The body of five time champion Juan Manuel Fangio has been exhumed on the orders of an Argentine judge, as part of a paternity case by two men who claim to be his offspring.
The legendary driver never married and never claimed to have had any children. He did however have a long-term relationship with Andrea Berruet, the mother of one of the claimants, Oscar Espinosa.
A second claimant, Ruben Vazquez, has also stepped forward with the same claim, which led to a delay in the exhumation of Fangio’s body when a second court became involved in the process.
However the body was removed from its grave and taken to a local morgue for examination on Friday, where it will undergo tests to determine whether Fangio’s DNA matches that of Espinosa or Vazquez.
The latter of the men claim they’re not chasing money, but “just want to be recognised for the Fangio surname.”
The foormer Mercedes driver, who died in 1995 aged 84, left his estate to a foundation and a museum which bears his name.
