The 1000 km Buenos Aires was an

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

and

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...

event held in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The race mostly run on the

Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez Autodromo or Autódromo is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish word for race track. It may refer to: * Autódromo de Benguela, Benguela, Angola * Autódromo Chiapas, Berriozábal, Chiapas * Autódromo Ciudad de Concordia, Concordia, Entre Río ...

, although it ran on the Costanera circuit in 1957. Besides a single race in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, it was the only annual

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n race in the history of the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

History

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

visited the newly built Autódromo in the center of Buenos Aires for the

Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and ...

. The race was successful enough for Formula One to return the following year, and it was also decided that the newly formed

would add the track to their schedule as a traditional season-opening event. Following the

1000km Nürburgring 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

the previous year, this would make the Buenos Aires round only the second event in the series history. A circuit using long sections of the

Avenida General Paz Avenida General Paz (official name Ruta Nacional A001 - National Route A001) is a beltway freeway surrounding the city of Buenos Aires. Roughly following the boundary between the city and Buenos Aires Province, it is one of the few motorways in A ...

highway attached to the Autodromo section used only by Formula One would be used for the first 1000 km event. In 1955, an even longer section of the Autopista General Pablo Riccheri route would be added, making the circuit in length before it returned to its original size once again in 1956. The event would move however in 1957, to the Costanera circuit before returning to the Autodromo in 1958. One final appearance was made by both Formula One and sports cars in 1960 before both chose not to return to Argentina for the time being. The 1000 km event would return once more in 1970, as a non-championship exhibition round. The Autodromo had been expanded in 1968 to allow for a circuit and eliminating the use of public highways. World Championship status would return again in 1971 while Formula One would also test the re-addition of the Argentine Grand Prix by holding their own exhibition race. The circuit would be modified again in 1972, shortening the lap to for the sportscars, while the Argentine Grand Prix officially returned to the Formula One calendar where it would stay for nearly a decade. The 1000 km sports car event would however be abandoned after the 1972 running, with the series eliminating several fly-away events in the coming years to cut costs. In 2017,

Turismo Carretera Turismo Carretera ( Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the 2nd oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera. ...

revived the event as one of their ''Carreras Especiales'' ("special races") to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the category. This version of the race was held only twice, in 2017 and 2018, with one win apiece going to Ford and

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Winners

The event was dominated by

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

s, winning five out of the six runnings in the race's first incarnation before winning the final event once again in 1972. American

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across eight seas ...

would be the only driver to win more than once. † - Non-championship event.

References

{{Automobile endurance races Sports car races

Motorsport competitions in Argentina