How an ingenious fix prevented Paul Newman from winning Le Mans
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.
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.
How an ingenious fix prevented Paul Newman from winning Le Mans
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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About this article
| Series | Le Mans |
| Drivers | Paul Newman |
| Teams | Kremer Racing |
| Author | Gary Watkins |