Turismo Carretera

Turismo Carretera (English: Road racing, lit., Road Touring) is probably the most popular car racing series in Argentina, and the oldest car racing series still active in the world, featuring stock cars in the manner of American NASCAR series.

The first TC competition took place in 1937 with 12 races, each in a different province. Formula 1 star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. By that time the Chevrolet-Ford rivalry started, when Ford acquired most of its historical victories.

Until the 1960s, the races were held in temporarily closed local roads, often a combination of dirt and asphalt (hence its name) rather than in dedicated race tracks.

During the 1960s, the category became high-tech with local manufacturers investing heavily for prestige. Ford and Chevrolet were the main American firms, and to a lesser degree Dodge. European Renault, who was merged with Kaiser in Argentina and thus inherited the Rambler series, 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. That spin-off withered away slowly. A second spin-off was TC 2000 in the 1980s, that allowed showcasing the smaller cars most Argentines were driving (and thus including Peugeot, Renault, Fiat and Volkswagen into the mix, and later on 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 incorporates imported engines.

Brands in TC still have huge fan bases, with Chevrolet being the largest.General Motors decided to end manufacturing Chevy Coupé SS or "Nova" in Argentina in 1977. Ford reputedly draws the second largest fan base in later years. Dodge and Torino are the other two participants with winnings in TC.

Circuits

The race-tracks used are:

Cars

*Ford Falcon (35 titles)
*Chevrolet Coupé SS (14 titles)
*Dodge GTX Coupé (currently powered by a Chrysler Cherokee engine) (8 titles)
*IKA/Renault Torino (currently powered by a Chrysler Cherokee engine) (5 titles)

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 for the Torino).

Drivers

Champions

*1939: Ángel Lo Valvo - Ford TC V8 coupé
*1940: Juan Manuel Fangio - Chevrolet TC
*1941: Juan Manuel Fangio - Chevrolet coupé
*1947: Oscar Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1948: Oscar Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1949: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1950: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1951: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1952: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1953: Oscar Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1954: Oscar Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1955: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1956: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1957: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1958: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1959: Rodolfo De Álzaga - Ford V8 coupé
*1960: Oscar Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1961: Juan Gálvez - Ford V8 coupé
*1962: Dante Emiliozzi - Ford V8 coupé
*1963: Dante Emiliozzi - Ford V8 coupé
*1964: Dante Emiliozzi - Ford V8 coupé
*1965: Dante Emiliozzi - Ford V8 coupé
*1966: Juan Manuel Bordeu - Chevrolet coupé
*1967: Eduardo Copello - Torino 380 coupé
*1968: Carlos Pairetti - Chevrolet-250 Prototipo (Chassis Ford "T")
*1969: Gaston Perkins - Torino-Nova Prototipo
*1970: Luis Rubén Di Palma - Torino 380 coupé
*1971: Luis Rubén Di Palma - Torino 380 coupé
*1972: Héctor Luis Gradassi - Ford Falcon
*1973: Nasif Estéfano - Ford Falcon
*1974: Héctor Luis Gradassi - Ford Falcon
*1975: Héctor Luis Gradassi - Ford Falcon
*1976: Héctor Luis Gradassi - Ford Falcon
*1977: Juan María Traverso - Ford Falcon
*1978: Juan María Traverso - Ford Falcon
*79/80: Francisco Espinosa - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*80/81: Antonio Aventín - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*1982: Jorge Martínez Boero - Ford Falcon
*1983: Roberto Mouras - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*1984: Roberto Mouras - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*1985: Roberto Mouras - Dodge Polara RT coupé/Chevrolet
*1986: Oscar Angeletti - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*1987: Oscar Castellano - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*1988: Oscar Castellano - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*1989: Oscar Castellano - Ford Falcon
*1990: Emilio Satriano - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*1991: Oscar Aventín - Ford Falcon
*1992: Oscar Aventín - Ford Falcon
*1993: Walter Hernández - Ford Falcon
*1994: Eduardo Ramos - Ford Falcon
*1995: Juan María Traverso - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*1996: Juan María Traverso - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*1997: Juan María Traverso - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*1998: Guillermo Ortelli - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*1999: Juan María Traverso - Ford Falcon
*2000: Guillermo Ortelli - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*2001: Guillermo Ortelli - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*2002: Guillermo Ortelli - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé
*2003: Ernesto Bessone - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*2004: Omar Martínez - Ford Falcon
*2005: Juan Manuel Silva - Ford Falcon
*2006: Norberto Fontana - Dodge Polara RT coupé
*2007: Christian Ledesma - Chevrolet Chevy Coupé

Active

*Ernesto Bessone
*Marcos Di Palma
*Patricio Di Palma [http://www.patodipalma.com]
*Jose Luis Di Palma
*Juan Manuel Iglesias
*Roberto Urretavizcaya
*Norberto Fontana [http://www.nfontana.com.ar]
*Christian Ledesma [http://www.christianledesma.com]
*Omar Martínez [http://www.elgurimartinz.com]
*Emanuel Moriatis [http://www.emanuelmoriatis.com]
*Guillermo Ortelli [http://www.elguille.com]
*Gabriel Ponce de León [http://www.gabrielponcedeleon.com.ar]
*Juan Manuel Silva [http://www.patosilva.com.ar]
*Matias Rossi [http://www.matirossi.com.ar]
*Emiliano Spataro [http://www.emispataro.com]
*Diego Aventin
*Mariano Altuna [http://www.monitoaltuna.com.ar]
*Carlos Arrausi [http://www.arrausiracing.com.ar]
*José Ciantini
*Waldemar Coronas
*Julio César Catalán Magni [http://www.jcatalanmagni.com.ar]
*Jonatan Castellano [http://www.pinchito.com.ar]
*Sebastián Diruscio [http://www.sebadiruscio.com.ar]
*Carlos Giavedoni
*Ricardo Joseph
*Oscar Larrauri
*José María López [http://www.pechito-lopez.com.ar]
*Luis Minervino
*Leandro Mulet
*Alejandro Occhionero
*Ariel Pacho [http://www.arielpacho.com]
*Carlos Okulovich [http://www.carlitosokulovich.com.ar]
*Armando Ciancaglini
*Juan Cruz Pisandelli
*Oscar Rama
*Pablo Soto
*Walter Sotro
*Omar Tanoni
*Rafael Verna [http://www.taboverna.com.ar]
*Fabián Yannantuoni
*Matias Jalaf [http://www.matiasjalaf.com.ar]

Former

*Oscar Angelleti
*Juan Manuel Bordeu
*Oscar Castellano
*Marcos Ciani
*Eduardo Copello
*Jorge Cupeiro
*Luis Rubén Di Palma
*Dante Emiliozzi
*Nasif Estefano
*Juan Manuel Fangio
*Juan Gálvez
*Oscar Alfredo Gálvez
*Nestor Garcia Veiga
*Jose Froilan Gonzalez
*Héctor Gradassi [http://www.eldiario-rojas.com.ar/02feb03/06-02-03/11.htm bio]
*Miguel Angel Guerra
*Carlos Loeffel
*Eusebio Marcilla
*Carlos Marincovich
*Onofre Marimon
*Carlos Menditeguy
*Osvaldo Morresi
*Roberto Mouras
*Daniel Musso
*Carlos Pairetti
*Felix Peduzzi
*Gaston Perkins
*Vicente Pernía
*Jorge Recalde
*Carlos Reutemann
*Emilio Satriano
*Héctor Supicci Sedes(URU)
*Juan María Traverso
*Esteban Tuero
*Lorenzo Varoli Gherardi(CHI) [http://www.lorenzovaroli.cl]
*Andrea Vianini

External links

* [http://www.actc.org.ar Official site]
* [http://www.pasiontc.com.ar Information & History]
* [http://www.asociaciontcdelayer.com.ar History]
* [http://www.turismocarretera.com Statistics, games, wallpapers]