sports cars. The major automobile manufacturers had taken notice of the race and Mercedes-Benz sent a highly organized team of drivers, mechanics, and 300 SLs. Karl Kling and Herman Lang finished first and second, and a 1-2-3 finish may have been the final result had American John Fitch not been disqualified for permitting a mechanic to touch his car on the second to last day. American Chuck Stevenson won the touring car class in a Lincoln Capri, his first of two consecutive victories in the event. The Mercedes-Benz W194 of Kling and Hans Klenk won despite the car being hit by a vulture in the windscreen. During a long right-hand bend in the opening stage taken at almost , Kling failed to spot vultures sitting by the side of the road. As the birds scattered at the roar of the virtually unsilenced 300 SL, one impacted through the windscreen on the passenger side, briefly knocking co-driver and navigator Klenk unconscious. Despite bleeding badly from facial injuries caused by the shattered windscreen, Klenk ordered Kling to maintain speed, and held on until a tire change almost later to clean himself and the car up. For extra protection, eight vertical steel bars were bolted over the new windscreen. Kling and Klenk also discussed the species and size of the dead bird, agreeing that had had a minimum wingspan and weighed as much as five fattened geese. Klenk used pre-prepared 'pace-notes' to identify and communicate upcoming road bends in rapid shorthand to Kling. This system proved so effective that it is used in all motor sports involving a navigator today, such as stage rallying. The highly organized Lincoln teams also used a similar system. Only one person was killed in this event, Santos Letona of Puebla, Mexico, who died in a crash near the town of Texmelucan on the third stage between there and Mexico City. 1953 In 1953 the Sports and Stock classes were both subdivided into Large and Small groups, giving four categories in which to compete. These were split by engine cubic capacity; sports cars under and over 1600 cc were Small and Large respectively, and stocks cars under and over 3500 cc likewise. This was to accommodate the huge number of participants and the diverse breeds of cars within the race. This race, like the subsequent running of the Carrera Panamericana was to be the last round of the