1953

CARRERA PANAMERICANA
ROAD RACE

 

Another vintage film of the 4th Pan American-Mexican Road Race is now available from Rare Sportsfilms, Inc! This film is longer than our Mobil Oil film (which is also still available) and is unique with lots of “in car” camera shots during the actual race! This 45-minute presentation by Craig Stewart Productions has totally different scenes than our other film. Both films cover the eight stages of the historic 5-day race from Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico all the way to Ciudad Juarez on the Rio Grande River, a total of 1,912 grueling miles! From 1950 to 1954, the famous “Carrera Panamericana” was truly one of the great races of the world. Cancelled after five years running mainly because of the loss of life (26 were killed, mostly bystanders), the 1953 edition was the bloodiest, with nine fatalities. For 1953, cars are divided into four classes for the first time (Large & Small Sports cars, and Large & Small Stocks). The Large Sports class includes Lancias and Ferrari’s, and the Small Sports class is mostly Porsche. The Big Stock class includes Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick, Chrysler, Olds and Mercury and the Small Stock class consists mostly of Fords and Chevys.

The film begins with the pre-race excitement in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico as cars and drivers gather. Shown is pre-race prep for the Lincolns of Johnny Mantz, Walt Faulkner, Bill Vukovich and Ray Crawford. All 4 Lancia’s are unloaded out of a single hauler with the #34 of Felice Bonetto shown. Early morning on the first day cars of Tony Bettenhausen, Piero Taruffi and Juan Fangio leave the starting line in 1-minute intervals. At this point, the camera puts YOU in the co-pilot’s seat for a shotgun ride in the ’53 Carrera Panamericana! You’ll go up mountains, around sharp turns, over and through bridges, often passing other cars as you hit speeds of 120 MPH+! In this film a still-smoldering Lincoln is shown burned to a crisp alongside the road in the mountains. Next shown is the wreck aftermath of the crash that killed both Antonio Stagnoli and his co-pilot. Later are shown the wrecked ’53 Fords of Bob Christie and Mickey Thompson who swerved to miss bystanders running across the road and pitched over an embankment, landing on a hidden group (from the road) of spectators below, six of whom were killed! The Packard of Ramundo Corona is shown with a wrecker beside the road in the mountains and the wrecked white #156 Borgward 1500 of Adolph Brudes is shown along the roadside during the first day of racing. Other minor crashes and spinouts are shown later in the race, especially during the second leg at the town square in Acatlan, where the street curves between narrow buildings, many cars are shown either spinning out or crashing into the curb, some out of the race. Involved in this action are Ak Miller’s Special, Fernando Murphy’s Lincoln, Ricardo Rivapalacio’s Olds, Jose Herrarte’s Porsche, Tony Bettenhausen, Walt Faulkner, the Hudson of Malcom Eckart, Pedro Bealmonte’s Ford, Carlos Firpo’s Chevy, Oscar Martorani’s Ford, Carlos Diaz’s Studebaker and Dan Morgan’s Ford. But to better see the race, you’ll mostly be out of the car. You’ll see a pit stop set-up along the way and watch as Rodger Ward brings in his Lincoln Capri to change tires. Then, a great view of the race with cars coming down off a mountain and driving past you as the narrator identifies each driver and car that passes: Ferrari- Phil Hill, Lancia-Piero Taruffi, Lancia- Bonetto, Packard- Jean Trevoux, Ferrari- Antonio Stagnoli, Chrysler- Fernando Maciel, Lincoln- Stevenson, Walt Faulkner, Johnny Mantz, Frank Mundy, Cadillac- Viadimiro Chaterquin, Ferrari- Luigi Chinetti, Packard- Doug Ehlinger, Lincoln- Luis Leal Solares, Chrysler- Royal Russell, DeSoto- Roberto Balmar, Glasspar-Mercury- Fernando Duran Mejia, Caddy- Keith Andrews, Lincoln- Duane Carter, Lincoln- Gilberto Riega, Porsche- Manfredo Lippman, Lincoln- Ray Crawford and Jacqueline Evans de Lopez in her Porsche.

Second day racing covers stages 2 and 3 from Oaxaca to Mexico City with a stop in Puebla on the way. You’ll see the Lancia team of Bonetto, Taruffi and Fangio flagged off at the starting line. Also Jean Behra’s Gordini and the Kurtis-Kraft of Bettenhausen. For the first time you’ll see Ak Miller in his #11 “Miller Special” sponsored by Hot Rod Magazine and it becomes the most famous and popular entry in the race. That his “home-made hot rod” is still running at the end of the second day is considered by most fans, remarkable. At Atlixco, cameras are set up to catch the cars coming around a corner into the bridge just south of town and you’ll see Taruffi, Bonetto, Fangio, Trevoux, Stevenson, Faulkner, Mantz, Ricci, Jack McGrath, Crawford, Felix Loza, Bill Sterling, Maglioli, Gilberto Riega, Ramiro Aguilar, Tadeo Taddia and Francisco Casuscello all driving through. You’ll be back in the car again approaching Mexico City and what a thrill! Thousands of spectators are crowding the long, straight highway and must jump back as the race cars (including yours) are roaring into town at over 90 MPH for more than a mile!

The third leg is a 590-mile 7-hour trip, Mexico City to Durango. More cars you’ll see are those of Louis Rosier, Tommy Drisdale, Jorge Descote, Arturo Alvarez, Douglas Ehlinger and Elfrain Ruiz-Echevarria. The fourth leg is a 437-mile drive from Durango to Parral (a half-hour gas and rest stop) then on to Chihuahua. Great shots here of cars stopped at Parral: Louis Rosier’s Talbot, the Lancia team, Ferrari’s of Mario Ricci and Elfrain Ruiz-Echevarria, Lincolns of Stevenson, McGrath and Faulkner, the Porsches of Jose Herrarte, Jaroslav Juhan and Hans Herrmann, Oldsmobiles of Ricardo and Hector Rivapalacio and Alberto del Campo, and the battered Studebaker of Carlos Diaz. Close-ups of drivers out of their cars include Juan Fangio, Taruffi with Castellotti, Oscar Galvez and Ernie Hall. Pat Zoccalo spins his #93 Buick on the gravel coming into the station for gas!

The final 223-mile leg from Chihuahua to Juarez is a flat and straight road with speeds up to 180 MPH and many cars are shown crossing the finish line, but better views of some are seen when the drivers turn in their time cards: Mario Ricci’s Ferrari, the Lancias of overall winner Juan Fangio, Piero Taruffi and Eugenio Castellotti, the Talbot of Louis Rosier, Johnny Mantz’s Lincoln, Jacques Peron’s OSCA, the Porsche of Fernando Segura, Chevy of Scott Yantis, Hudson of Malcom Eckart, Mercury of Clemente Aspe, Ford of Oscar Calaben and Tommy Drisdale’s Chrysler. Umberto Maglioti wins the last leg in his Ferrari, but Fangio’s Lancia wins the Big Sports class. Mantz, Faulkner and McGrath arrive at the finish line in that order, but Chuck Stevenson wins the overall Big Stock Class for the event, and seven of the first nine Big Stocks finishing were Lincolns!

You can get your own color DVD of this historic race now available from Rare Sportsfilms! Send only $29.95 + $4.50 shipping & handling. (Illinois residents add $2.30 tax).