Driving La Carrera – Carrera Passion, the film

Auto racing is Angelica Fuentes’s passion. At sixteen, she became a Mexican champion. Now she is racing the toughest road race in the world, La Carrera Panamericana. She and Gabriel Perez have won this race before. Now, they are trying to win it again. However, racing 2,000 miles in seven days is tough, with their 1954 Studebaker Commander. Furthermore, mechanical problems might steal their podium, but a team with passion never gives up.

The History Of La Carrera Panamericana

Twisting roads, uneven surfaces, natural hazards, vertical drop offs, lack of sleep. All these conspire to make the Carrera Panamericana seven-day endurance event wild and grueling. The Carrera Panamericana is a Mexican motorsport challenge like no other. It remains the most challenging open road race in the world. Drivers from across the globe come to race through Mexico’s rugged mountains and beautiful cites. Fans throughout Mexico line the roadways to watch the cars go by, and people around the world follow every stage online. Furthermore, the 15-18 hour days take their toll as drive teams and mechanics work around the clock to prep and repair their cars so they are ready for the next day.

Between 1950 and 1954, the Carrera Panamericana was known as one of the most dangerous and deadly of the open road races popular in the era. It was created to publicize the new 2,200-mile north-south Mexican segment of the Pan-American Highway. The Mexican government funded the race as a way of attracting attention to the new business opportunities afforded by the new highway. During this time, 25 people were killed, including drivers and spectators. As a result, the race was cancelled after the 1954 race.

La Carrera Panamericana Revival

The Carrera Panamericana was revived in 1988 with increased safety requirements. Mandated equipment and clothing rivals that used in Formula One and Indy.

Today it is run as a stage race, similar to the original, but with a combination of “speed” stages and “transit” stages. Speed stages are timed, closed-road races that require entrants to get from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time. This requires driving flat out along winding mountain roads that pass through small villages, along cliffs, and through wooded sections of forest. There is a reason the roll-cages used are thicker than in other races – the 500-foot drop offs have something to do with it. Transit stages are run as a time-speed distance (TSD) rally, with driver and navigator attempting to finish a stage at a specific time. The combination of scoring in both types of stages determines the overall winner.

More reading about La Carrera Panamericana

• GT40 Panamericano, the film: A team challenges tradition to race a Le Mans car in Mexico’s famous road race
• No Race On Earth Is Like La Carrera Panamericana

Production Credits for Driving La Carrera – Carrera Passion

Director: Fernando Cum Marin

Executive Producers: Chris Mason and Jeff Mason

Production Company: Elemental Agency

Producer: Julián Castillo Cabrera

Editor: Guillermo Mendiguren Gutiérrez

Sound Designer: Lilian Villaseñor

Driving La Carrera team produced and shot the film with Elemental, a Mexican production company. The film was directed by Fer Cum Marin, Elemental’s founder. Julián Castillo Cabrera was the producer.

The film was shot in México, over two weeks in October 2020 during the Carrera Panamericana race. The film crew followed the team, Team Museo del Automóvil, as they raced the Carrera Panamericana, traveling from city to city, over 2,000 miles. Shooting locations included Oaxaca, Veracruz, México City, Queretaro, Morelia, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Durango, Torreón, and many places in between. The film was written, produced, edited, and mastered in México City and completed in March 2021.

Run Time: 20:41

Language: English with Spanish subtitles