The historic ACA Grand Prix 2024: journey, regularity, pride and solidarity on the Argentine routes

The image is moving. Emblematic vehicles between 1937 and 1980 seem to emerge from the treasure chest of memories to reunite in a unique and unforgettable caravan for those who arrive along the route to contemplate their passage, for those who are surprised in the different cities upon their arrival. The older ones smile grateful and excited, with vivid memories of other times framed by those cars that represent them. The youngest, amazed by an unimaginable past.

It’s part of what the Argentine Automobile Club (ACA) Historic Grand Prix causes. A competition that brings together those ancient jewels of mechanics to complete an incredible ride, on a route of over 3,500 kilometres. And there the 135 vehicles that with great pride left the Palermo headquarters of the centenary institution (120 years old) speed up.

From that classic starting ramp on Avenida Del Libertador, the route map marked the city of Junín, in the province of Buenos Aires, Santa Rosa (La Pampa), Neuquén, San Martín de Los Andes (there was the rest day ) and then back again to Neuquén, Bahía Blanca and closing on Friday evening in Mar del Plata.

The competition is regular. That is why the quiet passage of the caravan is due to the care of those cars, which receive more love than the owners’ own family, as many of them claim, but also calculating each control step to the thousandth. For the elite group, the race, after thousands of kilometers, is defined by tenths of a second.

Camaraderie is commonplace. Everyone helps each other. Everyone is involved in the state of the rest of the vehicle fleet. Not only because most of them know each other after many years spent sharing a passion for classic irons, but also because everyone knows that no one is exempt from some quirk that can appear among old valves and cylinders.

The first arrest took place in Junín, in front of the parish of San Ignacio. And shortly after the historic Grand Prix landed, the bride from Friday night’s wedding appeared. An unforgettable moment for everyone, especially for the bride and groom, who were welcomed with a very special choir of horns.

Each city has its own particularity. And in each of them, Jorge Revello, second vice president of the ACA and responsible for every realization of this particular event for 21 years, travels in one of the organization’s cars. “A true traveling museum,” he repeats proudly when mentioning the competition.

“Every year we carry out this test with great commitment, which is full of enthusiasts, professional regularity test crews, but fundamentally car enthusiasts who own vehicles that belonged to their families. Or those who went looking for old cars to preserve them. “We all do the Historic Grand Prix together, with the idea of ​​honoring through motor sports those GPs that made our country home,” underlines Revello, who shakes hands with each crew at the arrival of each stage. Or with the detail of delivering a bouquet of flowers to women on Mother’s Day Sunday, in Neuquén.

The list of participants includes 14 foreign crews. Uruguay and Paraguay lead the fury of historic cars in this traditional meeting, which, for example, is exciting when you pass a rural school, on the side of the traditional Route 40, where the students, no more than 30, and their two teachers , they had the task of offering an unforgettable greeting that provokes tears of gratitude.

The Historic Grand Prix is ​​also supportive. Each crew delivers 5 kilos of non-perishable food to Caritas, to be distributed throughout the area. A custom as traditional as the GPH as it has toured much of the country over the years.

Historic coupés, previous models, cars representing the clubs, such as the Falcon, the Citroën 3 CV, the Fiat 600, the Peugeot 404, the Renault 12, among others, alternate with each arrival. There the crew members comment on sensations, experiences or simply exchange tools in case some element comes loose during the demanding journey of these machines. And there are also representatives of the Automobile Club Argentino, with the daily service they provide to the member, but focused on the distinct caravan. Two “stretchers”, a truck and six expert mechanics become the guardian angels of the beautiful vehicles.

The Historic Grand Prix recalls the passing of those sprinters who made their homeland through motor sports. This time at a controlled pace, like every regularity test, as if to give value to every kilometer traveled with historical pieces from the national industry and from other times that seem to return with every acceleration of the old engines.