Juan Manuel Fangio II

Fangio's 1990 IMSA GTP car

Juan Manuel Fangio II (born September 19, 1956 in Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a former auto racing champion and the nephew of auto racer Juan Manuel Fangio.

After some experience in European Formula 3, he debuted as a professional auto racer in IMSA in 1984 in the Miami Grand Prix in a Porsche 935 with Hugo Gralia. He had an award-winning career, winning two GTP driver's championships, as well as 2 manufacturer titles when he was racing for Toyota and All American Racers. Fangio II further established his legacy in the world of auto racing by winning the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring two times (as did his uncle), posting 21 GTP wins, and establishing an IMSA record with 19 solo victories. His victories came while driving the Eagle HF89/90 and Eagle MkIII GTP cars.

Fangio II won pole position ten times during his career. He made most of his driving career in the United States and was chosen in 1992 and 1993 as an "All-American" by the (AARWBA), an organization which also named Fangio their 1992 driver of the year.

His boss, and also a personal friend, was Dan Gurney. While Fangio II also participated in the CART circuit, he did not win any races, a fact that he regretted.

In 1997, Fangio II called Gurney to let him know that he was retiring. He told Gurney, "I have discovered that regardless of what my passion says, despite what I command my mind to do, I am no longer able to give my whole being, my total focus at the exclusion of everything else to this sport that I love. 99% is not enough, I shall stop."

Said Gurney: "A gentleman in a driver's suit with a core of steel exuding an aura of Latin American dignity and honor even in the worst of circumstances will be missing from the grid".

Fangio II currently resides in Balcarce, Argentina.

Career results[]

Complete International Formula 3000 results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1993	C1	38	M	Toyota TS010 Toyota RV10 3.5L V10	Toyota Team Tom's	Geoff Lees Jan Lammers	353	8th	5th

Complete IMSA GTP results[]

(key)

American Open-Wheel racing results[]

(key)

Indy Lights[]

CART[]

Complete American Le Mans Series results[]

International Race of Champions[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

External links[]

• Juan Manuel Fangio II driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• On his retirement
• Biography on AAR's site