Cuban Grand Prix

See also Barrio de San Lázaro, Havana

The Cuban Grand Prix, also known as the Havana Grand Prix, was a sports car motor race held for a brief period in the late 1950s in Havana, Cuba, last raced in 1960. The 1958 race is best remembered as the backdrop to the kidnapping of Formula One World Champion driver Juan Manuel Fangio by anti-government rebels linked to the 26th of July Movement.^[2][3]

Cuban Grand Prix

el Malecon
Race information
Number of times held	3
First held	1957[1]
Last held	1960
Most wins (drivers)	Stirling Moss (2)
Most wins (constructors)	Maserati (2)
Circuit length	5.591 km (3.23 miles)
Race length	260.50 km (161.50 miles)
Laps	50
Last race (1960)
Pole position
Stirling Moss Maserati
Podium
1. Stirling Moss Maserati 2. Pedro Rodríguez Ferrari 3. Masten Gregory Porsche
Fastest lap
Stirling Moss Maserati

1958 Cuban Grand Prix.

La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana Cuba Grand Prix. 1957

History

The race was established in 1957 as Fulgencio Batista envisioned creating an event to attract tourists, particularly from the United States. A street circuit was established on the Malecón. The first race was a success; it was won by Fangio driving a Maserati 300S, leading home Carroll Shelby driving a Ferrari 410 S and Alfonso de Portago in a Ferrari 860 Monza.

The following year the official Maserati team arrived in force with their fleet of Maserati 300S cars and Fangio and Stirling Moss as drivers. On the eve of the race Fangio was abducted from his hotel by an armed man.^[2] The Cuban government ordered the race to continue. Moss and Masten Gregory led the race which was red flagged after just six laps. Armando Garcia Cifuentes had crashed his Ferrari into the crowd, killing seven.^[4][5]

The 1959 race was cancelled as Fidel Castro's revolution entered its final stages. The race returned in 1960, at a new venue on service roads around a military airfield. Moss, driving a Maserati Birdcage for privateer team Camoradi, had a comfortable victory over NART run Ferrari 250 TR59 driven by Pedro Rodríguez with Masten Gregory third in a Porsche 718.^[6]

Winners of the Cuban Grand Prix

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
1957	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati 300S	Malecon Avenue	Report
1958	Stirling Moss	Ferrari 335 S	Malecon Avenue	Report
1959	Not held
1960	Stirling Moss	Maserati Tipo 61	Camp Freedom[7][8]	Report

Gallery

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  Cuban Grand Prix 1958
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  Cuban Grand Prix 1958
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  Cuban Grand Prix 1958
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  Cuban Grand Prix 1958
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  23 February 1958. Cuban Grand Prix. Havana
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  Cuban Grand Prix. Havana, Cuba, 1957
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  Cuban Grand Prix. Havana, Cuba, 1957
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  Cuban Grand Prix. Havana, Cuba, 1957
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  Cuban Grand Prix. Havana, Cuba, 1957
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  Cuban Grand Prix Juan Manuel Fangio. Havana, Cuba, 1957
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  Cuban Grand Prix FOCSA Building. Havana, Cuba, 1957
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  Cuban Grand Prix Hill, O’Shea Ferrari 857 S. Havana, Cuba, 1957

See also

• Cuba portal

• Barrio de San Lázaro, Havana
• Hospital de San Lázaro, Havana
• Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine (Havana)
• La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana