ACA vs ACTC: origin and consequences of the conflict that shakes Argentine motorsport

The crack in the middle Argentine Automobile Club and the Road Tourism Corridors Association, short-circuit that lasted a few months, was expanded on Monday when the ACA announced it was revoking “the selective sports power” it had delegated in 2001 to the ACTC to oversee the Road tourismHe TC track and the Superior race. The short statement aggravated the crisis of Argentine motorsport, in the midst of the power struggle between these two entities, and opened a big question about what will happen in the short and long term with these categories, which have already inaugurated their seasons.

The ACA is the partner (or representative) of the International Automobile Federation in Argentina, therefore has the power to regulate the sporting practice of motor sports in the country, following the rules and regulations of the FIA ​​International Sporting Code. The same code allows it to delegate oversight powers to another body and it did so in 2001 when, after several months of controversy, it granted the ACTC the power which has now been withdrawn. What does this decision by the ACA imply and what impact could it have on the development of the championships?

In practice, you may not see any immediate changes. As explained Eugene Breardpresident of Motor Sport Commission of the ACA in conversation with Carburetionthe ACTC, as an entity, will be able to continue to organize races in its categories, so the TC, for example, will be able to continue with the development of its season as planned.

However, as the Association is no longer “a recognized supervisory body”, its powers will no longer be exercised under the ACA and the FIA. And without the legal protection of these organizations, the problem could arise, for example, if an accident occurred during testing, because the ACTC would be solely responsible for the drivers, the circuits and the public.

“Legally, the organizer of a competition is responsible for what happens in that competition. In cases of such categories, the ACA no longer has any relationship with the organizer and, therefore, has no relationship or responsibility for the competitors , the organizers, the promoters and the advertisements; nothing related to those categories,” Breard summed up.

One question that arose after hearing the release was what would happen to the drivers competing in TC and TC Pista (It is worth mentioning that the Top Race, despite being mentioned in the text, was verified again by the ACA in 2011). Would they expose themselves to a penalty if they chose to continue in the ACTC categories? Breard said no.

“We will not harm the drivers. Those who have the ACA racing license can compete in any race they want. If they race one of the ACTCs and the ACTC allows it, we will not penalize them,” he said.

And he clarified: “If a driver who doesn’t have the ACA license wants to race in a club category, he will have to get the license. It’s that simple. And if a driver comes along who only competes in the ACTC or another organization and who doesn’t he has the ACA license and asks for the international license, we will tell him that he must participate in at least one race in a competition supervised by the CDA to obtain it, because to give him the international license you have to be responsible.

The conflict between ACA and ACTC began late last year, when the Association was chaired by Ugo Mazzacane announced that from 2024 it will supervise National Tourism and Track Tourism, until then regulated by the CDA. The ACTC explained that these categories were assigned by mutual agreement with them under the protection of Law No. 24052/91, “referring to the motor sports supervisory bodies existing in our country”.

For the ACA, however, this “move” represented a clear violation of the agreement signed in 2001 which only gave it supervisory power over TC, TC Pista and Top Tace.

“We wish to underline that, regardless of the fact of invoking a repealed law to grant powers that it lacks, the International Sports Code of the International Automobile Federation recognizes the Argentine Automobile Club as the sole National Sports Authority, holder and custodian of sporting power, which through the Automobile Sports Commission, oversees auto racing in national categories, including National Touring Car and Track Touring,” the ACA explained in a press release.

The CDA also sent a letter to the Caballito-based organization urging it to back down to avoid sanctions under the International Sports Code.

In the last few hours, the CDA also underlined that since the signing of that agreement, almost 23 years ago, the ACTC had committed other violations of the contract by creating new categories, such as TC MourasHe TC Mouras Track and the TC withdrawalwhich had not been taken into consideration at the time.

“There may have been conversations between the ACA and the ACTC over time, but nothing was ever put in writing to support the creation of those categories, which was in violation of what was done in 2001,” Breard said in an interview with the site . Champions.

The CDA president also said that in recent months, in a couple of meetings with FIA representatives, they asked him what they expected “from the exercise of the international sporting code”, which allows them to withdraw the delegation of power. And he ruled out any thoughts of taking further action against the ACTC.

“We don’t want to have a legal battle,” he said.

However, the rift between the two organizations appears to be widening. And we will have to wait to see what real impact this new Argentine motorsport scenario will have on the championships and the drivers.