MARIO ANDRETTI

VARIO ADRETT1

BEFORE HE WON THE 1978 WORLD Championship with Lotus, Andreffi found out just how hard it is for an American team to succeed in Fl. In the mid-1970s he plugged away with US team Vel’s Parnelli Jones, scoring a best result of fourth in the 1975 Swedish GP. Andreffi then switched to Lotus in early ’76 and Vel’s Parnelli quit Fl.

“I’m sure Peter and Ken are both very aware of the challenges. I don’t know anyone who would know the ins and outs of Fl beffer than Peter and Ken do. Sol would like to think they’re going into this thing with their eyes wide open.

That way I’m personally excited for them. “I’ve expressed my support because I think this is great news. I’ve known Peter preffy well over the years and I know about what Ken has done, and I feel that these two gentlemen do possess the credibility to tackle this project. I would certainly give them the benefit of the doubt. I believe in what they’re doing. You can

pick holes in anything but I like to think there isn’t a question I could come up with that they couldn’t answer. “Listening to their reasoning about the timing and the worldwide recession,

even though all this was not designed as part of the project, it seems like it might be playing into their hands and I hope it does. It’s truly great news for Fl and for US fans who will be following the team. “It was very interesting listening to them explain about the logistics and they had an answer for everything. They had very logical answers, which shows they’re not just dreamers. These guys have been living this thing for some time. And it would create a liffle more pressure to bring Fl back to the States. That’s something that has got to happen.” ED