Gordon Bennett Cup (auto racing)
In automobile racing, the Gordon Bennett Cup was an annual competition which ran from 1900 to 1905. It was one of three
In 1899, Gordon Bennett offered the
The 1903 event in Ireland possibly gave rise to the birth of
The Cup
The trophy given to the winner was a sculpture of a Panhard racing car driven by the Genius of Progress with the Goddess of Victory as passenger.[1]
Rules
Competition was intended to be between national automobile clubs, or nations, and not individuals. The first contestants were France, Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy. Each club was required to pay a Fr3000 entry fee.[2] Each could send up to three cars; drivers had to be members of the entrant club.[3]
A race, once scheduled, had to be held between 15 May and 15 August, with a total distance of between 550 and 650 km (340 and 400 mi).[4] Participating clubs shared the cost of running the event.[5]
The cars themselves had to have two seats, side by side, with driver and riding mechanic (who were to weigh no less than 60 kg (132 lb) each). Cars were to weigh at least 400 kg (882 lb) empty, and had to be built entirely in the country under whose colours they ran.[6]
Gordon Bennett races
The Gordon Bennett Cup auto races drew entrants from across
Reputedly as a concession to Ireland where the
1900 Gordon Bennett Cup
The international motor car race from Paris to Lyons for the Gordon Bennett Cup took place on 14 June 1900. The start from Paris was made at 3 o'clock in the morning and Charron was the first to reach Lyons, arriving at 12:23 p.m. M. Girardot finished second at 2 o'clock.[8]
1901 Gordon Bennett Cup
In 1901 the Gordon Bennett Cup race was run in conjunction with the Paris-Bordeaux race on 29 May over a distance of 527.1 km. The race was won by Henri Fournier driving a Mors with a time of 6h 10m 44s. The first of the Gordon Bennett Cup contestants was Leonce Girardot, driving a Panhard with a time of 8h 50m 59s.[9]
1902 Gordon Bennett Cup
The
1903 Gordon Bennett Cup
On Thursday, 2 July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup was the first international motor race to be held in Ireland, an honorific to
There was considerable public concern about safety after the 1901
The official timekeeper of the race was Mr. T. H. Woolen of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland. Ninety one Chronographs for timing the race were supplied by the Anglo-Swiss firm Stauffer Son & Co. of La Chaux-de-Fonds and London. Competitors were started at seven-minute intervals and had to follow bicycles through the 'control zones' in each town. The 328 miles (528 km) race was won by the famous Belgian Camille Jenatzy, driving a Mercedes in German colours.[13][18]
1904 Gordon Bennett Cup
The Times reported the 1904 Gordon Bennett motor race took place in Germany on 17 June over 342 miles (550 km), consisting of four laps of a course in the neighbourhood of Homburg.[19] From Saalburg the course ran north to Usingen, where there was a control point (an inhabited or built up area where the cars had to travel slowly under the supervision of course officials) then through Graefenwiesbach to Weilburg, where there was a second control point, then past Allendorf and Obertiefenbach to Limburg. This section was reported to be the best part of the course for high speed and in practice some cars travelled at 150 km/h (93 mph). At Limburgh there was another control, then the course ran through Kirberg to Neuhof, where there was a very bad turn, and then to Idstein where there was another control. It then ran through Glashuetten to Koenigstein (control), then via Friedrichshof and Oberursel (control) to Homburg (control) and back to Saalburg.
Officiating were Baron von Molitor of the German Automobile Club, the official starter, and M. Tampier of the French Automobile Club who was timekeeper. The chronographs for timing the event were supplied by the Anglo-Swiss firm of Stauffer Son & Co. Officials from the other competing countries were also present.
There were 18 starters including three British entrants. The first car started from Saalburg at 7 a.m. The winner was Théry of France, who accomplished the four laps in 5 h 50 min 3 s, an average speed of 58.62 mph (94.34 km/h). Jenatzy was second, driving a Mercedes. The only British competitor placed was Girling driving a
1905 Gordon Bennett Cup
In 1905,
Chronographs for timing for the event were again supplied by Stauffer Son & Co.[24]
The race took place on the doorstep of the Clermont-Ferrand headquarters of Michelin, and cars fitted with Michelin tyres took the first four places.[25]
Gordon Bennett Cup winners
Year | Track | Winner | Car | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1900 | Paris to Lyon, France | Fernand Charron | Panhard | France |
1901 | Paris to Bordeaux, France | Léonce Girardot | Panhard | France |
1902 | Paris, France to Innsbruck, Austria | Selwyn Edge | Napier
|
United Kingdom |
1903 | County Kildare & Queen's County, Ireland, then part of United Kingdom | Camille Jenatzy | Mercedes
|
Germany |
1904 | Taunus mountains in Germany | Léon Théry | Richard-Brasier
|
France |
1905 | Auvergne , France
|
Léon Théry | Richard-Brasier
|
France |
Notes
a. ^ According to Leinster Leader, Saturday, 11 April 1903, Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours of red, white, and blue, as these had already been taken by Italy, Germany, and France respectively. It also stated red as the color for American cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.
References
- ^ Grand Prix History online (retrieved 11 June 2017)
- ^ Grand Prix History online (retrieved 11 June 2017)
- ^ Grand Prix History online (retrieved 11 June 2017)
- ^ Grand Prix History online (retrieved 11 June 2017)
- ^ Grand Prix History online (retrieved 11 June 2017)
- ^ Grand Prix History online (retrieved 11 June 2017)
- ^ According to Leinster Leader, Saturday, 11 April 1903, which also states red as the color for American cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.
- ^ The Times. Friday, 15 June 1900.
- ^ "Paris-Bordeaux Trail - 29 May 1901 - Paris-Bordeaux: 527.1 km". Team DAN. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ The Times. Friday 27 June 1902
- ^ The Times. 30 June 1902, page 9
- ^ The Times. Wednesday 2 July 1902.
- ^ a b Leinster Leader, Saturday, 11 April 1903
- ^ Forix 8W – Britain's first international motor race by Brendan Lynch, based on his Triumph of the Red Devil, the 1903 Irish Gordon Bennett Cup Race. 22 October 2003
- ^ The Gordon Bennett races – the birth of international competition. Author Leif Snellman, Summer 2001
- ^ The Times, Tuesday, 26 May 1903; pg. 8
- ^ Daily Telegraph (London, England) (9 July 2005): p.005
- ^ Bleacher report, The Birth of British motor racing
- ^ The Times. Saturday, 18 June 1904
- ^ Hull, Peter G. "Napier: The Stradivarius of the Road", in Northey, Tom, ed. The World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 13, p.1483.
- ^ Hull, p.1488.
- ^ Onlookers helped throw buckets of water over the wheels to cool the tyres.
- ^ The Times, London. 6 July 1905, page 11.
- ^ La Federation Horlogere Suisse. 24 September 1905, page 399
- ^ Daily Telegraph (London, England) (9 July 2005): p.005.