FIA Super Licence
Fangio was the special guest of the 50th anniversary 1978 Australian Grand Prix at the Sandown Raceway in Melbourne (7 years before the Australian Grand Prix became a round of the World Championship in ). After awarding the Lex Davison Trophy to race winner Graham McRae (who stated that meeting Fangio was a bigger thrill than actually winning the race for the 3rd time), the legendary Argentinian drove his 1954 and 1955 World Championship-winning Mercedes-Benz W196 in a spirited 3 lap exhibition against 3 other cars, including the World Championship winning Brabham BT19 driven by Australia's own triple World Champion Jack Brabham. Despite his car having been given away over 10 years previously to the Repco Brabham, Fangio pushed the Australian all the way to the flag. Before the "race", Fangio (who at 67 years of age and not having raced competitively in 20 years, still held a full FIA Super Licence) had stated his intention of racing and not just putting in a demonstration drive.