Fangio

About the Book

Juan Manuel Fangio is indisputably a motor-racing legend. A five-time Formula 1 champion, he is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats. 

As years go by and new drivers earn their place in the pantheon of international car racing, Fangio’s figure remains as strong as it ever was. His sporting record is astonishing: from 1938 to 1958 he won 79 races and claimed five Formula 1 titles with four different teams—Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz. His performance was simply overwhelming, and he continues to arouse passion for motor racing among fans and young drivers in Argentina. 

This biography by journalist Pablo Morosi recounts Fangio’s celebrated feats on the track while also shedding light on the shadows and giving voice to the private, flesh-and-blood man behind the wheel.

Excerpt

The blue-eyed young man waits for the starting signal as he grasps the steering wheel with both hands. He is wearing the same threadbare overalls he wears every day at the auto repair shop, and he has goggles protecting his eyes and a sort of fabric cap on his head. Registered under the name “Rivadavia”, this 25 year-old young man from Balcarce is ready for his baptism as a driver, unaware that that day will become a landmark not only in his life but in the history of international motor racing. The seventh position he achieved during qualification places him in the second row for the start, in Bianculli’s Ford A, whose bluish bodywork bears the number 19.

That Sunday, 25 October 1936, was the inauguration of Benito Juárez Racing Circuit, located in the eponymous town. The circuit’s triangle-shaped perimeter—as was the case with most of the regional tracks at the time—was 8,450 meters long and shared one side with Route 3. Participants needed to complete 25 laps to finish the race. Juan Manuel Fangio, the boy from Balcarce, felt confident: the car had responded well during trials, with an average speed of nearly 60 miles per hour. 

There were drivers from all across the region. Like Fangio—backed by “Pichón” Bianculli—many had decided to race under pseudonyms so their families wouldn’t be alarmed. That day, another driver that would make history debuted under a pseudonym: Benedicto Campos, born in Las Grutas, Río Negro, and later based in Quequén.

It was mid-afternoon when the 6,000 ardent fans watched Venancio Arruabarrena, the local mayor, give the starting signal. The roar from the machines at the start triggered a chaotic scene as everything got covered in dirt and dust. Amidst the whirlwind, Juan tried to move forward cautiously, focused on holding his position and avoiding collisions. “You couldn’t see a thing. I reached a certain speed and there I stayed—I didn’t push or lift my foot from the throttle for fear of hitting a car ahead of me or being hit from behind, until the dust cleared,” he would recall later in his life.

The pack had covered the first 500 meters surrounded by dust when the vehicle driven by Juan Estayno, with Armando Tesone as the co-driver, attempted a bold overtake. The car went too wide and violently struck a storm drain, spinning several times in the air. Runs and screams followed, muffled by the roar from the engines. Tesone did not survive the injuries. 

Despite the tragic start, the race continued. While hometown drivers Umbro Grimozzi and Henri Jarret de la Mairie—an eccentric landowner of French origin who styled himself the “marquis”—were locked in a neck-and-neck battle for first place, Fangio fought for third against Raúl Bernini and Juan Faré. But he was forced to retire with just two laps to go when his car ran out of oil and a connecting rod seized.

The ending was not without controversy. After the race, the organizers carried out a technical inspection using Fangio’s car as a reference and found that Grimozzi’s and the marquis’s vehicles had been modified, leading to their disqualification. The organizing committee voided the award ceremony and, after intense deliberation, victory was awarded to Faré, who had finished third. That very night, while Juan’s car was being repaired, he broke down in tears: he was convinced that, without the rod mishap, he could have won the race. When taxi-driver Bianculli learned about what had happened, he was visibly upset. However, he soon put it behind when the boys, true to their word, returned the car to him in perfect condition.

As days went by, Juan got his hopes up again and registered for a test at the González Chaves circuit, once again driving a 1930 Ford A—lent, this time, by Leandro Ialea, with whom he had worked at the Carlini brothers’ auto repair shop. Despite the great effort they put into preparing the car, things did not go as planned. When Fangio arrived at the starting line, the race had already begun. Although he was ahead of the cars in the top positions, he was one lap behind, which caused confusion as many thought Fangio and his co-driver were leading. The race steward resolved to disqualify them, waving the black flag that required them to exit the circuit.

Setbacks usually steel the spirit, and the partners at the auto repair shop were not willing to give up. That summer, they decided to enter a competition for standard vehicles organized by Balcarce’s Automobile Committee, to be held on Sunday, March 21, 1937, at the La Chata circuit. The problem was finding a car. The solution came through Raúl Rezusta, then head of the Buenos Aires Province Revenue Department, who offered Fangio his brand-new 8-cylinder Buick: a sporty two-seater convertible, very different from the cars he had driven in his first two races. 

“Do you think you can manage with this one?” Rezusta inquired.

Juan accepted immediately: it was a high-end machine, superior for the time, competing in the U.S. market with the classic brands. By then, he had convinced his parents to support his decision to compete. In fact, Loreto himself got involved in the car’s preparation, including disassembling the heavy bodywork and fitting a double-seat on the chassis. After fine-tuning the engine, the test runs left everyone highly satisfied. The day before the race—nicknamed “La Chata’s 200 Miles”—Juan delivered a strong qualifying performance, which earned him third spot on the starting grid and assigned the black Buick the number 3. The newspaper El Litoral picked Fangio as the favorite to claim victory. The organizers had decided on a staggered start, with each driver setting off independently at 30-second intervals. When he was given the starting sign, Juan—this time with José Duffard as co-driver—made a sudden move that dislodged the gearshift. He stopped the car in desperation and reattached it with a screwdriver, fixing it in third gear. He was allowed to continue but required to wait until the last car had started. With half the race left, he had regained lost ground, keeping a steady rhythm and overtaking several competitors. However, the Buick got engulfed in a cloud of smoke and slid into a storm drain, twisting the chassis and forcing him to retire. Repairing the chassis and bodywork was no easy task. They had to weld reinforcements to straighten the twisted parts. Fangio feared Rezusta might get mad and withdraw his support, but his benefactor never complained and their bond remained unchanged. With the exception of some Touring Car Racing tests that crossed the district, this was the first and only race for Fangio in his hometown.

That same year, the partners at the auto repair shop sought to strengthen the business by relocating downtown to a shop at the intersection of Del Valle Boulevard and 14th street. This way, in 1938 the partnership—which would be named Fangio, Duffard & Co.—expanded with the addition of Toto Fangio and Bernardo Duffard—José’s brother and a specialist in auto electricity.  

Destiny was beginning to take shape. While they honed their knowledge of car mechanics, the young men started to develop a business vision. Fangio in particular proved a confident businessman and showed great skill in cultivating relationships that could benefit him. Work, football, car racing, social gatherings, and nights out kept him busy day and night. He and his friends were regulars at bars and joints—some of dubious reputation—and he was quite often involved in situations that made him known for being quarrelsome. 

 

 

Translated by Martín Juan - Edited by Alejandra Rogante