Argentina - Fangio Glories

Photo: Museum Juan Manuel Fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio at the podium.

• VER_GALERIA

The Traveling Museum Juan Manuel Fangio exhibits in Argentina and proximately abroad the cars that the famous quintuple champion of Formula1 drove, unpublished photos of his life, clothes and accessories that he used and several trophies.

The Chevrolet 1940 with what he obtained two local championships of Road Tourism and the Simca Giodini with what he competed in Europe, are some of the exposed pieces in this museum which is located in Balcarce, locality where, the motorist, called “El Chueco”, was born. The sample also shows the best anecdotes about the races of the driver who was born in 1911 and died in 1995, considered one of the best players in the history of Argentina.

Moreover, the Maserati 450 S car is also exhibited. The champion of F1 should have driven this car in the Second Grand Prix of Cuba in 1958 but it was impossible because he was kidnapped by the Guerrilla Movement on July 26 led by Fidel Castro.

Apart from the mentioned cars, we can admire a SIMCA Gordini Berlinette, a Volpi-Chevrolet and the Ford T that was driven in the soil circuit called “La Pomona” in the locality of Morón.

The traveling Museum has been in the Ciity of Pinamar, Buenos Aires, and before the end of the year he will be in Comodoro Rivadavia, Mendoza, SAN Juan, La Plata, Rawson, Río Gallegos and possibly in Chaco and Formosa.

In January it will go to Punta del Este (Uruguay) and San Pablo (Brazil) and it will finish in Spain, Italy, France, England and Germany.

The last race

Finally, the exhibition shows how the last race of Juan Manuel Fangio was, on July 6, 1958, in the Second Grand Prix of France.

Maserati have given to him the new version of 250 F models, but it was five months that Fangio did not drive this model and it was difficult to get used to this new car.

In the exhibition his word are mentioned about this race: “I raced in Europe for ten years, I had won 5 championships, my parents were very old and their doctor had told me that (…) some day when I returned I would not find them.

Then he was the champion of the world he felt it his duty to do the best. He was 47 years old and I asked myself what sense it has. I took the decision of retiring of the motoring. I finished 4^th and I announced my retirement and I never raced again.