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Mario Andretti on Marco's Le Mans chances

Mario Andretti never won the Le Mans 24 Hours, so he hopes grandson Marco can lay a ghost to rest

Gary Watkins Jun 8, 2010, 5:21 PM

"We haven't won the Le Mans 24 Hours yet." Marco Andretti isn't using the 'royal we' here. He's talking about his family, a great racing dynasty that has one gapping hole in its combined curriculum vitae. And why he will be following his grandfather and father by taking on the greatest challenge in sportscar racing.

The latest in a line of racing Andrettis is making his Le Mans debut this year, 10 years on from grandfather Mario's last appearance at La Sarthe. The IndyCar Series frontrunner was offered a drive in one of the Anglo-Swiss Rebellion Racing team's Lola coupes, and jumped at the chance.

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Author Gary Watkins

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.