F1 legend Fangio's body exhumed to resolve paternity suits

Fangio's body was removed from the family vault at a cemetery in the Argentine town of Balcarce and taken to a morgue where forensics experts are to extract DNA samples to determine whether he was the father of either or both of two men who have launched paternity suits.

The exhumation followed a court order from Buenos Aires Judge Rodrigo Cataldo.

Fangio, who won the Formula One drivers' title five times between 1951 and 1957, and never married or declared having any children, passed away in 1995 at the age of 84.

However, he is widely understood to have had a relationship lasting several years with a woman named Andrea Berruet, before they broke up in 1960. Her son, Oscar Espinosa, who had a brief career in the Europe-based Formula Three circuit, is one of the men to have filed paternity suits.

"Everything is proceeding absolutely normal," his lwayer, Oscar Scarcella was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. He added, that he expected the results of the DNA tests to be ready in 30 to 60 days.

The other man, Ruben Vazquez, said his mother, who died three years ago, had signed papers in the presence of a notary public claiming Fangio was his father.

"There are no economic interests in my request… I just want to be recognized for the Fangio surname," Vazquez was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Juan Manuel Fangio won 24 of the Formula One races he competed in and his five drivers' championships were a record until it was eclipsed by Germany's Michael Schumacher in 2003.

pfd/bw (AFP, Reuters)