The 1958-'61 South American Triangular Tournaments
- Where front-engined Formula One went to die
Part 3: Second edition of the South American Triangular Championship (1960)
Author
- Lorenzo Baer
Date
- August 14, 2024
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Who?José Froilán González What?Ferrari-Corvette 625 Where?El Pinar When?1960 Gran Premio Veedol/E.G.S.A. |
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Why?
Race 1: I Etapa do Torneio Sul-Americano (Mecânica Nacional & Esporte Internacional)
Since the first edition of the Triangular lasted until 1959, it was decided to postpone the second edition of the tournament to the beginning of 1960. By then, the Mecânica Nacional/Fuerza Libre scenario had changed considerably, mainly with the strengthening of the category in the countries participating in the initiative.
The most prominent case is the one presented by the ACB, which went through a rollercoaster of emotions in 1959. Firstly, it was a shock for the federation when Ângelo Juliano requested an indefinite leave of absence from his duties, with the aim of resuming his career as a racing driver. At the time, in addition to holding the position of director of the São Paulo branch of the association, Ângelo also had become president of the Sports Commission of the Brazilian Drivers Association (ABV) and the main force behind the Triangular championship movement.
However, Juliano's return to the tracks was not as successful as he had hoped - notwithstanding a European tour, which turned out to be a huge sporting fiasco. Despite not being able to establish himself on the track again, a positive aspect of Ângelo's adventure was establishing ties with some interesting characters from world motorsport in the sixties. For example, upon his return to Brazil, to resume his duties at the Automovel Club do Brasil, Ângelo had brought 'in his bag' two Maserati 250Fs (#2502 and #2507), both ex-Scuderia Centro Sud, which had been negotiated with Guglielmo 'Mimmo' Dei, owner of the team.
The cars had been part of the team's roster until the end of the 1959 F1 season, when 'Mimmo' finally realized that in order to have a modicum of competitiveness in F1 in the early 1960s it was necessary to finally get rid of the venerable front-engined Maseratis. In a negotiation that only included the sale of the body of the cars without the engines, Ângelo managed to bargain a great deal, providing Brazilians with the most modern Mecânica Nacional cars on the South American grids.
These vehicles were later resold to Ciro Cayres and Luiz Americo Margarido, who replaced their old Ferrari and Talbot, respectively. And, just a few weeks after arriving in Brazil, these two vehicles were joined by a third 250F (#2531, ex-works Officine Maserati), imported privately by the driver Antônio Mendes de Barros. All these machines were soon equipped with Corvette V8 engines, quickly adapting them to the South American MN/F Libre regulations. Therefore, on the eve of the start of the second Triangular tournament, Brazilian drivers could boast of being one of the best equipped countries to compete in motorsport events in the southern Atlantic zone. It's worth remembering that in addition to these new vehicles there were still a dozen of the older Ferrari and Maserati chassis that still resisted the impetus of time.
If on the one hand the Brazilians invested heavily after the frustrating first edition of the tournament, their rivals further south did little to modernise in the same period. As soon as entries began to arrive for the first round of the 1960 tournament, which would take place on January 10th at Interlagos, the ACB members were surprised by the few changes produced by the Argentinians and Uruguayans. Most of the cars were the same as those that had competed in the 1958-'59 edition, with drivers from the Prata basin being more concerned with improving their vehicles than investing in new machines.
This was due to several factors, mainly economic: despite finding a good degree of appeal among the Argentine and Uruguayan public, mainly due to the technological factor associated with the Mecânica Nacional/Fuerza Libre, this never became arguably the best evaluated and most frequented automobile category in these two countries. Many of the drivers who competed in this category did so more out of love for the sport than any financial return, as the prizes for these races were below a team's financial break-even point. Hence why many Uruguayan and Argentine drivers invested heavily in Turismo Carretera or Cross-Country rallies, which proved to be much more profitable and popular. In the end, Fuerza Libre, which had been born as an exponent of technology and inventiveness south of the tropics, had become a secondary category in the most comprehensive aspect of Latin American motorsport.
Even so, the ACA and the ACU did not refuse the Brazilians' offer to organise the second edition of the tournament at the beginning of 1960. Again, each country would have to select three drivers who could score points in the championship table, with the other drivers registered by each country only being able to compete for the general classification in the races. For Interlagos, the first of the three stops of the 1960 Triangular, the following teams were defined: representing Brazil, Ciro Cayres (Maserati 250F/Corvette), Christian 'Bino' Heins (Porsche 550) and Camilo Christófaro (Alfa Romeo MN/Corvette); defending the Uruguayan colors, the drivers were Oscar González (Ferrari 375/Corvette), Carlos Danvilla (Ferrari 500/Corvette) and Alberto Uria (Maserati A6GCM/Corvette); and closing the list of those 'chosen' were Argentinians Froilán González (Ferrari 625/Corvette), Jesús Iglesias (Pian/Chevrolet) and Nasif Estéfano (Volpi 4CLT-48/Chevrolet).
These nine drivers would be joined by another 16 (in reality, 15, as Henrique Casini, who had signed up for the race with a Maserati 450S, had not been able to arrive in São Paulo on time), who varied enormously in the level of preparation and focus on the race. Some were freshmen, like Claudio Bere, who was doing his first official race aboard the ex-Fritz d'Orey Ferrari 375/Corvette. Others were at the other end of the spectrum, much better prepared for this international meeting, such as the Escuderia Tubularte, which would line up two modified Porsches 550 (the #550-05 and #550A-0143), counting on the services of experienced Brazilian drivers Jose Gimenez Lopes and Christian 'Bino' Heins.
It is worth mentioning that, as had been the case in other Triangular races until then, entries of both Mecânica Nacional and sportscars were accepted, which helped to quickly fill up the entry list. Although each vehicle competed for the trophy within its respective category, all were eligible to compete for the overall trophy of the race – owing to the fact that, technically, the race was based on a Formula Libre format, with everyone competing against each other for the general classification.
Although the Brazilian drivers had a small advantage in this leg, being able to have some free track sessions on Friday (the 8th), few ventured onto the Interlagos circuit that day. Many chose (more out of necessity than desire) to only use Saturday to make the final adjustments, before the qualifying session.
In this way, the pits finally came to life when it was time for the official qualifying session for the race, in the middle of the Saturday afternoon. The system proposed by the ACB officials for this practice stated that only three cars would be released onto the track at a time, with each driver having only three hot laps to set their best time. Therefore, the margin for error was minimal, with every second lost being decisive in the limited space of time that each driver had at their disposal.
The Brazilian drivers proved to be above average in the qualifying session, managing to claim the top five sports in the classification. The first to break this sequence would be Jesús Iglesias, with his Pian/Chevrolet. The Argentinian would start from a reasonable sixth position after setting a lap time of 3.53. Of the rest of the foreigners, only Oscar González had also managed to get within the top ten, starting from ninth position. The disappointment was due to Froilán González who, after his overwhelming year in 1959 (in which he won his second Argentine MN/F Libre title) was facing constant problems in his Ferrari 625 – and 11th place was all Froilán could achieve in this practice.
On the other hand, Brazilians felt extremely comfortable running in their own home. With the support of the fans, Ciro Cayres pushed the new Maserati 250F/Corvette to the limit, with the car behaving extremely well on the uneven surface of the paulista circuit. In a spectacular lap, the driver managed to set the best time of the day: 3.39.6.
Just behind Cayres, a surprise: Jean Louis Lacerda, from Escuderia Lagartixa, took a Ferrari 250 TR/59 (#0606, ex-ENB) to second overall in qualifying, with a time of 3.45.1. Lacerda was almost dislodged from this position, because Celso de Lara Barbeis (Maserari 300S) was just a tenth of a second behind the Ferrari driver's mark. Completing the front row was the fourth fastest driver of the day, Camilo Christófaro in his homemade single-seater MN Alfa Romeo.
The sunrise in the Interlagos circuit next morning meant one thing: race day! Drivers and machines lined up on the track for the first leg of the 1960 Triangular. Heavy clouds were already hovering over the circuit, signaling that another challenge (rain) was waiting for the drivers on that Sunday. The competition formula had been changed in relation to 1958, and it was decided to hold the race in two heats, lasting 8 laps each. The sum of the times would define who would be crowned champion of the first leg of the tournament.
Luckily for the drivers, when the starting signal was given in the first heat, the threat of rain had not become concrete. And it would remain that way until the end of the first race, providing the great opportunity for the drivers to take everything out of their cars. Ciro Cayres took the lead, followed by Christófaro, Barbeis and Lacerda.
Further back, Iglesias was already in fifth position – a track position that did not remain in the hands of the Argentinian for long, as his compatriot Froilán González was making a furious charge through the pack. At the end of the first lap, Froilán was already in fifth, dangerously threatening the Brazilian drivers positioned in front of him. And the Argentinian, already 37 years old, still proved to be an opponent to be feared on the tracks, as even with his Ferrari not in the best condition, the driver climbed up to third position at the start of lap 3. Cayres and Christófaro now looked more prudently to their backs, while Barberis was content to follow the Argentinian at some distance. Louis Lacerda was already well behind in the race, due to mechanical problems in his Ferrari – and he would retire from the race before the end of the heat. Meanwhile, Iglesias regained fifth place, now chased by 'Bino' Heins' Porsche 550.
Start of the fourth lap, and while the crowd was preparing for the great battle that was gathering shape between Froilán González, Ciro Cayres and Camillo Christófaro, the disappointment followed: the differential of González's Ferrari had broken, declaring the end of the Argentinian's race. This left Cayres in an extremely comfortable situation, with the Brazilian being more than 8 seconds ahead of second-placed Christófaro.
Celso de Lara Barberis had already lost contact with Christófaro after the opening laps of the race and, in the second half of the heat, the driver found himself in the middle of the duel between Iglesias and Heins. Argentinian Iglesias and Brazilian Heins were engaged in a confrontation that electrified the crowd present at the circuit – and the addition of another car in this dispute only served to spice things up. In the end, it was the Argentinian who prevailed, taking third position with less than two laps to go. Behind, Barberis and Heins came in order, with the group fragmenting in the final moments of the race.
At the same time, Ciro Cayres was preparing to take the first chequered flag of the day, crossing the finish line with a time of 30.36.4. 12 seconds behind came Camillo Christófaro, finally giving the Brazilians the first Triangular double. But there was no time for celebrations, because as soon as all the vehicles crossed the finish line they were immediately instructed to position themselves back on the dummy grid.
It was a race against the approaching rain – which, unfortunately for ACB, was destined to be lost. As soon as the final preparations for the start of the second heat were made, a storm fell from the skies, considerably changing the characteristics of the Interlagos circuit. But it was already too late to change plans and, while the crowd ran to find shelter from the downpour, the remaining 17 drivers from the first heat raced down the straight of the circuit for another 8 laps of excitement.
Cayres had no problem holding on to first place, while Iglesias and Christófaro fought with their machines to stay behind the Maserati. The rain substantially hampered the performance of the Mecânica Nacional cars, nullifying any advantage these vehicles had in relation to the sportscars that were also present at the race. The light weight of these cars combined with the powerful torque of American V8s made the MNs tricky vehicles on the damp circuit – Cayres seemed the only one unaffected, setting a strong pace in the lead.
The difficulties faced by many Mecânica Nacional drivers provided the chance that the sportscar participants were waiting for in the race. With a better power-to-weight distribution, Celso Lara Barberis and Christian 'Bino' Heins began to slowly but inexorably gain positions. Over the next eight laps, Barberis managed to overtake Christófaro and Iglesias, being just 8 seconds behind Cayres at the final chequered flag.
'Bino' Heins had followed Barberis in his charge across the grid and with two laps to go the Brazilian and his Porsche were in third position in the race, just one second ahead of Christófaro. However, 'Bino' committed a rare mistake on the last lap, spinning on one of the curves of the slippery Interlagos circuit and losing precious seconds in the race. In the end, Christófaro would finish the race in third, already far away from the first two.
But despite the additional challenges offered by the circuit in the second heat, Ciro Cayres seemed unwavering in his desire to win the first race of the season. Neither rain nor the ephemeral threat of one rival or any mechanical problem could hinder the driver who again crossed the finish line first, in 33.26.1.
There was no doubt that Ciro Cayres was the winner of the first round of the 1960 South American Triangular Tournament, having won the two heats that made up the event with a combined time of 1.04.02.5. In the final composition of the podium, he was accompanied in second place by Celso de Lara Barbeis (1.04.36 – also winner of the sportscar category) and Camillo Christófaro in third (1.04.39.6). Finally, the Brazilians had broken Argentine hegemony in the championship – however, the next stop of the tournament would be at the Hermanos home, where a worthy response should certainly be expected.
Race 2: Gran Premio Auto Union
Only four months after the first round of the championship would the Argentinians have the chance for a rematch on a field well known to the Porteña delegation: the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires. The decision to promote the second round of the championship in Argentina was made mainly with the aim of avoiding any problems similar to those that occurred in the first edition of the Triangular, when the unexpected strike in the port of Montevideo delayed the entire schedule for the event in 1959. Thus, if the same problem were to occur again, the delegations could ultimately resort to the road connections between Argentina and Uruguay, resulting in almost no substantial delay in promoting the last event of the year, in El Pinar.
The Brazilian delegation, the most affected by the events of 1959, did not want to waste time in dispatching its delegation and a few days before the start of the official activities in Buenos Aires, the Tupiniquins were already in place in the Argentine capital. But the faces that made up this team were reasonably different from those that had competed in the race in Interlagos.
Originally, the institution had planned to register the same three drivers who had represented the green and yellow flag so well in São Paulo (Ciro Cayres, Christian 'Bino' Heins and Camilo Christófaro). However, a few days before the departure of the Brazilian team to Argentina, both Heins and Christófaro decided to decline ACB's invitation, giving up competing in the last two rounds of the tournament. With two vacancies open in the delegation and little time to find drivers who could fill them, ACB quickly began surveying any available drivers who had even minimally competitive machines.
The final result turned out to be decent in the face of these unforeseen adversities: Ciro Cayres, in his Maserati 250F/Corvette, would still lead the delegation, counting as teammates Luís Americo Margarido (Maserati 250F/Corvette) and Naim Honsi (MN 'Landi-Bianco'/Corvette). In addition to these, a fourth driver, Antonio Mendes de Barros, joined as a special guest of the ACB delegation, in his recently delivered Maserati 250F/Corvette. Due to his 'guest' status, however, Mendes de Barros was ineligible to score points in the Triangular races, and could only compete for isolated podiums in the remaining round.
The Asociación Uruguaya de Volantes, taking note of the mixed delegation made up of four drivers that was departing from Brazil, also decided to respond in kind, detaching the best available drivers in Uruguay: Carlos Danvilla, Oscar Mario González and Alberto Uria, in their already known Ferraris and Maserati. As the delegation's ad-hoc driver, Julio Varela was chosen, a well-known figure from the Fuerza Libre scene in the Rio de la Plata basin, and who would drive a Volpi (an Argentine copy of the Maserati A6GCM) equipped with a Corvette engine.
However, not even the expanded delegations from Brazil and Uruguay could mask the role of favourites of the Argentinian drivers in the race, who were racing on their national territory. The ACA delegation remained unchanged since the race in Interlagos, with Froilán González captaining the trio also composed of Nasif Estéfano and Jesús Iglesias. Both González and Iglesias needed no introduction, but Nasif was a special case, with the driver image changing substantially since the race in Interlagos, held just four months earlier.
The driver had stood out in some Turismo Carretera races, in addition to making his first appearance in F1, driving a private Maserati 250F in the Argentine GP, held in February 1960. Since then, Estéfano's popularity among the Argentine audience had grown in scale – even more so for a nation that lacked a great national idol in motorsport, after the retirement of drivers like Fangio and Menditeguy. Nasif would drive a Volpi but, unlike Varela's car, this vehicle was built over a real Maserati Grand Prix chassis.
Another factor that played in favour of the house was raw numbers. As always, international races in Argentina attracted a good number of drivers within its borders to compete, always with the ambition of disappointing the big stars from abroad. For example, even combining the delegations of Brazil and Uruguay (eight drivers), the ratio was still in favour of the Argentinians, who would line up 11 drivers on the grid. Among them some good names such as Ramón Requejo (who had not been able to join the ACA team in the 1960 Triangular due to an accident suffered in an Argentine national race in Rafaela) and Luis Milán.
Track activities officially began on the afternoon of the 7th, Saturday, when the drivers were finally able to test their machines on variant no. 2 of the Buenos Aires circuit. A 2-hour timed session would be all the teams and drivers would have to make the final adjustments, checking whether the integrity of the machines was in line with the best performance they could achieve. However, the essential thing was to set great lap times, which would be decisive for assembling the grid the following day.
In a very different approach to that associated with qualifying sessions, Froilán González took advantage of the first few minutes of practice to simply impose himself, setting a fantastic (and practically unattainable) mark. Speedily covering the 3,912 metres that made up the variant no. 2 of the Buenos Aires circuit, González set a time of 1.44.2, something spectacular for the Ferrari equipped with a Corvette engine. Everyone, from teams to drivers, were amazed by the Argentinian's almost perfect lap, while at the same time, they set to work to see if they could beat this mark.
Ramón Requejo and Ciro Cayres were the drivers who came closest to the experienced González. Ramón was faster than the Brazilian in the first part of the session, with Requejo managing to lap in 1.53.3, but Cayres was right behind with a time of 1.55.2. In the second part of practice, however, this order was reversed, with Cayres becoming Froilán's immediate pursuer. Even though he was still far from 'El Toro de los Pampas', Ciro managed to secure the second-best time of the day, managing to reduce his best time to 1.51.2.
Ramón Requejo demonstrating the beautiful lines of the Requejo-Chevrolet. Like Requejo, several other drivers chose to build their cars from scratch rather than the simpler route of adapting new engines to ex-F1 machines.
(credits unknown)
Right behind was the 'Argentine squad': Requejo, who had fallen to third, with 1.51.6; 4th, Jesús Iglesias, with 1.51.8; and in 5th, Nasif Estéfano, with 1.52.8. The other Brazilians, Uruguayans and Argentinians followed soon after, with 18 cars qualifying for the contest on Sunday. Night fell over Buenos Aires as the last cars returned to their garages. The great emotions of the weekend were reserved for the following day, when the chorus of motors would join the Argentine tango in unison on the Buenos Aires capital's circuit.
A cloudy Sunday announced the arrival of the second stage of the South American Triangular Tournament. It was a special mission of the Argentinian and Uruguayan delegations not to allow the Brazilian Ciro Cayres to score many points in the race, so that Cayres would not move further away in the championship rankings. At the same time, both AUVO and ACA were aware that their drivers should score as many points as possible in the last two races, due to the poor performance of the two institutions in the round stage of the championship.
While the vehicles were lined up for their starting positions, the drivers mentally prepared themselves for the 60 laps that would make up the event. Such a long race would require maximum concentration, as well as the ability to save the machine until the final moments of the contest.
Authorisation to start was given and the Argentinians quickly took the first three positions: Froilán led the field, followed by Ramón Requejo and Jesús Iglesias. Cayres had dropped to fourth after a poor start, with fifth-placed Estéfano inches behind the Brazilian. However, Cayres quickly recovered from his bad start, and, in the middle of the lap, he was already the race leader.
But the first tour of the circuit still held a few more moments of emotion, when González returned the favour to Cayres, with the Argentinian's Ferrari 625 retaking first position. Therefore, at the beginning of the second lap, we had four Argentinians and one Brazilian in the first five positions. In sixth was another Argentinian, Domingo Vita (in a Mecânica Nacional/Chevrolet) who was attacked by Uruguayan Carlos Danvilla.
The laps followed one another, and a veil of boredom seemed to have covered the Buenos Aires circuit. The small audience that attended the race saw almost a procession of vehicles, as the chances of overtaking decreased as the groups fragmented along the almost 4km route. González had already gained a certain advantage over Cayres, who was now trying to keep the Argentinian in his field of view. On the other hand, third-placed Requejo had also lost contact with Cayres, while Iglesias and Estéfano were left behind, involved in their direct confrontation for fourth position.
The monotony of the race would be momentarily broken between laps 10 and 15 when two drivers present in the top-ten withdrew from the race. The first was Domingo Vita who in sixth position and still ahead of Danvilla suffered mechanical issues that ended his participation in the GP. Next on the list of retirements was Ciro Cayres, who on lap 15 began to feel that his car's differential was not working as well as it should. The Brazilian driver also chose to withdraw from the race, saving his machine for the next race in Uruguay.
This left second position in the race open to Ramón Requejo, who accepted his promotion with open arms. Behind him, Iglesias and Estéfano continued to battle each other, with overtakes between the two being the most electric moments of the race. However, the entertainment that the two Argentine drivers provided to the crowd would not last much longer, as on the 31st lap, Jesús Iglesias would suffer problems with his car's suspension, forcing another one of the frontrunners to retire. Nasif Estéfano, on the other hand, lasted a little longer in the race – to be precise, until lap 46, when a gearbox failure ended the Argentinian's hopes.
Both González and Requejo looked like they were in separated races at the end, despite being more than one minute apart. The two drivers had already lapped twice every driver still running in the race, without even reaching the maximum of their cars. Third-placed Danvilla was also having a comfortable race, given that Alberto Uria, who had risen to fourth after the problems faced by all other drivers, was also well behind in the standings.
The final laps, therefore, turned into a protocol procedure, with everyone satisfied with the positions achieved. José Froilán González took the chequered flag for the first time this season, crossing the finish line for the final time with a total time of 1.52.15.1. It would be 1 minute and 10 seconds before second-placed Ramón Requejo could also take the flag, while Carlos Danvilla in a distant third place placed a Uruguayan on the podium in Buenos Aires.
González's triumph and Cayres' retirement meant that the two drivers were now tied for the 1960 Triangular trophy. Whoever came first in the El Pinar race would be crowned the winner of that year's tournament. Now was the time to answer the question: would Cayres and Brazil win their first continental titles in motorsport? Or would it be Froilán González who would grant Argentina yet another international trophy?
Race 3: Gran Premio Veedol/E.G.S.A.
A week after the race in Argentina, the circus of Triangular drivers had already set sail to the last stop of the championship: El Pinar. This time, all delegations arrived without problems at the circuit located on the outskirts of the Uruguayan capital. As had happened until then in the Triangular, the home drivers were the first to arrive at the circuit, opening the track activities at the beginning of Friday. While this was happening, the Brazilians and Argentines landed at the port of Montevideo, with the teams carefully observing each step of the unloading of the vehicles that had been shipped by sea.
As mentioned, a lot of media attention focused on the direct duel between Ciro Cayres' Maserati and José Froilán González's Ferrari. Both drivers had scored 11 points in the championship, due to their victories in Interlagos and Buenos Aires, respectively, and depended solely on themselves to achieve the title of winner of the 1960 Triangular. Furthermore, other factors helped to further mediate in the dispute, like the Brazil vs Argentina dispute itself, which greatly inflamed the spirits of both sides.
On the other hand, the drivers who came next in the classification, Ramón Requejo (6 points) and Carlos Danvilla (5 points) depended on a very difficult combination of results, which involved the retirement of Cayres and González, in addition to the dependence on scoring at least a second place in the race. Therefore, it seemed difficult, if not almost impossible, for the trophy to escape the hands of Ciro or Froilán. As the transfer was short between Argentina and Uruguay, no team wished to change their line-up for the race, with the squads mirroring those that had competed in Buenos Aires.
Again, the additions to the grid would be on account of some drivers representing the host country. Those who deserve special mention are Alberico Passadore, driving an old Ferrari 212 (166) equipped with a Corvette engine, and Ramón Trabal Cortez, whose racing car was a rare Bugatti adapted with a Grand Prix body. This car would prove to be unique in the history of South America, with a few photographic records being the only proof of this vehicle's passage in races south of the equator.
The Argentinian, Brazilian and Uruguayan drivers finally met again on the morning of May 14 (Saturday) when the free practice sessions took effect. It was a time to exchange ideas and suggestions, with the drivers taking the opportunity to test some modifications to their cars. This would be the time for trial and error, since, from 1:00 pm onwards, the track would be closed in order to prepare for the qualifying sessions which were scheduled to take place at 2:30 pm.
A useful break would then be followed by the last Triangular classification test. Drivers, teams and machines gave themselves blood and soul to this moment, and the great battle for first position on the grid kicked off. It seemed that at the beginning of the session the Uruguayan drivers would be able surprise, as the AUVO squad managed to rack up a series of strong times on the fast El Pinar circuit. However, it didn't take long for the 'foreigners' to take control of the situation: first was Ramón Requejo, in his Requejo/Corvette, who displaced the celestial drivers from the top positions. Next, it was Cayres and González, who were competing for every tenth of second for first position. At the end of the session, it was the Argentinian who did better, relegating the Brazilian to second place on the grid.
But the high expectations for this duel could only be met with a real battle on track which would only materialise the following day. A day with a pleasant temperature like that Sunday, May 15, 1960, foreshadowed a good opportunity for a decisive dispute like the one desired by everyone involved in the organisation of the Triangular. After Froilán González's almost absolute dominance in the 1958-'59 edition of the trophy, the 1960 dispute finally confirmed that the concept of a macro-regional dispute, proposed by the ACB, the ACA and AUVO, did have a valid basis. All that was needed were decent drivers equipped with vehicles that gave them a chance of victory and a functional organisation for the concept to finally become something concrete and successful.
A good crowd attended the El Pinar circuit and, after witnessing a support event, it was time for the big attraction of the day, the Mecânica Nacional race. But before the start, two casualties occurred in the Brazilian delegation: the Maseratis of Antonio Mendes de Barros and Luis Americo Margarido did not even leave the pits due to their drivers' choice. Both, not having a great chance in the race, chose not to participate in the contest, prioritising their return to Brazil. This reduced the Brazilian contingent to two: Cayres and his Maserati 250F, and Naim Honsi in the MN 'Landi-Bianco'.
Froilán González is on his way to victory in the 1960 Gran Premio VEEDOL/E.G.S.A.. The victory secured another title for El Toro de los Pampas. (credits Luik Racing)
12 cars were in their starting positions when the start authorisation was given. Froilán González started better, but Ciro Cayres followed the Argentinian driver. Passadore had jumped to third, with Requejo having to negotiate with Julio Varela for fourth position. Behind them came, in order, Marcos Galván, Alberto Uria, Gervasio Fernández, Carlos Danvilla, Naim Honsi, Trabal Cortés and Nasif Estéfano.
Still on the first lap, Cayres took the lead, followed by González. However, it didn't take long for the Argentinian to counterattack and, at the start of the second lap, Froilán was already re-establishing himself at the head of the pack. After that, the two drivers started to distance themselves from the rest of the cars, and a big gap was formed between second and third positions.
The ones who stood out in the fight for the third place were initially Passadore, Requejo and Varela. The Argentinian tried to recover his position in every possible way during the first few laps, but the driver lost momentum on the fourth tour when mechanical problems forced Requejo to retire to the pits. This left Uruguayans Passadore and Varela as closest to the final spot on the podium, despite a slight approach from Gálvan in the following laps. However, this was another one whose race was interrupted by mechanical problems, when on lap 6 his car's fuel pump broke.
Meanwhile, the battle for lead remained open. José Froilán González had gained a few seconds of advantage over Cayres, with the Argentinian now having a small buffer zone between him and the Brazilian driver. However, the differences didn't mean much in the Fuerza Libre races and González tried to pick up the pace. On lap 10, the gap between the two drivers had already exceeded 13 seconds and, on lap 15, it had jumped to 20.
Halfway through the race (25 laps) it was clear that attrition had taken a heavy toll on the peloton: of the 12 drivers started only six were still in the race. The most recent retirements were Trabal Cortés on lap 15 (due to mechanical complications) and José Fernández on lap 18 (due to engine failure). Thus, the already small group of drivers present at the race was reduced even further, with only a few local battles entertaining the public present at the El Pinar circuit.
González was already gaining distance in the lead, with Cayres desperately trying to regain contact with the Argentinian driver. The Brazilian at least didn't have to worry about looking at his rear mirror, as Passadore was already in a quite distant third place. The Uruguayan was mainly concerned with securing his position, as Varela gave chase, being just two seconds behind until lap 30. At that point, Varela made a mistake that would end his race, losing control of his vehicle and crashing into the Parador curve (known at the time as the 'Monza' curve). This accident promoted Danvilla to fourth place, followed by the last driver still running, Alberto Uria.
The elastic distances achieved by the drivers in the first half of the race seemed to be the determining factor in the event, which showed few changes until the end. Despite Cayres' drive and desire, the Brazilian could do little to displace Argentinian González from first place. In the end, Ciro resigned himself to seeing 'El Toro de los Pampas' cross the finish line first, thus guaranteeing him his second title in the South American Triangular. Froilán González completed the 50 laps in 1.09.09, also setting the Uruguayan track's lap record at 1.21.4. It was the end that the Argentinian driver so desired and, taking advantage of this achievement a few weeks later, González announced his official retirement from the South American tracks. It was a well-deserved closing chapter for one of the most important Latin American drivers of his time.
Cayres, on the other hand, had to deal with the fact of being second in the race and also in the championship. The Brazilian left the Triangular disappointed, after leaving his homeland with an excellent advantage over González. On the other hand, happy with his result in the third and final leg of the tournament was Alberico Passadore, who achieved his first podium in the tri-national championship. In the end, it was an Argentinian, a Brazilian and a Uruguayan driver who would be on the podium of the El Pinar race. The Triangular Tournament had finally become what it promised to be: South America's showcase in international motorsport.