Mario Andretti and Le Mans
Mario's run of bad luck also extends to his many attempts at Le Mans, which began with his 1966 debut, sharing a Holman & Moody Ford MKII with Lucien Bianchi, as they had been at the top 10, their car dropped a valve at 10:30 pm, causing them to retire. Further bad luck continued for the 1967 race, as he was driving, his front brake locked, causing him to crash his Holman & Moody Ford MKIV at the Esses, his fellow team-mates, Jo Schlesser and Roger McCluskey driving MKIIB GT40s attempted to avoid Andretti's GT40 and crashed, but managed to avoid his car. McCluskey managed to pull Andretti to safety, which he had to be taken to hospital. Mario would not return to the French classic until the end of his F1 career in 1982 with an enormous fanfare, partnering with son Michael in a Mirage M12 Ford. Despite having qualified 9th place, the pair found their car being removed from the starting grid 80 minutes before the start of the race, as an official discovered an oil cooler that was mounted behind the gearbox, contravening the rules, despite managing to pass initial scrutineering four days ago. Despite protests and complaints, the Andretti's entry was removed altogether, replaced by a Porsche 924 Carrera GTR. Despite a formal complaint, team owner Harley Cluxton, who took over the Mirage name from original founder John Wyer, would never return to the race again.
Their return for the following year was more successful as they finished third as well as their return in 1988 with John which they finished 6th in a factory Porsche 962. Following Mario's retirement from full-time racing, he decided on a return to the Sarthe circuit to add a Le Mans victory to his achievements in 1995. While showing potential to win the race, a number of disorganized mishap, including being pulled over to the pits at the closing period while leading the race to clear grime off the car to make the sponsor's decal visible resulting in a 2nd place. His efforts for the following years proved to be unsuccessful with a 13th place for 1996 and a DNF for 1997. His final appearance was in 2000 when he managed to finish 15th.
Read more about this topic: Andretti Curse
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