Turismo Carretera

Turismo Carretera (Road racing, lit., Road Touring) is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the oldest auto racing series still active in the world.

Turismo Carretera
CategoryStock cars
Country Argentina
Inaugural season1937
Drivers' championMariano Werner
Teams' championMemo Corse by Azul
Makes' championFord
Official websiteACTC.org.ar

The first TC competition took place in 1937 with 12 races, each in a different province. Future Formula One star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories.

Until the 1960s the races were held on temporarily closed roads, hence the series' name. These improvised circuits would often present a combination of dirt and asphalt surfaces unlike those of dedicated race tracks.

During the 1960s the category began employing high-end technologies, with local manufacturers investing heavily for prestige. Ford Motor Argentina and Chevrolet were main contenders, with Dodge to a lesser degree. The European brand Renault, which had merged with Industrias Kaiser Argentina and thus inherited the Rambler range, was also a contender.

In the 1970s, the Sport Prototipo (modified cars in the Gran Turismo vein) category was spun off TC to allow TC to return to its stock-car roots which made it immensely popular with small-town audiences. The spin-off withered away slowly. A second spin-off was TC 2000 Championship in the 1980s which allowed the showcasing of the smaller cars most Argentines were driving, thus including Peugeot, Renault, Fiat and Volkswagen, and later, Japanese brands as well. TC 2000 soon became as popular as TC itself.

In later years, and to preserve its main draw, TC has been clinging to the larger models that have mostly gone out of use in Argentine roads, and incorporated imported engines.

Brands in TC still have huge fan bases, with Ford and Chevrolet being the largest. General Motors decided to end manufacturing Chevy Coupé SS (Chevrolet Nova) in Argentina in 1977. Dodge and IKA-Torino are the other two participants with wins in TC.

  • 1930s Chevrolet Coupe.
  • A crash in 1950.
  • Liebre-Torino. In the late 1960s, major modifications were allowed on automobiles.
  • Since the 70s, the same four cars have been kept.
  • Modern Turismo Carretera.


Circuits

The race-tracks used are:

Cars

Please note that both Dodge and Torino were equipped with Chrysler Cherokee engines after 1995. Back when they won the titles they were equipped with their original engines. (a Dodge "Slant Six" engine for Dodge and a Tornado engine for the Torino).

Drivers

Champions[1]

Active

References
  1. SRL, InfoBit. "ACTC - Asociación Corredores Turismo Carretera - TC - Campeones x año". actc.org.ar. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
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