1954 Carrera Panamericana

The race was run from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, over 8 stages and 3,070 kilometres (1,910 mi).

[3] Going into the race, Ferrari had already won the championship, but victory would ensure the marque would score maximum points for the season.

Although no works entries were sent from Italy, there was a number of top quality entrants from both Mexico and the United States, hoping the get that victory on behalf of the Maranello concern.

The Austin-Healey 100S of Englishman, Lance Macklin struggled from ignition troubles and retired before completing the first stage.

[6][7] The Californian pairing of Hill and Ginther continued to look impressive, making it through the second stage in their Allen Guiberson-entered Ferrari 375 MM without incident and remaining close to the front of the overall standing.

[6][7] Despite feeling the pressure, Maglioli strengthened his grip and did not make any mistakes in the closing stages of the race, finishing nearly 25 minutes ahead of Hill and Ginther.

Only months after its introduction in Mexico, the local distributor entered seven Volkswagen Beetles in order to prove their reliability and to make the car known.

As they were using standard Volkswagen engines, the cars were driving bumper-to-bumper in order reduce air resistance as available power was limited.