"He was a true cheerleader": When Mario Andretti fondly recalled late twin brother Aldo's racing spirit

Mario Andretti's twin brother Aldo Andretti seemed to remain in the shadow of a racing bloodline. Soon after the 80-year-old passed away in 2020, the four-time IndyCar champion shared his thoughts on how Aldo was a true cheerleader for his family and rejoiced in the achievements of his family members.

The 85-year-old was born in Italy, with a few hours separating the two twins. With the Andretti family moving over to the US, Mario and Aldo began working on fulfilling their racing dreams.

They saved money to get their first racecar rolling and immediately struck as prodigies by winning their first race. However, Aldo Andretti suffered a serious injury in 1959, which acted as the first hurdle in his career.

With a subsequent big injury in the following decade, Aldo hung up his helmet but continued to follow his elder twin brother in his racing venture. Aldo rejoiced in Mario Andretti's victories and success stories and seemingly became a cheerleader in a family of racing blood, as the F1 and IndyCar champion said in 2021 (via IndyStar):

"“He was a true cheerleader. I think he felt the same satisfaction I was having with my own success, and I knew how much he wanted it, even though he never had the chance. I was the luckier one, for sure, but there was never this, ‘Oh gosh, why not me?’ type of thing, never ever, ever, ever, ever made you feel like he was a victim, and that’s something that spoke so loudly to me throughout my life.”

Despite Aldo's career receiving a premature end, the origins of the twin brothers' racing career helped give the motorsport community a legendary racing family.

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Mario Andretti once shared fond memories of racing with Aldo Andretti in their early racing days

Mario Andretti at the F1 Grand Prix of United States - Source: Getty

The 1969 Indy 500 winner received tough competition from his twin brother in his early racing days. They had hidden the fact that they were racing from their parents, and the two had equal contributions in this plan.

Sharing how the two used to plan out their racing ventures in the late 1950s, Mario Andretti said in 2019 (Motortrend):

"Before my dad rented a home, we stayed for a couple of weeks with our uncle on my mother's side, who sponsored us over. We see lights on a Sunday night, and all these bright lights beyond, like, a mile away. And then all of a sudden a big, big roar of engines... We looked at each other—bang! I mean, we booked [to that track]."

On the other hand, Mario Andretti went on to win an F1 championship, an Indy 500, and four IndyCar titles in a racing career spanning three decades alone in the American racing sphere.