Tribute to Carrera Panamericana

Twice as long as the Mille Miglia, and widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous road race, the Carrera Panamericana once represented the ultimate in bravery, skill and endurance on the part of the competitors. To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of this epic event, a raft of original Carrera veterans along with more recent recreations took to the hill on Saturday morning. Among these was the ex-Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘gullwing’ which finished second in 1952, driven by former touring car ace and Le Mans class winner Tony Dron. Rather more sedate but not lacking for style was Julian Balme’s ’54 ‘Wooly Bully’ Lincoln Cosmopolitan. This fantastic Detroit ‘land yacht’ has competed on the retrospective Carrera event and still features its original drum brakes and two-speed transmission.