Just a little aside on El Maestro, aka Juan Fangio. In February of 1958 the guy was in Cuba for the Grand Prix event there. Unfortunately, he missed the race as he was unceremoniously kidnapped by the Castro gang. Literally! He was released after the race unharmed. His response? “It was just one more adventure. If what the rebels did was in a good cause, then I, as an Argentine, accept it.”
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/10/cubas-car-culture-book-review.html : Chapter 6 is all about racing in Cuba's history, and if you have been interested in the gran prix's and Fangio's kidnapping, you'll enjoy this chapter. Did you know they had stock car racing? And there were Edsels, Studebakers, and Dodges racing in stock, and in the sports car classes were Porsches and Mercedes 300SLs.
But, did you know that the GP races were almost not held in Cuba due to the deaths when the Mercedes went through the grandstands and killed 80 at the 1955 Le Mans? And, of course, something similar happened in Cuba, as the track wasn't anything more than city streets, and the rumor is that the people were not happy with the rich and wealthy racing, and the poor getting poorer due to the Castro regime, so they oiled the track on a fast corner, and a car wiped out and killed 6 and injured 40 more. Bet you never heard about that. But the lack of race organizers, and complete lack of safety, meant that no warning was given to incoming race car drivers.
And the 1960 Cuban GP was missing Briggs Cunningham, becuase the Cubans had seized his business in Cuba, so he boycotted the race - and seriously, would you take part competing in a country that had stolen your property and business?
I am familiar with the rumor you mention, but I'm inclined to believe it's unfounded. Batista left Cuba in 1960, almost two full years after the 1958 incident. That means, in my mind, he was still largely in control of things at the time of the 58 race. He had specifically arranged for the annual Grand Prix event in 1957 in hopes of drawing tourists to the island. As such I would think he went to great lengths to assure its success. The linked clip states that the race was 30 minutes old at the time of the wreck, and I find it very hard to believe the field passed the point of incident multiple times without any problem if there had been a layer of oil on the track.
Hi Jesse, What a great pic of the Maestro, Fabulous Fangio ,pilotting the Magic Maser. 250F! Thanks for posting those two greats in harmony. Cheers,Rob.
Just a little aside on El Maestro, aka Juan Fangio. In February of 1958 the guy was in Cuba for the Grand Prix event there. Unfortunately, he missed the race as he was unceremoniously kidnapped by the Castro gang. Literally! He was released after the race unharmed. His response? “It was just one more adventure. If what the rebels did was in a good cause, then I, as an Argentine, accept it.”
ReplyDeletehttps://havana-live.com/race-champ-juan-fangio-kidnapped-fidel-castros-rebels/
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/03/history-some-interesting-stories-come.html
Deletehttps://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/10/cubas-car-culture-book-review.html :
DeleteChapter 6 is all about racing in Cuba's history, and if you have been interested in the gran prix's and Fangio's kidnapping, you'll enjoy this chapter. Did you know they had stock car racing? And there were Edsels, Studebakers, and Dodges racing in stock, and in the sports car classes were Porsches and Mercedes 300SLs.
But, did you know that the GP races were almost not held in Cuba due to the deaths when the Mercedes went through the grandstands and killed 80 at the 1955 Le Mans? And, of course, something similar happened in Cuba, as the track wasn't anything more than city streets, and the rumor is that the people were not happy with the rich and wealthy racing, and the poor getting poorer due to the Castro regime, so they oiled the track on a fast corner, and a car wiped out and killed 6 and injured 40 more. Bet you never heard about that. But the lack of race organizers, and complete lack of safety, meant that no warning was given to incoming race car drivers.
And the 1960 Cuban GP was missing Briggs Cunningham, becuase the Cubans had seized his business in Cuba, so he boycotted the race - and seriously, would you take part competing in a country that had stolen your property and business?
I am familiar with the rumor you mention, but I'm inclined to believe it's unfounded. Batista left Cuba in 1960, almost two full years after the 1958 incident. That means, in my mind, he was still largely in control of things at the time of the 58 race. He had specifically arranged for the annual Grand Prix event in 1957 in hopes of drawing tourists to the island. As such I would think he went to great lengths to assure its success. The linked clip states that the race was 30 minutes old at the time of the wreck, and I find it very hard to believe the field passed the point of incident multiple times without any problem if there had been a layer of oil on the track.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp1uAQbMCvs
Hi Jesse, What a great pic of the Maestro, Fabulous Fangio ,pilotting the Magic Maser. 250F! Thanks for posting those two greats in harmony. Cheers,Rob.
ReplyDeletethanks for enjoying the stuff I share!
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