1953 Argentine GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Buenos Aires
* Location – Argentina
* Corners – 8
* Laps – 97
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 2:30.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 1:48.400 (Alberto Ascari)
* Lap Record (F1R) – N/A
* Pit Lane Length – 15 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – Quite Low
* Tyre Wear – Medium

## Qualifying 1

Landi takes provisional pole for the moment, though with the Q2 weather likely to make the track a little quicker he will need to push hard in the next session to keep his position. Pietsch makes a last-gasp effort to haul his Ferrari into 2nd position, as the defending champion shows he is very much up for defending his title this season.

Ascari is 3rd for Maserati, in front of the surprisingly fast Cooper's of Stuck and Gonzalez in 4th and 5th. De Graffenried is 6th for Maserati, from Salvadori's Ferrari in 7th, Lang's HWM in a very impressive 8th position, Whitehead's Ferrari in 9th and Bayol's Maserati in 10th place.

**Qualifying 1 Results**

* 1st – Chico Landi [M] – 1:47.902 (7)
* 2nd – Paul Pietsch [F] – 1:48.215 (13)
* 3rd – Alberto Ascari [M] – 1:48.416 (14)
* 4th – Hans Stuck [CP] – 1:48.734 (7)
* 5th – Jose Froilan Gonzalez [CP] – 1:48.852 (6)
* 6th – Toulo de Graffenried [M] – 1:49.684 (3)
* 7th – Roy Salvadori [F] – 1:49.744 (9)
* 8th – Hermann Lang [H] – 1:49.801 (11)
* 9th – Peter Whitehead [F] – 1:49.865 (7)
* 10th – Elie Bayol [M] – 1:49.996 (8)
* 11th – Albert Scherrer [H] – 1:50.068 (8)
* 12th – Peter Collins [H] – 1:50.276 (13)
* 13th – Erwin Bauer [CP] – 1:50.609 (7)
* 14th – Prince Bira [CN] – 1:50.636 (6)
* 15th – Bob Gerard [F] – 1:50.737 (7)
* 16th – Stirling Moss [M] – 1:50.788 (4)
* 17th – Mike Hawthorn [CN] – 1:51.404 (7)
* 18th – Sergio Mantovani [H] – 1:51.508 (4)
* 19th – Johnny Claes [CN] – 1:51.655 (9)
* 20th – John Barber [V] – 1:51.779 (7)
* 21st – Hans Hermann [V] – 1:51.843 (8)
* 22nd – Giuseppe Farina [M] – 1:51.921 (8)
* 23rd – Carlos Menditeguy [H] – 1:52.088 (8)
* 24th – Charles de Tornaco [G] – 1:54.153 (16)
* 25th – Jimmy Stewart [CN] – 1:54.360 (2)
* 26th – Jean Behra [G] – 1:54.495 (4)
* 27th – Luigi Villoresi [O] – 1:55.533 (8)
* 28th – Maurice Trintignant [G] – 1:56.085 (11)
* 29th – Alan Brown [CN] – 1:56.093 (15)
* 30th – Louis Chiron [CP] – 1:56.204 (3)
* 31st – Umberto Maglioli [M] – 1:56.268 (6)
* 32nd – Felice Bonetto [ B ] – 1:57.172 (2)
* 33rd – Juan Manuel Fangio [CP] – 1:58.265 (5)
* 34th – Luigi Musso [ B ] – 1:59.473 (7)
* 35th – Louis Rosier [G] – 2:04.673 (21)

## Qualifying 2

So 33 drivers qualify for the inaugural Argentinian Grand Prix, with the Ferrari's demonstrating their usual dominance with time running out to take a 1-2…however the 3rd spot on the front row is occupied by Lang for HWM, who sets an incredible lap-time to line up alongside the prancing horse for the race tomorrow.

Whitehead is 4th ahead of a clutch of Maserati's, including Moss, Maglioli, Ascari and Bayol with Scherrer and yet another Maserati of de Graffenried rounding out the top 10.

Several drivers had more laps available to them, but could not complete them before time ran out…could that be crucial come the race?

**Qualifying 2 Results**

* 1st – Roy Salvadori [F] – 1:46.357 (8)
* 2nd – Paul Pietsch [F] – 1:46.513 (9)
* 3rd – Hermann Lang [H] – 1:46.548 (17)
* 4th – Peter Whitehead [F] – 1:46.638 (13)
* 5th – Stirling Moss [M] – 1:46.806 (17)
* 6th – Umberto Maglioli [M] – 1:46.823 (24)
* 7th – Alberto Ascari [M] – 1:46.847 (21)
* 8th – Elie Bayol [M] – 1:46.867 (14)
* 9th – Albert Scherrer [H] – 1:46.883 (12)
* 10th – Toulo de Graffenried [M] – 1:46.938 (10)
* 11th – Peter Collins [H] – 1:47.110 (12)
* 12th – Hans Stuck [CP] – 1:47.163 (5)
* 13th – Hans Hermann [V] – 1:47.163 (8)
* 14th – Sergio Mantovani [H] – 1:47.202 (16)
* 15th – Bob Gerard [F] – 1:47.219 (8)
* 16th – Maurice Trintignant [G] – 1:47.244 (15)
* 17th – Giuseppe Farina [M] – 1:47.273 (8)
* 18th – Jimmy Stewart [CN] – 1:47.368 (6)
* 19th – Chico Landi [M] – 1:47.534 (21)
* 20th – Jean Behra [G] – 1:47.715 (7)
* 21st – John Barber [V] – 1:47.844 (15)
* 22nd – Prince Bira [CN] – 1:48.123 (8)
* 23rd – Luigi Musso [ B ] – 1:48.205 (22)
* 24th – Jose Froilan Gonzalez [CP] – 1:48.344 (5)
* 25th – Carlos Menditeguy [H] – 1:48.387 (10)
* 26th – Johnny Claes [CN] – 1:48.464 (8)
* 27th – Mike Hawthorn [CN] – 1:48.565 (5)
* 28th – Louis Rosier [G] – 1:49.313 (8)
* 29th – Alan Brown [CN] – 1:49.476 (21)
* 30th – Luigi Villoresi [O] – 1:49.491 (5)
* 31st – Erwin Bauer [CP] – 1:49.735 (4)
* 32nd – Charles de Tornaco [G] – 1:50.598 (9)
* 33rd – Louis Chiron [CP] – 1:51.419 (2)
* 34th – Felice Bonetto [ B ] – No Time Set (0)
* 35th – Juan Manuel Fangio [CP] – No Time Set (0)

## Overall Qualifying Results

In his 1st championship race for Ferrari Salvadori surprises many of his critics as he takes Pole Position from the defending champion Pietsch. Lang's 3rd place for HWM gives real hope for the team as he gets in amongst the Ferrari's and Maserati's up front.

Surprisingly far down are '51 champion Gerard in 15th and both Farina and Landi for Maserati in 17th and 19th respectively. Whilst missing out are Bonetto and Fangio; the former blaming a miscommunication in the team for not making it out in Q2, whilst the latter really disappoints his home fans but there were rumours he had been kidnapped, though nothing has yet been proven!

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* - Moss gets a brilliant get-away, as he charges up to the lead of the race from 5th on the grid…he is fortunate as he is the only driver who gets away well enough to keep the even quicker Collins behind him - did the HWM driver have a rocket strapped to him there or what?!?

De Graffenried is 3rd for Maserati after a great start too, with Whitehead maintaining his 4th place with some very level-headed driving. Salvadori could not quite get away well enough as he drops to 5th ahead of Lang in 6th, Landi 7th, Farina 8th, Pietsch in 9th and Ascari in 10th position.

Bayol and Gerard are now in 11th and 12th place, keeping Scherrer, Stuck, Maglioli, Mantovani, Stewart, Hermann, Hawthorn and Musso for BMW rounding out the top 20 in a start that has seemed to filter out some of the unusual qualifying positions a little…

*Lap 2* - Moss's lead is short-lived, as Whitehead makes the most of having bided his time on the 1st lap to get the better of de Graffenried, Collins and the aforementioned erstwhile leader. De Graffenried is still 3rd, but Salvadori takes advantage of the ailing Collins to move into 4th position.

Farina moves into 5th, ahead of Bayol (who really has the pedal to the metal on this lap!) in 6th, Ascari in 7th and then Collins in 8th. Pietsch hangs on to 9th position, with Hawthorn really pushing hard as he overtakes cars left, right and centre to climb into an incredible top 10 position. Scherrer is up to 11th, ahead of Landi - who makes a little mistake on this lap - and then Lang, who is struggling to live up to the promises he made with his 3rd place in qualifying.

Mantovani is up to 14th ahead of Gerard, who is struggling to keep with the pace and is under threat from Musso in 15th. Menditeguy is into 16th position, from Stewart who is making more gradual progress through the field. Stuck is now 18th, Hermann is down to 19th, Rosier has moved into 20th and surprisingly Maglioli is now down to 21st place for Maserati. Trintignant is up to 22nd, ahead of Claes, Gonzalez, Behra, Bira, Bauer, Villoresi, Chiron, Barber who has dropped to 31st position and Brown who has also lost ground and is now 32nd place.

*Lap 3* - Farina passes Salvadori for 4th, as the Brit is struggling to keep with the pace at the front. Pietsch meanwhile is flying the flag for Ferrari as he passes Collins for 8th at Tobogan. Hawthorn loses his top 10 spot, as expected, to Scherrer for HWM. Gerard passes Mantovani as the Ferrari drivers start to stage some resistance; Stewart passes Menditeguy, Rosier gets the better of Hermann and Behra takes Gonzalez too as this race really starts off in exciting fashion!

*Lap 4* - Salvadori's slide continues, as he loses 5th to Bayol whilst Landi overtakes Ascari for 8th position and surges up the field past Bayol, Farina, Salvadori and Collins. Whilst Pietsch loses out to Collins too, as the resurgence seems to have ended almost before it began! Gerard also drops back, as he succumbs to the advances of Lang for 12th position at Lago.

Hawthorn moves into 14th from Mantovani, with a good pass up the inside at Viborita. Menditeguy edges alongside Musso at the end of the lap, with nothing to choose between them on the run down to the 1st corner of the next lap…

…whilst Trintignant gets the better of both Maglioli and Hermann, with the latter losing his position to Maglioli also. And finally Bauer moves past Gonzalez for 27th position here.

*Lap 5* - The drivers from 4th downwards are very closely packed and the positions are changing constantly. On this lap Salvadori is back into 4th, ahead of Collins and Lang, whilst the trio of Bayol, Landi and Farina slip back.

However the big mover here is Ascari, who takes the 4th place Salvadori just won away rather quickly indeed! Gerard is also back on the warpath with a succession of passes to move into 8th position. Maglioli moves up quite a bit this lap, with Hermann on his back…and de Tornaco gets out of last place with a pass on Brown that will cause the Connaught team no small amount of consternation!

*Lap 6* - Collins is the biggest winner this time around, as he goes up to 4th ahead of Lang, the fast-moving Landi, Farina, Gerard, Ascari and Pietsch up tp 10th place. Maglioli passes Trintignant and Rosier here, with Behra ahead of Claes, Bira and Bauer now after this lap.

*Lap 7* - Landi moves into 5th and takes Farina through with him, after Lang makes a small mistake to drop back to 7th position. Pietsch makes a move for Ferrari, up to 8th place from Ascari and former champion Gerard now down to 10th overall. Scherrer, Maglioli and Menditeguy all move through the field with a good lap; whilst Brown puts both Barber and de Tornaco in his shade with some quite convincing moves.

*Lap 8* - De Graffenried moves past Moss into 2nd position, whilst Whitehead extends his lead on this lap. Pietsch continues to move through the field, but is surpassed by Gerard who takes no fewer than 7 drivers in the space of a single lap. The mid-field gets a real shake-up, with 6 cars arriving at the same time through the Viborita-Mixtos complex, who only just get through without incident!

*Lap 9* - Farina gets the better of Pietsch at Horquilla here, whilst Landi takes Hawthorn for 8th place as the Brit continues to meddle within the top 10! Ascari passes Lang for 10th position, with Bayol also threatening to move through too - Salvadori makes a real error at Ombu and loses several positions at a time.

*Lap 10* - Whitehead still leads from de Graffenried and Collins in 3rd position, as he gets the better of Moss through Ascari corner. Pietsch is into 7th position, as he overtakes Gerard whilst losing out to Bayol, who is on a real rampage at the moment.

Lang is holding 9th place ahead of Landi and the lacklustre Salvadori who is not even in the top 10 as it stands. Stewart is in a credible 12th position, from Ascari, Hawthorn, Scherrer, Hermann in 16th, Menditeguy 17th, Mantovani 18th ahead of Trintignant and Maglioli, who is in a disappointing 20th for Maserati.

*Lap 20* - As several drivers pit in this stint, we see Whitehead come back out in the lead from Collins in HWM and the home hero Menditeguy, who is still yet to pit…and has the Connaught of Stewart right behind him too.

A horrendous issue for Behra, as he runs out of fuel at Ombu just a couple of laps away from his next pit-stop, but instead he retires at the end of the road. Barber comes in to fix the issue he picks up out on track, due to some quite reckless driving.

Meanwhile Moss and Pietsch are now 5th and 6th, with Hawthorn and Hermann yet to pit in 7th and 8th places ahead of Salvadori in 9th and de Graffenried in 10th position for Maserati.

*Lap 21* - Stewart is struggling with the pace at the front, as he loses positions to Moss, Pietsch and Hawthorn…he even has Salvadori right up behind him; the Brit having overtaken Hermann earlier in the lap.

Farina passes Stuck, with Trintignant following the Italian through into 12th position. Maglioli gets the better of Bauer, as the Maserati driver endeavours to climb back up through the field. Scherrer takes Bira, de Tornaco get the better of Musso at Horquilla and Lang puts one over on Landi at the same corner. Finally Bayol's race gets even worse, as Mantovani manoeuvres past him at Mixtos in what is a very exciting period of the race.

*Lap 22* - Hawthorn pits on this lap, dropping back to 30th position after a very slow stop indeed. Salvadori takes full advantage to move into 6th past Stewart; whilst de Graffenried moves past Hermann and Stuck passes Trintignant, with Maglioli and Gerard moving past Claes and Bauer too.

Mantovani moves through on both de Tornaco and Musso as the HWM driver is showing a real resurgence, Bayol manages to get back on track by following him through too. However the real winner is Landi, who passes no fewer than 5 drivers in one lap!

Ascari also does well, as he takes Brown and Villoresi within the space of two corners (Viborita and Mixtos), though the Italian has some way to go to close the gap to the next driver in front.

*Lap 23* - Farina passes Hermann for 9th, with Maglioli and Gerard through to 11th and 12th places respectively at the expense of Stuck and Trintignant. Bira makes a small error this time around to drop behind Landi, Gonzalez, Mantovani and Bayol too!

Hawthorn begins his recovery by passing Rosier and Villoresi and cutting the gap to those in front quite dramatically too.

*Lap 24* - Menditeguy pits from 3rd position to come out in 12th, and Hermann also comes into the pits as well. Bayol is the man on the move, as he passes Mantovani, who in turn takes Gonzalez to come out in the same position as he started the lap. Also Lang gets the better of Bira at Curva Uno too.

*Lap 25* - Bauer pits this time around, along with Bira, Villoresi and Barber too. Gerard takes Maglioli for 9th, as the Ferrari man stages a real comeback in this race! Mantovani overtakes Bayol, but the pair are overhauled by the recently pitted Hermann of Veritas, who is moving back through the field - Hawthorn is also doing the same for further back with a good pass on Brown.

*Lap 26* - Pietsch passes Moss for 3rd place with a daring move around the outside at Ascari corner, whilst there is some solace for Maserati as Gerard loses out to Maglioli. Also Menditeguy's pace is good as he leaves the pits and re-takes Stuck for 11th place. Scherrer passes Claes, whilst Landi re-passes Lang as the two continue to battle closely with one another.

Musso and de Tornaco are so focused on each other that they are completely failing to defend against anyone else, and thus Ascari easily moves past the pair of them on the run up to Curva Uno.

*Lap 27* - Moss doesn't take Pietsch's pass lying down, with a screaming retaliation around the outside of Curva Uno! Meanwhile de Graffenried moves past erstwhile pole sitter Salvadori and Stewart falls behind Maglioli; also Trintignant is faring far better than he did in the non-championship race at Indy as he moves his Gordini past Stuck.

*Lap 28* - Scherrer claims 13th from Stuck, who is really going backwards at this point. Hermann moves past Claes, and Landi follows him through too. Bauer overtakes Chiron this time around and is now on the back of Alan Brown in the Connaught.

*Lap 29* - De Tornaco comes into the pits this time around, whilst another Gordini driver is going backwards as Scherrer is rampaging through the field and is now up to 12th place. Lang takes both Claes and Landi; whilst Ascari gets the better of Gonzalez and Hawthorn passes Musso too.

*Lap 30* - Pietsch reclaims 3rd position from Moss, as these two battling is permitting Whitehead and Collins to march off into the distance. Hermann and Landi get the better of Stuck and Lang this time around, whilst Musso's slide down the field continues as he loses out to Rosier, with Bauer taking Brown on the same lap and Bira passing de Tornaco too, as the Belgian looks to be quite heavily fuelled.

*Lap 31* - Menditeguy is really on form today; he passes both Stewart and Gerard on the same lap - slicing up the inside of the Ferrari driver at Horquilla! Landi passes Hermann for 14th here also, whilst Lang becomes the latest driver to take Stuck and most other drivers settle into more of a rhythm.

*Lap 32* - Farina pits on this lap, with several other drivers also stopping, including Stuck, Bayol, Gonzalez, Brown and Chiron…whilst Gerard really puts the hammer down to pass Stewart; the young Brit makes a mistake as he is passed by the 1951 champion and subsequently loses a place to Scherrer as well. Landi takes Trintignant too on a lap that proves this race has so much more to give…

*Lap 33* - Salvadori passes de Graffenried in the pits, them both coming in promotes Maglioli into 5th from Gerard in 6th (the former champion passes Menditeguy this lap too). Farina comes out of the pits with a real sense of urgency, as he accelerates past Mantovani and Lang, whilst de Tornaco gets the better of Bira here as well.

*Lap 34* - Menditeguy is clearly being spurred on by the home fans, as the Argentinian passes Gerard to reclaim the 6th place he just lost. De Graffenried passes Stewart for 10th this time around as well, but it is still Farina making the headlines with passes on Hermann, Trintignant and Landi in quick succession! Mantovani passes Lang, and Ascari takes Claes too in an action packed lap.

*Lap 35* - Salvadori and de Graffenried take full advantage of their fresh sets of tyres as they breeze past Scherrer, who has not pitted for a good 15 laps or so! Hermann and Mantovani pass Trintignant, who has still not pitted, and Bauer puts Musso behind him here too.

*Lap 36* - Salvadori takes Gerard, whilst Scherrer pounces on the hesitant de Graffenried's uncertainty as to which side of the track to move to, in order to reclaim his race position! Landi comes into the pits on this lap, with Mantovani moving up 2 positions as a result of that and a well executed pass on Hermann. Neither are prepared for Lang though, who shoots past Trintignant and the aforementioned pair though Tobogan, Viborita and Mixtos to emerge in a credible 13th place.

Stuck also passes Musso here, as the German finally slows the pace of his demise to at least make one overtaking manoeuvre.

*Lap 37* - De Graffenried passes Scherrer for 9th position, whilst Trintignant pits from his midfield position to come out behind Musso and Landi in a relatively quiet lap.

*Lap 38* - Pietsch pits from 3rd position and drops behind Moss and Maglioli to come out in 5th place. Gerard also pits, whilst Farina continues to romp through the field as he moves past Stewart and Scherrer. Hawthorn is on the comeback trail as he passes Claes, whilst Bayol takes Rosier and de Tornaco passes Trintignant too.

*Lap 39* - On this lap Whitehead comes in from the lead, as do Moss from 3rd, Mantovani from 13th and Ascari from 15th too. That means that Collins now leads the race, from Whitehead in 2nd, Pietsch in 3rd - who has just overtaken Maglioli - and Menditeguy in 5th position.

Landi passes Musso, and Trintignant overtakes de Tornaco too as the race begins to develop more of a pattern as to the driver's who are coming to the fore.

*Lap 40* - Collins lead lasts for all of 1 lap, before he comes in and passes Whitehead his 1st place back. Maglioli pits this time around, along with Scherrer, Stewart, Lang, Rosier and Musso as the midfield battles swap around yet again.

The upshot of all of that is that Whitehead leads from Collins, Pietsch, Menditeguy (who is keeping the crowd on tenterhooks as he surpasses everyone's expectations in 4th position), Salvadori, Moss, de Graffenried, Farina, Maglioli and Gerard rounding out the top 10.

*Lap 41* - Moss passes Salvadori for 5th here, as the Ferrari former pole-sitter does not seem to have the race pace to match what he managed in qualifying. Claes loses out on this lap to both Scherrer and Bayol, as the Belgian's strategy to not pit at all thus far is looking somewhat shakey at the moment…Mantovani passes Lang, and Landi takes both Stewart and Stuck on this lap too.

*Lap 42* - And things get worse for Salvadori, as he's unable to stave off de Graffenried for 6th position. Mantovani takes both Bayol and Claes, with Ascari getting into the middle of them too.

*Lap 43* - But Salvadori gets back on his feet this lap, as he re-takes both Moss and de Graffenried. Lang does another double overtake (something he's getting rather good at) as this time his victims are Bayol and Mantovani. Stewart looks a lot more settled after his pit-stop, and calmly passes Stuck without a second glance.

*Lap 44* - De Graffenried lines up the cars in front of him, with passes on Moss at Horquilla, Salvadori at Mixtos and Menditeguy around the outside at Curva Uno to subdue the crowds as well! Ascari passes Claes, Stewart takes both Landi and Bauer, and finally Trintignant moves past de Tornaco too.

*Lap 45* - And Salvadori follows the example set by the Swiss in the preceding lap, as he slipstreams both Menditeguy and de Graffenried just as in the lap before. Lang takes Scherrer this time around, and de Tornaco moves past Trintignant too.

*Lap 46* - The 4th placed battle splits rather prominently here, as de Graffenried passes Salvadori once more…whilst a rather harsh blocking move from Menditeguy costs him time while Moss and Farina move past him. Lang and Bayol lose positions to Scherrer, while Mantovani capitalises to take Bayol also.

Stewart moves past Claes this time around, and Trintignant passes de Tornaco on this lap too.

*Lap 47* - Hawthorn comes into the pits again, whilst Bayol overtakes Mantovani out on track - but it looks as if his pit crew is almost ready for the Frenchman to come in…

*Lap 48* - …and pit he does, behind Farina and Menditeguy. Salvadori get the better of de Graffenried on this lap too, with Moss following him through as well. Landi passes Bauer and Claes here, with the latter also losing a position to the Cooper driver too.

Hawthorn moves past de Tornaco after his recent stop, whilst Villoresi runs wide at Mixtos and damages his car in the process.

*Lap 49* - Several drivers come into the pits, including de Graffenried, Hermann, Bauer, Bira and Barber. On track the order is beginning to unwind…

*Lap 50* - …but not before Salvadori, Claes (at long last!) and the ailing Villoresi come in to the pits. And out on track Rosier passes Musso, and Trintignant moves past Hawthorn too. All of that means that Whitehead still leads, with Collins hanging on to 2nd place with incredible tenacity and a turn of pace that has left Pietsch trailing in his wake! Moss is now 4th, from Maglioli and the Ferrari's of Gerard and Salvadori. Behind them in 8th and 9th are the Maserati's of de Graffenried and Farina with Scherrer rounding out the top 10 as it currently stands.

*Lap 51* - Salvadori passes Gerard, and must now endeavour to close the 10 second gap to Maglioli up ahead. Bayol takes Stewart here, and is right on the back of Ascari and Menditeguy now.

Hawthorn makes a double overtake as he looks to put his poor pit-stop behind him, by putting Trintignant and Stuck in the shade at Ascari!

*Lap 52* - Up front things have settled a little, as the only action is Trintignant also passing Stuck, with Gonzalez taking de Tornaco too.

*Lap 53* - More action this time around as Hermann passes Lang for 11th position, whilst Bayol manages to outstrip both Ascari and Menditeguy to give himself a fighting chance of a top 10 position. Rosier also passes de Tornaco, who is beginning to struggle with his tyres.

*Lap 54* - Landi pits, losing positions to Hawthorn, Trintignant and Stuck. Rosier loses his place to de Tornaco also, as the Belgian recovers a little dignity here.

*Lap 55* - De Graffenried makes his move on Gerard to claim 7th position and apply some pressure on Salvadori, who turn is closing the gap to Maglioli lap by lap! Stuck passes Trintignant on this lap, and de Tornaco has no luck as he slides wide to allow Rosier back past him at Lago.

*Lap 56* - Farina is bearing down on those in front of him, as the only overtaking action on track is Landi passing Trintignant and using his fresh tyres to full effect.

*Lap 57* - Pietsch pits on this lap, promoting Moss to 3rd, Maglioli to 4th, Salvadori to 5th (and now being just 3 seconds behind the Italian) and de Graffenried to 6th. Up next is the defending champion, who emerges ahead of Farina - the Italian passes Gerard on this lap too.

Bayol takes Mantovani this time around, and Stewart moves past Menditeguy - both of this latter pair will be longing for the days of the race start where they were right in amongst the thick of it!

*Lap 58* - Both Whitehead and Gerard pit on this lap, but the former has such a lead on those behind that he comes out in 1st place still! Gerard loses positions to Scherrer, Hermann and Lang here though, whilst behind them Bayol's progress is interrupted by Mantovani.

Also on this lap Landi takes Stuck, and Bauer makes Musso's race that little bit worse with an easy pass at Tobogan.

*Lap 59* - As if to confirm his dominance the drivers in places 2 to 4 all pull into the pits on this lap; Collins does come back out in 2nd position, but 3rd is now de Graffenried after a pass on Salvadori who is now 4th. Pietsch is up to 5th from Farina in 6th, Maglioli in 7th after his stop which he will be happy enough with, given that he passed Moss in the pits!

Also stopping on this lap are Scherrer, Lang and Mantovani for HWM, along with Ascari and Rosier too, which really shakes the field up! Bauer passes de Tornaco on this circuit too.

*Lap 60* - Menditeguy takes Stewart, whilst Ascari gets the better of both Trintignant and Stuck yet again!

*Lap 61* - Maglioli takes Farina's 6th place on this lap, and it gets even better for the former as he slipstreams Pietsch on the way to the line as well! Lang takes Scherrer for 14th on this lap, whilst many drivers are focused on conserving their tyres for as long as possible!

*Lap 62* - Farina emulates Maglioli, and manages to overtake him and Pietsch within the space of a lap as well! Much further back de Tornaco pits to drop behind Musso, Claes, Bira and Rosier now.

*Lap 63* - Farina promptly gets all locked up at Ombu to lose positions to both Pietsch and Maglioli, with the German capitalising to reclaim his 5th place - all of this in-fighting is allowing Salvadori and those up front to stretch their lead though.

Scherrer re-passes Lang here, but all eyes our on that 5th place battle still!

*Lap 64* - Pietsch passes Maglioli, whilst Farina comes in for fuel. Gerard takes Hermann in a great lap for Ferrari, and Bayol also stops for Maserati too. Lang moves past Scherrer and Claes makes an easy pass on Musso too. Finally both Brown and Chiron pit too, which elevates Barber and Villoresi up past them.

*Lap 65* - De Graffenried comes into the pits here, losing his 3rd place to Salvadori and emerging in 7th place behind Moss but ahead of Gerard. Lang passes Stewart here, as the Connaught drivers tyres are screaming "enough!"

Also pitting are Stuck and Gonzalez, with the latter waiting for an age in the pits as it seems his mechanics were completely unprepared for the stop!

*Lap 66* - Salvadori's tenancy of 3rd place does not last for long, as he comes into the pits and loses places to Pietsch, who is overtaken by Maglioli and so it's still only 4th for the defending champion, Moss and de Graffenried - the Swiss is now only a couple of seconds ahead after those stops though.

Scherrer passes Lang here, with Mantovani also overtaking Hawthorn on this lap too.

*Lap 67* - A quieter lap this one; Stewart passes Lang, Trintignant comes into the pits for tyres and fuel, and that's it!

*Lap 68* - Lang re-passes Stewart, as the young Brit is powerless to defend with his incredibly worn tyres. De Tornaco also passes Stuck on this lap as well.

*Lap 69* - De Graffenried passes his team-mate Moss for 5th, and will soon be able to have a run at his old adversary Pietsch here! Scherrer passes Menditeguy, and Stuck re-takes de Tornaco, with Trintignant gaining on the pair of them the whole time.

*Lap 70* - Farina STORMS past Hermann, and will be challenging Gerard and those in front before too long; the Italian is clearly disgusted with his poor stop earlier. Mantovani passes Stewart, who seems to be having some kind of car trouble as he nears the start/finish line…

Also Musso pits, and Trintignant passes de Tornaco as he was threatening to do.

*Lap 71* - The only incident here is Stewart's car running out of fuel at the Horquilla corner, which is incredibly unlucky for the young Brit whose race strategy was paying real dividends at this stage.

*Lap 72* - Pietsch makes his way past Maglioli for 3rd position at Ombu, whilst Salvadori marches past both Moss and de Graffenried in the space of 4 corners to move into 5th place and a points paying position.

Several drivers pit on this lap, which are Menditeguy, Hawthorn and Landi.

*Lap 73* - Maglioli will not let Pietsch get away with anything! The Italian challenges once more, and again passes the German defending champion with ease!!! De Graffenried gets the better of Salvadori here too, though they do appear to be dropping Moss at very least.

Hermann pits, as does Bauer - but the German emerges on new cold tyres and damages his car by running wide at Lago! Bira also comes in, and Stuck takes full advantage as he also passes Rosier on this lap as well. De Tornaco passes Trintignant in an all-Gordini affair further down the field.

*Lap 74* - All the action on this lap is near the back of the pack, with Rosier overhauling Stuck and Trintignant re-passing de Tornaco to move closer to the aforementioned battle too!

*Lap 75* - Pietsch is now right on the back of de Graffenried for 4th, with Maglioli only a second up the road…but yet again it is at the back of the field where the action is taking place; Trintignant passes both Stuck and Rosier in one fell swoop, Musso gets the better of de Tornaco and Villoresi pits to move himself back into last on track.

*Lap 76* - A quiet lap here with little to mention, other than those in the battle for 3rd eyeing each other up for weaknesses….

*Lap 77* - Whitehead pits on this lap, as the race comes back alive! The Ferrari driver comes out just under 10 seconds up the road from Collins, whilst a little way back de Graffenried makes his way past Maglioli for 3rd, with Salvadori following him through as well…and Pietsch pits from 5th to come out in 9th behind the train of Moss, Gerard and Farina.

Scherrer pits this time around as well, whilst Stuck gets the better of Rosier and de Tornaco passes the BMW of Musso also!

*Lap 78* - It seems Bauer has finally decided to get rid of the damaged bodywork on his car, as he takes an unscheduled stop to remove it. And though there are no on-track overtakes on this lap, there is plenty going on in the pits with no fewer than 7 drivers making stops, including the aforementioned Bauer, Maglioli, Moss, Gerard, Lang, Mantovani and Rosier.

*Lap 79* - Following them into the pits are Collins from 2nd and Ascari for Maserati. Pietsch begins his comeback from the last pit-stop by passing Farina around the outside at Mixtos! Meanwhile Hermann completes a far simple pass on Gerard up the inside at Ombu.

*Lap 80* - Salvadori will not keep pursuing that final podium spot, and with Collins only a handful of seconds up the road in 2nd it is very much worth him pushing hard now - he passes de Graffenried in fine style at Curva Uno as a result.

Farina and Bayol come into the pits this lap, promoting Hermann and Gerard as a result. Further back down the field Mantovani passes Lang and Ascari moves past Landi also.

*Lap 81* - De Graffenried pits, and drops down to 7th position with Gerard now the man behind him, as the Brit passes Hans Hermann's Veritas to claim 8th place. Lang takes Mantovani in the all-HWM duel, and Hawthorn makes a mistake to allow both Ascari and Landi to come past him. De Tornaco also passes Stuck this time around.

*Lap 82* - Stuck and de Tornaco will not leave each other alone!!! The German re-takes 21st from the Belgian, both of whom are actually slowly gaining on Trintignant!

*Lap 83* - Salvadori makes his final stop on this lap, which causes him to slip down the field into 6th position - but he has at least leap-frogged de Graffenried with that effort. Mantovani re-takes Lang at Viborita corner, and Stuck catches up with Trintignant at last to move inside the top 20.

*Lap 84* - Even though it is only for 20th position it is an enthralling battle between Trintignant, Stuck and de Tornaco - which the Frenchman takes the upper hand in thanks to a well executed dart up the inside at Ombu.

*Lap 85* - All the effort Salvadori put in before the pit-stop comes undone, as de Graffenried makes an overtaking move at Horquilla. Pietsch is looking decidedly nervous just up the road in the final points paying position also…

Stuck takes 20th back from Trintignant, with de Tornaco once again taking up closer order…and even further back Bira passes Rosier for 25th place.

*Lap 86* - Salvadori is not done yet though, as he refuses to lie down and almost touches wheels with de Graffenried as he makes the pass stick up to Tobogan. Both Moss and Pietsch are now very much in his sights in 4th and 5th respectively, with Gerard not too far behind in 8th as it stands.

Mantovani makes an easy pass on team-mate Scherrer here, and Rosier re-passes Bira; defensive driving is something of a lost art in the hot and sandy Argentinian landscape today it seems.

*Lap 87* - Maglioli is 5 seconds ahead of Moss now, who is just 1 second ahead of Pietsch in 5th, followed 2 tenths back by Salvadori, then de Graffenried another 4 behind thanks to a tank-slapper at Mixtos and Gerard now just 1 second down on the Maserati driver they call "The Baron".

Brown pits on this lap to cede 29th to Chiron and 30th to Villoresi's OSCA and become the last runner on track.

*Lap 88* - No overtaking on this lap, but Maglioli has only 2 seconds advantage over Moss, who has 1.5 over Pietsch, with 0.5 seconds to Salvadori, another 2.5 to de Graffenried who gets back on the power this lap to leave Gerard a further 3 seconds back.

*Lap 89* - It is now a 3.5 second gap from Maglioli to Moss, 0.5 back to Pietsch, 1.4 to Salvadori, nearly 4 seconds to de Graffenried who is really pushing it to the limit at the moment, and then around 2 seconds back to Gerard.

Hawthorn passes Landi on this lap, as the Maserati driver's dreadful day gets just a little bit worse there.

*Lap 90* - Piestch puts a move on Moss! The Ferrari driver is up to 4th, and is now just 4 seconds behind Maglioli…meanwhile the Brit must be aware of Salvadori bearing down on him only 0.7 seconds away. De Graffenried appears to be driving somewhat defensively now, as he is 5 seconds down and just 2 ahead of Gerard. Farina is also tracking Hermann for 9th and slowly gaining ground there too.

Mantovani makes a small error on this lap, but does so at Mixtos and thus does not get the acceleration through Ascari to prevent both Scherrer and Lang coming through.

*Lap 91* - You really cannot discount anyone here! Just as Moss seemed to be losing touch, he puts in a stunning lap-time, including a pass on Pietsch at Ascari! That puts him a good 6 seconds down on Maglioli who is looking strong for a podium now. Salvadori is only a second down on Pietsch in 6th, with de Graffenried in 7th upping the pace to be back within 2 seconds of the Brit.

Landi easily moves past Hawthorn to take 17th spot, and Trintignant renews his rivalry with Stuck over 20th with a beautifully executed overtake at Curva Uno.

*Lap 92* - MOSS ALMOST SPINS!!! The Brit just holds it together, but while he is wrestling with his Maserati both Pietsch and Salvadori move past into 4th and 5th respectively! De Graffenried is just 2 seconds off the back of this group now, so he too cannot be counted out of a chance at a points paying position yet.

*Lap 93* - The status quo is, for the most part, preserved up front this lap. Maglioli now has 7 seconds on Pietsch, who is 1 seconds ahead of Salvadori, who in turn is 0.5 seconds ahead of Moss, who has de Graffenried 1.8 behind him.

Landi slows quite dramatically on the start/finish straight before picking up pace again, albeit not before he is overtaken by Hawthorn. Indeed there is a strange knocking sound coming from the Brazilian's engine now…

The battle for 20th rages on, as Stuck passes de Tornaco to regain 21st place…and Claes is slowly dropping back into the clutches of this group of cars too; so 19th may even be up for grabs here soon enough.

*Lap 94* - And Landi is forced to pull up on the straight after Ascari, as it seems he is another who has misjudged the amount of fuel needed around this deceptively tricky little circuit.

In a stunning turn of events things get even worse for Moss, as he relinquishes 6th place to de Graffenried, who can almost smell the points held by Salvadori in 5th less than a second up the road. Salvadori himself is less than 1 second behind Pietsch also though!

Farina passes Hermann for 9th at long last to provide some solace for the Italian, whilst Rosier passes Gonzalez for what will now be 23rd after Landi's demise.

*Lap 95* - It all closes up near the front, as Salvadori could not be any closer to Pietsch, with de Graffenried now about 3.5 seconds away and staving off Moss's attacks. Interestingly Gerard has closed the gap to them to just 3 seconds now too.

Claes makes a fatal error to lose 18th and 19th places to Trintignant and Stuck, with de Tornaco now right behind him and ready to strike. Bauer passes Bira here, as he finally makes some amends for his earlier misdemeanour off the track.

*Lap 96* - Exciting scenes here, as Salvadori passes Pietsch on the run down to Lago, whilst just 2 seconds behind Moss makes a carbon-copy of that move on de Graffenried to reclaim 6th place!

As anticipated de Tornaco takes Claes on this lap, and even Musso is now honing in on the ailing Belgian, whose tyres are crying enough at this point.

*Lap 97* - On the final lap, Whitehead comes across the line to take the chequered flag with a consummately professional drive. Collins comes across the line about 35 seconds later in a brilliant display of what keeping a cool head can achieve for the little HWM outfit, whose mechanics are going absolutely crazy down in the pits!

Maglioli takes the hard-fought podium, and we wait to see who will finish 4th…Salvadori blocks Pietsch at Mixtos, and the German is briefly behind Moss again…but he gets the slipstream to regain the place and make it Salvadori 4th, Pietsch 5th, Moss 6th, de Graffenried 7th, Gerard 8th, Farina 9th and Hermann rounds out the top 10 in a very commendable performance for Veritas.

Bayol is 11th with a creditable point for fastest lap, ahead of a queue of HWM drivers, including Menditeguy, Scherrer, Lang and Mantovani. Ascari claims 16th from Hawthorn 17th, Trintignant 18th, Stuck 19th and Musso 20th. The latter passed both de Tornaco and Claes on the last lap to steal away from the Belgian pair, who are fortunate Rosier and Gonzalez are not quite close enough to also take advantage of their worn out tyres.

Bauer is in 25th after his earlier car troubles, from Bira 26th, Barber back up to 27th after his huge earlier off, Chiron finishes 28th, Villoresi 29th and Brown 30th by virtue of Landi's late exit from the race. Stewart and Behra round out the participants today.