Seventy years ago, the Mexican government determined to celebrate the completion of the Pan-American Highway with a race. Starting in Ciudad Juarez, situated just across the border from El Paso, the route followed the newly-paved roadway south through Mexico City and down to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc in Chiapas on the Guatemalan border. It took five days for racers to traverse the 2,178-mile distance, at altitudes ranging from near sea level to over 10,000 feet. The race was won by NASCAR driver Hershel McGriff, driving an Oldsmobile, and the event drew attention from around the globe.
For 1952, Mercedes-Benz fielded a team driving a trio of 300SLs (see article on page 48). The Mercedes teams dominated that year's competition. Driver Karl Kling and co-driver Hans Klenk took home the victory, followed by Hermann Lang and co-driver Erwin Grupp in second place. Only a technical infraction prevented a Mercedes-Benz sweep of the podium.
Today’s Panamericana
The original Carrera Panamericana ended after 1954, as the open-road nature of the event proved too dangerous for all-out speed in the cars of the day. However, the race was revived with modern cars and safety gear in 1988, and has run annually ever since. Unlike the original Carrera, the modern race accommodates amateurs and professionals alike with 10 different historic and modern competition classes.
Today's La Carrera Panamericana takes entrants on a captivating journey through a dozen Mexican states, over 2,000 miles of amazing roads, with overnight stops in seven or eight beautiful cities. Along the way racers meet thousands of fans and hundreds of people from around the world. The speed trials are set on dozens of exciting “special stages” – public roads briefly closed for use in competition. The race includes celebratory fiestas each evening, inspiring scenery, and enchanting architecture in some of Mexico's most historic places.
Racing in a Fintail
My first Carrera was in 2018 with IMSA racer Don Yount in a classic Porsche 911. This car was built by Ray Stephens Racing for racing, not comfort. Given its all-business nature, there was no hope of keeping dry on rainy roads, nor of having room for anything in the car except the bare essentials. It was a squeeze just to get two cell phones into the glove box, but man, what a ride – Don really knows how to make it fly.
By comparison, my 2019 ride was a luxurious Mercedes-Benz 220SEb. I always considered the Mercedes sedans from the 1960s to be big old tanks; lumbering roadblocks that plodded along, sheltering their occupants in roomy comfort. Boy, was I wrong! Oh, sure, the space and comfort are there, but in the hands of a skilled pilot like Steve Walters, my driver for the 2019 Carrera, these old Benzes can really hustle over twisty mountain roads.
Steve epitomizes the home-grown budget racer, proving that anyone can be a competitor in La Carrera Panamericana. He does almost all the work on his car himself. A 35-year member of MBCA, he and his wife Janet McFarland drive it all the way from Virginia to Mexico, and then home again. They carry everything, even spare parts, in the car. The only concession to competition is asking another team to schlep the spare tires and wheels for him from service park to service park, all the way from Oaxaca to Durango.
Steve chose Mercedes-Benz for his racing efforts in the early 1980s. “Mercedes was a good choice because the cars were solid and reliable, but being value conscious, a sedan was the best option.” From there he chose the finback model to meet the age requirements for the Historic B class.
Not just any old Fintail
“I’ve tried to engineer the car,” Steve noted. “I’ve put together a unique configuration that conforms to the race rules.” The engine is from a Euro 280SL, the five-speed transmission comes from the W111 line, and the rear axle (with air suspension) came from a W109 300SEL. Steve chose that axle because it allows for a rear torsion bar and uses a “decoupled” brake system to provide anti-lift during braking. “The tendency for the swing axle to jack, especially during braking, is a fundamental performance limitation and this rear axle is very helpful.” Once the car was built, Steve tuned the springs and sway bars, added disc brakes all around, then installed plenty of gauges, redundant ignition systems, and manual steering.
As an experienced rally co-driver, I’ve enjoyed a lot of different cars over the years. This Mercedes was likely the most spacious inside (even better than old Audi Quattro), and absolutely the most spacious when considering the volume behind the seats and in the trunk cavity. On the road, both driver and co-driver have generally good sight lines. The co-driver's eyes are constantly moving between route book, instruments, and horizon. Finally, seat comfort is essential when the team will be in the car for thousands of kilometers.
The mass of the finback was obvious in the corners. Though I wasn’t working the controls, the Benz felt “heavy” going into turns, squatting and wanting to push, but Steve’s engineering skills and talent behind the wheel kept us on the road the whole way. “Nimble” is not a word I’d use to describe the 220, but you couldn’t ask for a more stable platform.
Lastly, Steve’s cockpit setup was top-drawer. His layout for gauges, GPS units, and displays was useful – even the way he placed pouches for route books and cash (for toll roads and fuel), and holders for water bottles and notepads. Of course, having a big car made it all possible, but it’s still a credit to Steve that he used the space efficiently.
A family effort
Steve learned to appreciate hard work and good grades from his father. “Working on cars was one of the things I had enjoyed with my dad.” Ten years after his first Mercedes, and less than a year after marrying Janet, she convinced him to check out club autocross. He’d been on the fence about it for years, but “Janet is one of the irresistible forces of nature so there was no other option than to try it.”
They subsequently ran some gimmick rallies (even winning the 1998 StarFest in Savannah) and loved driving through beautiful places, “but we were far too busy arguing to notice” because of clues and directions then considered ambiguous.
“Oddly, when we got into the car in Veracruz [to start their first Carrera], it was entirely different. As if the switch was automatically flipped from contentious to cooperative, we reacted to the challenge that faced us. She helped me better understand the division of responsibility … [now] the race car is a place of harmony,” Steve says.
Janet likes to describe the race as “being within arm’s length of each other for three weeks straight.” Steve explains, “With all the uncertainty and stress of the travel, tech and racing, it's a challenge for any two people to remain civil, let alone stay married, in those circumstances. So, we have some coping strategies: no distractions, grudges or hard feelings. It’s not that hard to achieve, really; it’s a bit like starting a fire. A bit of care with the kindling and that success becomes self-sustaining.”
Janet races with Steve on the Panamericana every other year, with another friend rotating into the car when she’s not there. I’d met Steve and Janet at the 2018 race, so he invited me to fill in.
La Ruta Panamericana
Two mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, run the length of Mexico like a backbone. La Carrera utilizes roads that cross both of those ranges as well as roads from the southern range, Sierra Madre del Sur. Legendary stages like Espinazo del Diablo (the Devil's Spine) and Mil Cumbres (1000 Summits) are part of the route.
You can expect a wide variety of scenery and weather along the way. In addition to scenic wonder, of necessity the route takes you through dozens of picturesque little towns for overnight stays or just a mid-day break.
La Carrera begins with ceremony the night before the start. It’s a big, loud, amazing fiesta, with fireworks and thousands of fans. A similar fiesta awaits you seven days later at the finish line.
Each morning, the starting point for the Panamericana is some kind of historic landmark. In several cities, such as Oaxaca and Morelia the cars take off from in front of a famous cathedral.
It's worth the time to check out the architecture while waiting for the day to begin. The ceremonial end of each day also is magical. In Mexico City, teams finish in front of the Palace of Fine Arts. In Zacatecas and Guanajuato, the cars parade through the heart of the city, surrounded by thousands of wonderful, excited fans.
The end-of-day banquets are no ordinary affairs. As competitors, at least one of you must be present each night because there are awards ceremonies associated with each day, but that's secondary to the beautiful venues that are selected to host these banquets. For example, in Morelia the meeting is held on an upper terrace overlooking the city and its museums, cathedrals and plazas. In Zacatecas, the banquet is held in a hotel that has been converted from a classic bullring. Visitors can explore the atmospheric halls where the matadors and bulls once entered the arena and take in the exquisite arches and pathways in an out-of-this-world setting.
For the last two years La Carrera has begun in Oaxaca near Guatemala and ended in Durango in northern Mexico. The route changes from year to year so the cities you may encounter may vary – another reason to keep coming back. For example, in 2018 we spent our first day looping on the roads around Oaxaca before heading off to Mexico City. In 2019 our first day took us from Oaxaca to Veracruz, a port city with a banquet on the terrace overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
Racing through Mexico
Unlike performance rallies in other parts of North America, the transit speeds along the Panamericana can be exhilarating or intimidating, depending on one's perspective. Imagine rocketing along an open highway at 100+ miles per hour and coming up on a highway patrolman or state trooper. At any other time, your car would be impounded and you'd end up in jail. During La Carrera, law enforcement will either wave your competition vehicle by with a big smile or escort you so that you can maintain your speed safely. In certain cases, most notably in Mexico City, you'll receive an escort of the Federales from the outskirts of the city all the way into the very heart of town.
However, the real reason to race the Carrera is the roads. Early on, competitors race the Mil Cumbres stage. The road undulates back and forth and encourages a smooth line and steady rhythm to get maximum performance from your car. On the final day going into Durango, teams get the opportunity to race the Espinazo del Diablo. This twisting 34-kilometer road is an amazing reward for the seven or more grueling days you've experienced up to that point. For a racer, this stage crowns the whole trip.
The finale in Durango is a fiesta almost beyond belief, a wonderful bookend to the ceremonial start a week earlier. Throngs of people wait for the cars to arrive, and the ceremonial finish across the ramp is celebrated and televised. Then fireworks light up the sky in the dusk hours to mark the conclusion of another great event.
Hasta la Próxima
We didn’t care about results to begin with, but by Mexico City, Steve and I realized that we held the class lead in Historic B. We maintained that lead to the end of Day 6, in Zacatecas. A Porsche team knocked us down to second by about 20 seconds in the closing stages. It was Steve's first podium at La Carrera but we know we could have done better, and we've set our sights on victory next time.
Whether you're driving a Mercedes or some other marque, those with a taste for racing and adventure should seriously consider running in La Carrera Panamericana. The challenges and the rewards are real. This event will both wear you down and pump you up. Competing in this amazing land of contrasts with other racers from all over the world is an epic adventure, an exhilarating experience, and a rewarding glimpse into a fascinating culture.
"To distill the essence of the race experience into a word or two is a bit of a challenge," Steve says. "Certainly, there are a lot of appropriate adjectives: fun, thrilling, and unique all come to mind. But what most often comes to mind is other-worldly. Imagine the most beautiful place, with the friendliest people, and the most steadfast comrades. To me, success is simply wanting to go back again. If after all that effort, time and expense, I want to do it again, I have succeeded."
As Steve says, it’s common to feel “a group spirit forged in shared struggle.” Because of the bonds cemented at La Carrera, “we now look forward to the Mexico races as a family reunion as much as a racing event.”
Mexico has a rich, complex, and fascinating history. Our commonalities far outweigh our differences and you’ll find the people on the racing route warm and welcoming. If you remember you’re “not in Kansas anymore,” treat the local citizens with respect – just as you wish to be treated – and honor local customs, you’ll enjoy the best adventure possible.
And, for years to come, you will be telling stories about how much fun you had and how great it was to race in La Carrera Panamericana.
