Mexicans as "El Ensalada" (the salad). The race, however, lived up to its bloody reputation – seven people were killed during this event: four competitors, two spectators, and one team crew member. Cancellation Due to safety concerns and the expense to the government, the race was cancelled after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, although the President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines announced only that the race's original task of publicizing the highway was 'complete'. 27 people had died during the five years of the Panamericana, giving it one of the highest mortality rates per race in the history of motor sports. Only a third of entrants typically finished the race. Unlike more compact circuits, the long stage sections were impossible to secure entirely, making it possible for crashes to linger for several hours before being noticed. During the years the race was originally held, racing automobile technology and performance advanced quickly and racing speeds almost doubled as a result. Despite the increased speed, safety controls remained static and competitors, spectators and safety control personnel alike became casualties. Legacy Despite being abandoned, the race would not be immediately forgotten. Despite their models being small and often quite underpowered (especially with regard to American and other German opponents) Porsche enjoyed some success in the race, mainly class wins. A 550 Spyder won the Small Sports Car category in 1953. Later, some Porsche road cars were named Carrera after this race (in the same theme as the Targas named after the Targa Florio), and in 2009 the company shipped the Panamera, a 4-door touring car with a name inspired by Panamericana. Similarly, the watchmaker Heuer, then known for its motorsport stopwatches, introduced a chronograph called the "Carrera Panamerica" after the 1953 race, which developed into its long-running 'Carrera' range. In the same way, Mercedes-AMG (high performance division of Mercedes-Benz road cars) named a new grille after this race: the Panamericana-Grille can be found on almost all AMG vehicles starting from 2018. Also, the race saw famous people from different forms of auto racing converge in one event, including: Bill France, Sr., Curtis Turner, Red Byron, Raymond Parks and Marshall Teague of stock car racing Mickey Thompson, Clay Smith and A.K. Miller, famous hot-rodders Tony Bettenhausen, Walt Faulkner, Jerry Unser and Bill Vukovich from open wheel 'Indy' car racing Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio, Formula One champions at the time; and Phil Hill, who would