver becomes an orchestra conductor"
Juan Manuel Fangio

In this amazing "yes, there was a time before GoPro" clip,  the great Fangio is driving a Lancia -Ferrari D50 around the Principality, I'm guessing it's sometimes in the mid to late 60s.  
Note the cars parked along the road, I imagine Monaco gladly shut down to give the master a few laps in what must have been back then just an old race car.

The clip starts with Fangio explaining how, in his time, all their kit fit inside a woman's hat box: goggles, leather gloves, black t-shirt and helmet.

Poetry of motion

Juan Manuel Fangio, Monza 1955..