Oscar and Juan Gálvez Race Track
F1 cars once screamed through the third corner here at 305 km/h, flat out for 40 straight seconds — and the grandstands put you right on top of it.
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Built in 1952 on swampland at the southern edge of Buenos Aires, this 45,000-seat circuit hosted 20 Argentine Formula One Grand Prix races from 1953 to 1998. Perón opened it as Autódromo 17 de Octubre; it was later renamed for racing brothers Oscar and Juan Gálvez. Multiple configurations — some eliminating the twisty infield entirely — made for radically different lap times and racing styles across the decades.
What to look for
- The surrounding grandstands, designed so most spectators see the entire circuit from their seat
- References to the name change from Autódromo 17 de Octubre — Perón's Loyalty Day branding — to its current tribute to brothers Juan (1916–1963) and Oscar Gálvez (1913–1989)
- The long straights added by the No.15 layout (used 1974–1981), where cars exited the third corner on the brink of spinning at 305 km/h
Located in Villa Riachuelo, Buenos Aires's southernmost barrio; check ahead as a major redevelopment programme is underway for the motorcycle Grand Prix's return in 2027.
Oscar and Juan Gálvez Race Track is one of 34 sights worth the detour in Buenos Aires, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Buenos Aires pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Buenos Aires
- Mas Monumental Stadium85,018 seats on reclaimed Río de la Plata marshland — the largest stadium in South America, and the ground where a World Cup Final was played.
- La BomboneraThat chocolate-box shape doesn't just look strange — the unusual design gives the bowl its famously excellent acoustics.
- Casa RosadaThe baby-pink paint was a political recipe: mix the Federalists' red with the Unitarians' white, and maybe stop a civil war.
- Teatro ColónAcoustics expert Leo Beranek surveyed leading international opera and orchestra directors and ranked this hall the world's best room for opera — not a slogan, a measured result.
- Palacio BaroloA 1923 tower mapped floor by floor onto Dante's Divine Comedy — hell at the base, purgatory in the middle, heaven at the top.
- Plaza de MayoEvery defining moment in Argentine political life — from the May Revolution to the country's largest street protests — has played out on this one square.