Mario Andretti

I probably recall the Sebring 12 Hours - of 1971 was it? No, it was 1970. From my standpoint that race was very memorable. It's hard to remember all the details, but as I recall Arturo Merzario was my team-mate and there were three Ferrari 512 Spyders, and one coupe. Merzario and I were in one of the Spyders and started on pole and led the race, until my car broke near the end.

Coming down to the end of the race only one of the Ferraris was left, and that was the coupe driven by Ignazio Giunti and Nino Vaccarella. They were running third at the time, and I was asked by Mauro Forghieri to take over their car for the final stint. I didn't really want to, but they asked so I stepped forward.

I talked with Giunti and he said it was OK for me to drive in his place. He was quite knackered anyway and he had no problem with me driving the car. So Vaccarella drove his last stint and I took over with about two hours to go. I remember Vaccarella had a very disappointed expression on his face when I took over from him but right then I wasn't bothered by that.

At that point to be honest, I was motivated by the fact that the actor - what was his name? - Steve McQueen, that's it, he was getting all the credit over the PA system for being in second place. Peter Revson and McQueen were driving one of the Porsches, and Revson had been driving his heart out and all they were talking about was McQueen this, McQueen that.

Then all of a sudden the leading Porsche, which was Siffert and Rodriguez, encountered trouble. They were out and Revson and McQueen went into the lead and we moved into second with a realistic chance of winning.

The coupe that Vaccarella and Giunti were driving was an older, heavier car than the Spyders. It wasn't as quick. But I remember when I took over the car at night I was so fired up by all the talk about McQueen that I was doing the kink flat-out, something I hadn't done all weekend.

It turned out after the race of course that Revson had driven nine of the 12 hours. He was the one who did all the work, and he was never even mentioned. It was like this movie actor was showing these other drivers how to do it. Well I tell you, that really pissed me off. I was driving like a man possessed. I was running five seconds a lap quicker than Giunti and Vaccarella - that's a fact.

The way I remember it, I had to catch them and build up a lead so that I had time to stop for a splash of fuel to finish the race. I caught them, took the lead and pulled away and with a few minutes left the engine started misfiring. That was the signal.

In those days of course we had no radios but they were ready for me in the pits. At the time we had to turn off the engine and get out of the car - those were the rules. I stopped at the pits and jumped out of the car and as my feet hit the ground Forghieri threw me back in the car.

As I left the pits Revson went past and when I got up to speed he was just ahead, not quite out of sight. It took two laps for me to catch him. I got him at the end of the second last straight down the side of the airport. After that there was another straight and then the double right-hander onto the start-finish line. I'm pretty sure that was the last lap because the way I remember it I came around and there was the chequer.

Had I faltered when I had my chance I may not have done it. I didn't know if I had one or two laps left, but I really went for it - took a dive on him going into the corner. The poor guy. I'm sure he was really tired and I got him all messed up so that I was able to put some space between us comin' off the corner and goin' down to the last turn.

I didn't feel too bad about taking the credit for the victory even though I drove only one stint, because I had led most of the race anyway in my own car. It wasn't as if I was a token driver who got credit for the win. I felt I had done my part for Ferrari. I had put my car on pole and led most of the race and then actually made the pass to win the race right there at the end so I felt I had earned it.

I don't think Giunti and Vaccarella would have won the race on their own because I don't think either one of them was capable of running quick enough to catch and pass the Porsche. Vaccarella didn't say anything at all to me about it after the race, but when he landed at the airport in Italy he said they would've won without me which was fair enough. I respected that but I knew that he knew better.

I've had other races that were just as important to me but that one stands out because of what I had to pull out of myself. You know, I didn't fit the car at all and to go out in a strange car I hadn't driven - at night - those things normally would interfere with your performance but I didn't allow that to happen