Re: Who was the great driver at this event?

[Simon Favre <simon@domain.elided>]

I think perhaps there is some confusion about this. I saw the original
question, and thought of Fangio, but the original description wasn't even
close. There are two Fangio stories like this, but neither one was of him
leading a pace lap for race cars. There may be another story where he did,
but for the record, this is what happened in Monterey:

1985: Alfa Romeo is the featured marque at the Monterey Historics. Alfa
was, in fact, the FIRST marque to repeat this honor. Fangio is on hand to
drive the 159 Alfetta around the track at lunchtime. The story is that he
got the car sideways in the Corkscrew, drove back into the pits, jumped
out, and said (no doubt in Spanish), "Same car!" The picture I have, which
once graced the cover of the Overheard Cams, is of Fangio screaming thru
the old turn 2-3 complex which is now where the Alfa Corral stands! this
astounding shot may be viewed at:

  ftp://ftp.team.net/italian/Images/fngio159.jpg

1991: Juan Manual Fangio is featured at the Historics. This is the first
time a person is the honoree instead of a marque. Fangio did some laps in
the 159, which was not running nearly as well as it was in 1985. He went
out in a Mercedes (W125?) Grand Prix car with a MB camera car in front of
him, driving at a rather pedestrian pace. The camera car spun out right in 
front of him, and being Fangio, he figured the safest place to be was out 
in front. He floored it. The crowd in the grandstands went ape when he came
around at full chat with no camera car in front. I did not capture this on
film, unfortunately.

>I think it was the great Fangio, maybe at the Monterey Historics. I seem
>to recall that either Scott F. or Simon F. were there taking pictures and
>told us the story on the digest.

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