1906 Grand Prix season
The 1906 Grand Prix season is regarded as the first Grand Prix racing season. It marked the advent of two iconic races: The French Grand Prix and the Targa Florio.
Major races
Date | Name | Circuit | Race Distance |
Winning driver | Winning constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 Feb | Cuban Race | Havana | 351 km (218 mi) | Victor Demogeot | Renault | Report |
6 May | Targa Florio | Madonie | 450 km (280 mi) | Alessandro Cagno | Itala | Report |
26–27 Jun | French Grand Prix | Le Mans | 1,240 km (770 mi) | Ferenc Szisz | Renault | Report |
13 Aug | Circuit des Ardennes | Bastogne | 602 km (374 mi) | Arthur Duray | De Dietrich | Report
|
5 Sep | Circuito Siciliano Vetturette | Palermo | 246 km (153 mi) | Vincenzo Florio | De Dion-Bouton | Report |
22 Sep | Vanderbilt Elimination Race
|
Long Island | 285 mi (459 km) | Joe Tracy | Locomobile | Report |
27 Sep | Tourist Trophy | Isle of Man | 160 mi (260 km) | Charles Rolls | Rolls-Royce | Report |
6 Oct | Vanderbilt Cup | Long Island | 300 mi (480 km) | Louis Wagner
|
Darracq | Report |
12 Nov | Coupe de l'Auto | Rambouillet | 233 km (145 mi) | George Sizaire | Sizaire-Naudin | Report |
Season review
The season started with the first ever motor-race in Cuba, won by Victor Demogeot in a 1904 80-bhp Renault.[6]
To raise the profile of Italian motorsport, the wealthy 23-year old Conte Vincenzo Florio devised a course across the middle of his native Sicily. The circuit ran from Campofelice di Roccella on the northern coast up 3,600 feet (1,100 m) into the Madonie mountains to Petralia Sottana before returning to the coast.[7] The roads at this time were unsealed and very rudimentary and windy.[8] The race would be three laps of the 150 kilometres (93 mi) circuit. Florio went to great lengths to promote the event, commissioning a solid gold trophy[7] and having an elaborate grandstand installed for VIPs at Petralia Sottana, overlooking the valleys.[9]
Cars had to cost less than 20000
The French Automobile Club (ACF) had grown more dissatisfied with the format of the inter-nation Gordon Bennett Cup. Each nation would enter a 3-car team for those races, but France had many more manufacturers than the other competing nations.[10][9][8] In 1906, as current holders, it was the turn of the ACF to host the next Gordon Bennett race. Instead it proposed a new race with far larger Grand Prix ('Big Prize') of FF100,000 (equivalent to about €400,000 in 2015)[11] to the winner, and open to all car-companies. Interest from manufacturers was high and in October 1905, promoted by the sports newspaper L'Auto, tenders were opened to the French auto clubs for hosting rights. The newly formed Automobile Club de la Sarthe, forerunner of the ACO, won the contract, starting construction on a 103 km triangular circuit to the east of Le Mans.[11]
The inaugural French Grand Prix took place on the weekend of 26–27 June. Cars had a maximum weight of 1000 kg (excluding lights, wings and upholstery) and sufficient gasoline was allocated for a fuel consumption of 30 litres per 100 km.
A large contingent of European drivers, including Nazzaro, Cagno and
The final new race of the year was also promoted by L'Auto. The
At the end of the year, Vincenzo Lancia founded his own car-company, while still staying on as a FIAT works-driver.[6]
In 1906 Charles Jarrott, a British amateur racing driver, wrote the book "Ten Years of Motors and Motor Racing" about the years of open-road city-to-city racing.[14] He noted then "The result is that only men who make it their business to drive these cars can hope to be successful... the curse of commercialism is the ruin of every sport".[15]
Citations
- ^ "Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing". kolumbus.fi. Archived from the original on 13 April 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "GEL Motorsport Information Page". teamdan.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ Monkhouse 1953, p.232-79
- ^ Sheldon 1987, p.63-4
- ^ The Automobile Magazine 1906, p.171
- ^ a b c d e Rendall 1993, p.49
- ^ a b c d e Rendall 1993, p.46-7
- ^ a b Legate 2006, p.10
- ^ a b c d e f Cimarosti 1997, p.25-7
- ^ Spurring 2015, p.17
- ^ a b Spurring 2015, p.18
- ^ a b c Spurring 2015, p.19
- ^ Rendall 1993, p.48
- ^ Rendall 1991, p.15
- ^ Rendall 1991, p.35
References
- Cimarosti, Adriano (1997) The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing London: Aurum Press Ltd ISBN 1-85410-500-0
- Georgano, Nick (1971) The Encyclopaedia of Motor Sport London: Ebury Press Ltd ISBN 0-7181-0955-4
- Legate, Trevor (2006) 100 years of Grand Prix Kent: Touchstone Books Ltd ISBN 0-9551-0201-4
- Ludvigsen, Karl (2008) Racing Colours - Italian Racing Red Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd ISBN 0-7110-3331-5
- Monkhouse, George (1953) Grand Prix Racing Facts and Figures London: G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd
- Rendall, Ivan (1991) The Power and The Glory – A Century of Motor Racing London: BBC Books ISBN 0-563-36093-3
- Rendall, Ivan (1993) The Chequered Flag – 100 years of Motor Racing London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd ISBN 0-297-83220-4
- Sheldon, Paul (1987) A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing Volume 1 Shipley, West Yorkshire: St Leonard's Press ISBN 0951243306
- Spurring, Quentin (2015) Le Mans 1923-29 Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing ISBN 978-1-91050-508-3
- Venables, David (2009) Racing Colours - French Racing Blue Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd ISBN 978-0-7110-3369-6
- The Automobile Magazine (1906) https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/sites/default/files/Cuba1.pdf
External links
- Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 : Part 1 (1895–1916) Archived 13 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine – list of the races and winners. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019
- Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 : History Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Hans Etzrodt's description of the annual regulations and changes. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019
- GEL Motorsport Information Page - list of the races and winners. Retrieved 5 Aug 2007
- Motorsport Memorial – motor-racing deaths by year. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019
- La Targa Florio – race report and preparation of the inaugural Targa Florio. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019
- Vanderbilt Cup Races – race report of the Vanderbilt Cup race. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019