I saw Clark and all the GP greats throughout the years as well, and that included Mario and Gurney and Hill.

I would never rate one over the other, it cannot be done. But Mario is, and always will be, one of the very few greatest racers that ever lived.

It is a very short list, and he is one of the few drivers that will always occupy a place on that list.

He is a God.

Trappeur

There is a documentary on youtube that aired in a series on the BBC about Jim Clark, and Dan Gurney gives a few interviews. When the subject f his death comes up, Dan can barely talk.

They did one on Jackie Stewart, one on Graham Hill and one on Jim. All on youtube

And dare I say that while Lauda, Gilles and Prost were true greats they never achieved success in anything but F1 while Mario won in F1, Indy cars, long-distance sports cars and NASCAR stockers, as did Dan. That’s why they are two of the greatest drivers the world has ever seen. And of course, Mario also achieved great success on the dirt in midgets, sprint cars and Championship dirt cars so that his career was even more diverse than Dan’s. Nobody today can begin to match the breadth of Mario & Dan’s accomplishments.

And as Mario says in my 2001 book, ‘Mario Andretti–A Driving Passion’, Dan was his hero when he was racing midgets and sprint cars in the early sixties.

If so, high praise indeed!

I don’t know how high to ‘rate’ the senior Andretti. There were some All Time Greats during his successful years in F1 (Lauda, Villeneuve and Prost, in order and for instance) so I don’t know what to make of it.

Perhaps Mr Roebuck – whose book ‘Mario Andretti World Champion’ I bought as a youngster a few decades back – can shed some light on the order in which he would rate the likes of Lauda-Andretti-Villeneuve-Prost…?

Also the 3 seem to have very distinct personalities, while being charismatic in their own way. Phil Hill was introspective, Andretti had that knack with the press and desire to drive anything, and Gurney was/is always tinkering with something (his own team, aero design, that odd looking motorcycle he’s built). The 3 also have a huge amount of talent, and respect.

I always thought Phil Hill could join in on that list. Great driver too, and an American.

I refer to Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti. Gurney has generally been considered the American racer of the 20th Century becuase he did it all – drove with distinction in all world major racing series, designed and built cars that succeeded everywhere and managed teams successfully on a similar scale.

Andretti has been named the American driver of the 20th Century. No-one has driven with such success, in so many series world-wide, for so long.

Gurney and Andretti – perhaps the world’s greatest total racer and driver?

Mchael Wilson
Ottawa, CANADA