File photo of Dan Gurney.
American racer Dan Gurney, a Formula One and Le Mans 24 Hours winner in the 1960s who started a trend by spraying champagne on the victory podium, died in California on Sunday aged 86.
The news was announced by his wife Evi and family in a statement.
"With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today, January 14, 2018," it said.
The family said Gurney, whose Formula One career spanned one of the most glamorous and dangerous periods of the sport's history from 1959 to 1970, had died of complications from pneumonia.
