Mar del Plata-El Torreon

Juan Manuel Fangio’s hometown of Balcarce is 40 miles inland from Mar del Plata, so huge crowds were guaranteed when the Atlantic seaside resort held international races featuring the homegrown star from 1948 to 1950. The spectacular El Torreón street circuit had “tunnels, ascents and descents, and with the atmosphere of Monte Carlo” according to Hernan Lopez Laiseca in Argentine Temporada Motor Races. Fangio remembered that overtaking was difficult due to the sinuous course in his autobiography. Giuseppe Farina won the inaugural event following a fierce early dice with Luigi Villoresi, and Alberto Ascari’s works Ferrari 166 won the 1950 edition after Fangio crashed into Villoresi’s spun sister Ferrari – prompting conspiracy theories in the Argentinian press.