Turismo Carretera (

Road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...

, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, and the oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by

Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera (ACTC) is a governing body based in Argentina that specializes in auto racing competitions. It was founded on 30 August 1960, initially as a representative body and defender of the rights of drivers who ...

. The first TC competition took place in 1937 with 12 races, each in a different

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. Future

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 ...

star

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 ...

(Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories. Until the 1960s the races were held on temporarily closed roads, hence the series' name. These improvised circuits would often present a combination of dirt and asphalt surfaces unlike those of dedicated race tracks. During the 1960s the category began employing high-end technologies, with local manufacturers investing heavily for prestige. Ford Motor Argentina and Chevrolet were main contenders, with

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

to a lesser degree. The European brand

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

, which had merged with

Industrias Kaiser Argentina Industrias Kaiser Argentina S.A. (mostly known for its acronym IKA) was an Argentine automobile manufacturer established in 1956 as a joint venture with Kaiser Motors of the United States. Headquartered in Santa Isabel, Córdoba, the automaker p ...

and thus inherited the Rambler range, was also a contender. In the 1970s, the Sport Prototipo (modified cars in the Gran Turismo vein) category was spun off TC to allow TC to return to its stock-car roots which made it immensely popular with small-town audiences. The spin-off withered away slowly. A second spin-off was TC 2000 Championship in the 1980s which allowed the showcasing of the smaller cars most Argentines were driving, thus including

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

and

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...

, and later, Japanese brands as well. TC 2000 soon became as popular as TC itself. In later years, and to preserve its main draw, TC has been clinging to the larger models that have mostly gone out of use in Argentine roads, and incorporated imported engines. Brands in TC still have huge fan bases, with Ford and Chevrolet being the largest. General Motors decided to end manufacturing

Chevy Coupé SS The Chevy Coupé SS is a stock car version of the Chevrolet Chevy, designed to race in the Turismo Carretera series, and developed and built since 1968. References {{reflist Cars of Argentina Turismo Carretera ...

(Chevrolet Nova) in Argentina in 1977. Dodge and IKA-Torino are the other two participants with wins in TC.

Gallery

Circuits

The circuits used in 2021: *

Autódromo Roberto Mouras Autódromo Roberto José Mouras is a motorsports circuit located in La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plat ...

( Buenos Aires Province) *

Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez The Autódromo de Buenos Aires Oscar y Juan Gálvez is a 45,000 capacity motor racing circuit in Buenos Aires, Argentina built in 1952 under president Juan Perón, named ''Autódromo 17 de Octubre'' after the date of Loyalty Day until Perón's ov ...

(

Buenos Aires city Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

) * Autódromo San Nicolás Ciudad ( Buenos Aires Province) * Autódromo de Concepción del Uruguay (

Entre Ríos Province Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east. Its capital is Paraná ...

) * Autódromo Ciudad de Paraná (

) * Autódromo Ciudad de Concordia (

) * Circuito San Juan Villicum ( San Juan Province) * Autódromo Rosamonte (

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...

) * Autódromo Ciudad de Rafaela (

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R ...

) *

Autódromo Rosendo Hernández The Autódromo Rosendo Hernández is a motorsports circuit located in San Luis Province, San Luis, Argentina. It has hosted events in the TC2000, Turismo Carretera and Formula Renault series, as well as the World RX of Argentina of the FIA World ...

(

San Luis Province San Luis () is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country (on the 32° South parallel). Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan. History The ci ...

) * Autódromo Ciudad de Viedma (

Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its c ...

) * Autódromo Provincia de La Pampa (

La Pampa Province La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza. History In 1 ...

)

Active cars

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * For ...

(42 titles) *

(22 titles) * Dodge Polara GTX coupé (currently powered by a Chrysler Cherokee engine) (10 titles) * IKA-Renault Torino (currently powered by a Chrysler Cherokee engine) (5 titles) *

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact car, compact in size (narrow-body ...

(since 2022) Both Dodge and Torino were equipped with Chrysler Cherokee engines after 1995. Back when they won the titles they were equipped with their original engines. (a Dodge " Slant Six" engine for Dodge and a

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

engine for the Torino).

Champions

Other active drivers

Juan Pablo Gianini Juan Pablo Gianini (born 23 October 1978) is an Argentine racing driver and former motorcycle racer. He currently competes in Turismo Carretera and TC Pick Up. He was a three-time TC Pick Up champion between 2019 and 2021. Career After starting ...

Julián Santero Julián Emmanuel Santero (born October 21, 1993, in Guaymallén, Mendoza Province) is an Argentine motor racing driver. Santero start his career in 2008 at 14 years old, in the Chilean Formula Three Championship. In the following year, he debut ...

* Gabriel Ponce de León *

Gastón Mazzacane Gastón Hugo Mazzacane (born 8 May 1975) is an Argentine racing driver. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 12 March 2000. He scored no championship points. His father, Hugo Mazzacane named him after Argentine touring car r ...

Facundo Ardusso Facundo Ardusso (born 24 June 1988) is an Argentine racing driver. He has run in different series, with major success in Argentine Formula Renault Championship, Argentine Formula Renault and TC 2000 Championship, TC 2000. He was fourth at Punta ...

Camilo Echevarría Camilo Echevarría (born 31 December 1990) is a racing driver from Argentina. Since 2015, he has competed in Turismo Carretera championship. Career Karting Born in Neuquén, Echevarría drove in the 60cc class between 1999 and 2001, winning ...

* Leonel Pernía *

José Manuel Urcera José Manuel "Manu" Urcera (San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro Province; July 9, 1991) is an Argentine motor racing driver. Urcera started his motorsport career in motocross. In 2012 he debuted at TC Mouras with JP Racing and Turismo Nacional (TN) Cla ...

* Emiliano Spataro *

Gallery

Circuits

Active cars

Champions

Other active drivers

References

External links