How an ingenious fix prevented a movie legend from winning Le Mans

By:

Gary Watkins

Apr 13, 2021, 8:23 AM

It's one of the great what-if stories in Le Mans history. Paul Newman finished second in the 24 Hours in 1979, but it could easily have been a famous victory were it not for the resourcefulness of the late Manfred Kremer

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The idea of a fifty-something Hollywood megastar, a future Oscar winner no less, pitching up at the Le Mans 24 Hours and winning the thing on his debut sounds absurd. But it nearly happened in 1979 in a plot line so fanciful that it would have been laughed out of Tinseltown.

The reality is that Paul Newman was deprived of victory in the French enduro by the ingenuity of Manfred Kremer.

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Gary Watkins

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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.