Oscar Cabalén (February 4, 1928 – August 25, 1967), was an Argentine racing driver, mainly active in the

Turismo Carretera Turismo Carretera (Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera. The ...

series. He also took part in the

Carrera Panamericana The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan ( stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, i ...

and the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

, and was a reserve driver for the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Argentine Grand Prix in 1960.

Career

Nicknamed "El Turco", Cabalén bought an HRD motorcycle in 1948. Fifteen days later he won a race in

Bell Ville Bell Ville is a city in center-south of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina, located 200 km southeast from the capital Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba City, on the intersection of National ...

. He competed in four further races before crashing in Calvez and fracturing his tibia and fibula, which took six months to heal. On doctors' advice, he abandoned motorcycle racing and worked for a time at his brothers' lorry company. Switching to four wheels, he made his debut in Turismo Carretera on July 1, 1950. In

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, he and his co-driver Guillermo Ibanda participated in the

where he finished 36th, third in the "Turismo Especial" class. The race was marred by the deaths of a number of drivers, including Felice Bonetto. The following year, with Mexican co-driver Genaro Silva, Cabalén finished 33rd and seventh in his class. Following in the footsteps of his mentor and friend

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

, Cabalén moved to Europe. At the

1955 Mille Miglia The 1955 ''Mille Miglia'' was a 1,000 mile motor race held on a course made up entirely of public roads around Italy, mostly on the outer parts of the country on April 30-May 1, 1955. Also known as the ''22. edizione Mille Miglia'', the 992.332 ...

in Italy, with Italian co-driver Ottavio Guarducci, he finished fifth in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce category. He later competed in the

10 Hours of Messina The 10 Hours of Messina (Italian: ''10 ore di Messina'' or ''10 ore notturna messinese'') was a sports car race, organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia, held for the first time on 24 August 1952 in the street circuit of Messina, Italy. From 195 ...

, driving a Ferrrai 500 Mondial with Venezuelan Joao Rezende dos Santos, and finished second behind Maurice Trintignant and

Eugenio Castellotti Eugenio Castellotti (10 October 1930 – 14 March 1957) was a Formula One driver from Italy. Driving career Castellotti was born in Lodi, Italy. He acquired a Ferrari at the age of twenty, from a local benefactor, and began racing sports cars ...

, winning his class. At the

1960 Argentine Grand Prix The 1960 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 7 February 1960. It was race 1 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers and race 1 of 9 in the 1960 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This ...

, Cabalén acted as reserve driver for fellow Argentine

Nasif Estéfano Nasif Moisés Estéfano (18 November 1932 – 21 October 1973) was a racing driver from Argentina with Lebanese ancestry. He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 7 February 1960, but scored no championship ...

, driving a

Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG 220 bhp (@ 7400 rpm) 2 ...

. Cabalén drove only during the final qualifying session, where he posted a time two-tenths of a second slower than Estéfano, but faster than

Ettore Chimeri Ettore Muro Chimeri (4 June 1921 – 27 February 1960) was a racing driver from Venezuela. He was born in Lodi, near Milan, Italy, but his family later settled in Venezuela. He was the first Venezuelan ever to compete in a Formula One Grand Prix. ...

and

Antonio Creus Antonio Creus i Rubín de Celis (28 October 1924 – 19 February 1996) was a motorcycle racer and racing driver from Spain. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix on 7 February 1960, dri ...

in their 250Fs. In 1961 he returned to the Turismo Carretera series. With a Ford V8, Cabalén not only took his first victory (in Villa Carlos Paz), but was also runner-up that year, behind the champion

Oscar Alfredo Gálvez Oscar Alfredo Gálvez (17 August 1913 – 16 December 1989) was a racing driver from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 18 January 1953, in which he scored two championship points. He wa ...

. In 1966 he won the "Gran Premio de Turismo" driving a

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

, and in 1967 he was one of the members of the "Team Racing Ford Argentina".

Death

Cabalén died testing a revolutionary Ford Sport Prototype at the temporary "SOMISA de San Nicolás" circuit, in preparation for the "6th Gran Premio de TC General Manuel Savio". On one of his test runs, his car left the road at more than 205 km/h, rolled several times and caught fire, coming to rest 100 metres down the track, on its wheels. One of the team mechanics, Guillermo Luis "Pachacho" Arnáiz, was alongside him in the car, and both were killed. The fibreglass-bodied car burned very quickly together with the high octane fuel, and the occupants were trapped, perishing in the fire. Cabalén is buried in the Cementerio de San Jerónimo, Córdoba Province. Córdoba's racetrack

Autódromo Oscar Cabalén Autódromo Oscar Cabalén is a motorsports circuit located in Alta Gracia, Córdoba, Argentina. It has hosted events in the TC2000, Turismo Nacional and Formula Nacional Argentina series. The circuit is named in honour of racing driver, Oscar ...

was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabalen, Oscar 1928 births 1967 deaths Argentine racing drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sportspeople from Santa Fe, Argentina Turismo Carretera drivers Carrera Panamericana drivers Sport deaths in Argentina