Carrera Panamericana

The Carrera Panamericana was (and is again) a sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. It ran from a southern Mexican west-coast city towards Texas.

After the Mexican section of the Panamerican Highway was completed in 1950, a multi-stage race across the country was established to celebrate this feat. It was contested by a handful of amateurs and several American factory teams.

Due to safety concerns (it was widely held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world), the high speed race was cancelled after the 1955 Le Mans disaster. This was unavoidable given that cars of the period were of a high-speed, low-safety design, and drivers of a win-at-all-costs mentality.

The race was resurrected in 1988 by Eduardo León (2006 is the 18th retrospective year), and runs a 7-day, 2,000 mile route aping some of the original course. 80 cars compete in 10 classes, sorted regarding age and authenticity; virtually any car with a classic bodyshell is eligible. The bulk of entries are provided by 1950s and '60s American stock cars.

// Extracted from Wikipedia (see full text clicking here)//

Video (2006 edition):