Fangio: The life behind the legend by Gerald Donaldson

Author:Gerald Donaldson [Donaldson, Gerald]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Crónica, Memorias
Publisher: ePubLibre
Published: 2002-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

1953: Return to Racing (Maserati)

‘A driver needs to win to keep up his spirits. In fact, he must win. Once he gets into a losing streak, all his spirit goes’.

Deliberately pushing harder than ever to distance himself as far as possible from the Monza catastrophe, in mid-January Juan embarked on what was to prove his busiest ever year of racing. In all, he would compete in two dozen events, eight of them driving for Maserati in World Championship Grands Prix. The first of these required only a short journey, since it took place at the brand-new Autódromo de Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, the Gran Premio de la República Argentina turned out to be a difficult day for the local hero on what came to be known as the ‘Fangiodrome’ — worse still, a deadly one for many of his countrymen.

GRAN PREMIO DE LA REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA

The line-up for the 1953 Formula 1 season featured a stronger than ever Ferrari presence, with reigning champion Ascari leading a team that included Italian veterans Farina and Villoresi and the British newcomer, Mike Hawthorn. Given Ferrari's total dominance the previous year, it would be a tall order for the opposition to make inroads, especially as, alongside the usual privateers, only two other teams were officially entered in the series. Gordini had the Frenchmen Jean Behra, Maurice Trintignant and Robert Manzon, the Franco-American Harry Schell and the Argentinian Roberto Mieres; at Maserati, Juan and González had as team-mates their countryman Onofre Marimón (the son of Juan's old friend and road-racing rival Domingo Marimón) and the Italian Felice Bonetto.

With several of their nation's stars among the featured players, the Argentinians turned out in huge numbers for their home Grand Prix. The immense new Autódromo, located 25 miles outside Buenos Aires, boasted public enclosures intended to accommodate 400,000 spectators and five different configurations of racetrack. What the otherwise impressive facility did not have were adequate barriers between the crowd and the track.

After seven months of not racing, Juan was impressive in qualifying, setting a time that was beaten only by Ascari, whose team-mates Villoresi and Farina were also on the front row of the grid. Though the seventeen cars were lined up in orderly fashion, the massive crowd, estimated at 350,000, was not, and the drivers at first refused to start. Thousands of people, many of whom had gained entry by cutting holes in the high wire fences surrounding the venue, were clustered five or six deep on the very edge of the track, some of them even standing on the racing surface itself. It was a baking hot afternoon and the crowd became increasingly impatient, shouting their defiance at the police, army personnel and track marshals who tried in vain to move them from the most dangerous vantage points. Fearing a riot, the organisers — and, it was said, General Perón himself — issued the command that started the ill-fated race.

Ascari, Fangio, Farina, Villoresi, González. Round and round went the brave Formula 1 heroes in their fabulously roaring cars, higher and higher soared the emotions of the hot-blooded crowd.

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