American motorsport legend Dan Gurney, a man who conquered not just Formula 1 but also Le Mans, Indycar and NASCAR, has died at the age of 86.
Gurney was a true pioneer who built, raced and won in his own Formula 1 car – only the second ever driver to do so – as well as being the first ever to spray champagne on the podium and an early advocate of full-face helmets in top-flight motorsport.
He also scored Porsche's debut (and only) F1 victory, in 1962, won twice for Brabham in 1964 and, most impressively of all, finished first in his own Eagle-Weslake at Spa in 1967.
Remarkably, that 1967 Spa victory was achieved just a week after Gurney and teammate AJ Foyt unexpectedly won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40 MkIV, a race which concluded with the now-customary champagne-spraying-antics (pictured above).
In fact, among his many qualities and achievements, it was Gurney's seemingly effortless ability to switch from series to series which most impresses.
He raced in the Indianapolis 500 each year from 1962 to 1970, finishing second in 1968 and '69 and third in 1970, and won five times in NASCAR.
