Gruelling Carrera

Jo Ramirez came home an impressive first in class and 26th overall in the 2007 Carrera Panamericana. Co-driven by Alberto Cruz, their Volvo beat a host of Porsches and a couple of Karman Ghias in the gruelling 3114km Mexican Rally. The route goes from Oazaca northwards to Nuevo Laredo, passing through Ciudad de México, Querétaro and Aguascalientes, and the event was described by Alfred Neubauer as “a combination of Tripoli’s Grand Prix, the Italian Mille Miglia, the German Nürburgring and the Le Mans 24 Hours”. With temperature varying from 34 to 2 degrees Celsius and height ranging from sea-level to 3000 metres altitude, merely finishing is a remarkable achievement. Pierre de Tholsy and Frederic Stoesser in a Studebaker came first overall.