The season started with the Targa Florio with fifteen cars entered. It included cars from new Italian companies ALFA and SCAT (another company from the Ceirano family). Heavy rain beforehand had made the roads treacherous and they quickly turn to mud. Franchini, in the ALFA, led until he had to retire after the second lap from exhaustion of manhandling the big machine for six hours. In the end only five cars finished the three laps, headed by Ernesto Ceirano in his SCAT.[7]
The Indianapolis speedway had hosted a number of races in 1910 after being repaved with bricks. But the organisers wanted something greater and had the idea of holding a single 500-mile race offering the biggest prize-money in the country. The whole month of May was allocated to testing and qualifying for the entrants. The regulations were adapted from the current AAA rules: a maximum of 600 ci (9.8-litres) and a minimum weight of 2300 lb (1044 kg).[8][9][10] Forty qualifiers lined up at the start. Almost all the drivers ran with a riding mechanic. The only exception was Ray Harroun, who was enticed out of retirement after winning the championship the previous year. He instead fitted a rear-view mirror to his Marmon, the first driver to do such.[7][9][11][12]
Lined up for the start of the Indianapolis 500, pacecar on the right
The race started with another first – a rolling start[9] - and was close and full of incident. On lap 13, Arthur Greiner’s Simplex lost a wheel, spun and slammed into the wall on the back straight. Greiner was thrown out and his mechanic, Sam Dickson, hit the wall and was killed.[7][9] Soon after half-way, the steering on Joe Jagersberger's Case broke. As it slowed on the front straight, his mechanic got out to try and manually steer the wheels, but was knocked over by his own car. Harry Knight just avoided him, swerving into the pitlane and crashing into Herbert Lytle’s stationary car. Amazingly, despite the mayhem, no-one was killed in the accident. Meanwhile, Harroun had been leading since the 200-mile mark, and with the assistance of a 35-lap relief drive by Cyrus Patschke, went on to win the race. Ralph Mulford in a Lozier was second, although he protested that he had not been scored a lap in the confusion during the big accident and was in fact ahead of Harroun. However this was rejected by the stewards.[9] Third was David Bruce-Brown in one of the few European cars in the field – a 10-litre FIAT S61.[13] However, the race had been a great success with 77000 spectators filling the stands.[7]
The Marmon Wasp, Indianapolis winning car, with rear-view mirror
Initial enthusiasm to revive the Grand Prix was high, but as manufacturers cancelled their entries, the French Automobile Club (ACF) had to cancel its plans.[13] It did, however, support the AC de la Sarthe et de l’Ouest[14] (forerunner of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest) who offered to hold an event in its stead. They had organised the original Grand Prix in 1906, outside of Le Mans. This alternative “Grand Prix de France” used a new 55km triangular circuit to the south of Le Mans. But after this race too was postponed a fortnight more entries drifted away leaving only fourteen starters, the media cynically tagged it as Grand Prix des Vieux Tacots (The Old Crocks’ Grand Prix).[14][13] Only FIAT (Victor Hémery) and Rolland-Pilain (3 cars, led by Fernand Gabriel) brought works cars. Run over twelve laps (650km) Maurice Fournier (Corre La Licorne) led initially from Arthur Duray (1906 Lorraine-Dietrich) until he had to pit with over-heating to add water. He had just been overtaken by Hémery, back to third, when his front suspension collapsed when approaching Mulsanne village. The car rolled, crashed and burst into flames. Fournier was thrown out and killed instantly while Louvel, his riding mechanic, had burns and broken bones. When Duray then had gearbox problems and retired, it left Hémery an easy drive to victory (despite being stuck in top gear[13]) after seven hours. Ernest Friderich driving the first racing Bugatti (the small 1.3-litre Type 13) finished second two laps behind and Gabriel was third, a further lap back.[14][15][13]
Hémery leading the GP de France Friderich and the 2nd place Bugatti Type 13 voituerette
The voiturette class was shaken up by divergent fortunes of the two main teams: Lion-Peugeot and Hispano-Suiza. Strikes at the Barcelona factory caused friction between the Hispano-Suiza designers and the drivers. The managers decided to shut down the racing department. This left Paolo Zuccarelli without a job, until he was soon hired by Lion-Peugeot, joining Georges Boillot and Jules Goux. He filled a gap left following the death of Giosue Giuppone at the end of the last season.[7] The squat 4-cylinder engine of the Hispano-Suiza provided far better stability than the tall 2-cylinder in the faster Peugeots, and the team to tap into Zuccarelli's ideas.[16] The rift between Lion-Peugeot and their parent company had been mended. The three drivers were all also engineers and Goux's family had worked in Peugeot for several generations. Although the other managers called them “The Charlatans”,[7] Robert Peugeot recognised the innovative ideas and skill the drivers could bring to racing design.[16] He also hired Swiss Ernest Henry (formerly at Hispano-Suiza[16]) and Italian Ettore Bugatti (just starting his own firm).[7]
At the Coupe des Voiturettes (also called the Coupe de l’Auto, as it was promoted by L’Auto newspaper) the Lion-Peugeot team arrived in force with its new V4 VX5; the three regular drivers joined by René Hanriot. With a maximum engine size of 3-litre,[15] ranged against the Peugeots now was a variety of manufacturers that included new models from Delage and Grégoire from France, Arrol-Johnston and Calthorpe from Great Britain. From the start, Boillot took the lead with Burgess's Calthorpe second, Goux third and then the three Delages. But when all four Peugeots had issues with engines, tyres or, in Zuccarelli's case, crashing, it allowed the Delages of Paul Bablot and René Thomas to establish a gap. Although Boillot was able to make up time and pass Thomas, it was Bablot who won giving Delage a surprise victory at first attempt over the Lion-Peugeot team.[13][15]
Bablot winning the Coupe des Voiturettes
Once again, the Vanderbilt Cup and American Grand Prize were to be held together. For the first time, the Vanderbilt Cup left New York and joined the Grand Prize at Savannah, Georgia. FIAT and Daimler sent cars across the Atlantic for the end-of-season races.
The Vanderbilt Cup was an all-American affair as part of the AAA championship. Ralph DePalma and Spencer Wishart drove the Mercedes, and 21-year old David Bruce-Brown led the team of three 14-litre FIAT S74s. Harry Grant had won the previous two Vanderbilts with ALCO but this year drove a new Lozier, joining Ralph Mulford. Cyrus Patschke and Bob Burman drove for Marmon.[17] In front of a crowd of around 100,000, DePalma took the initial lead. Just like Indianapolis, tyre-wear on the American rubber at high speed was a problem and many drivers had to pit. But learning from Harroun's tactics at the 500, Mulford maintained a more even pace to protect his tyres and was able to take over the lead. DePalma and Wishart were charging hard but that meant more pit-stops for tyres, negating any gains. In the end, with fewer stops and slick pit-work from his crew, Mulford won in just under four hours, two minutes ahead of DePalma, with Wishart a further ten minutes back and Grant's Lozier in fourth. The spectators were delighted an American car had taken on and beaten the premier European cars. The FIATs were never a threat, crippled by tyre issues.[17]
Three days later, the Grand Prize was run. A number of entrants from the earlier race returned for the longer, 400-mile, race. Several European drivers also arrived. Louis Wagner joined David Bruce-Brown and Caleb Bragg with FIAT. Benz brought three cars, for Victor Hémery, Eddie Hearne and Erwin Bergdoll. At the beginning, Bragg led the sixteen starters but a close race saw this contested as Bruce-Brown, Hémery and Patschke's Marmon also vied for the lead. This time round, the FIATs tyres were far better and David Bruce-Brown claimed the victory with the Benz of Hearne in second, two minutes back, with DePalma's Mercedes just a minute behind.[13] At the end of the year Ralph Mulford was acclaimed as the AAA national driving champion.[18]
In January, the first Monte Carlo Rally was held. Entrants started from various European capitals all driving through rough winter weather to meet in the mountains by Monaco.[10][19] In response to the 21-litre Blitzen Benz, Fiat built the enormous S76, with a 28.4-litre engine generating 290bhp. Pietro Bordino took the second prototype to do a Land Speed Record attempt at Brooklands, but it proved too unstable for the circuit. Taking it to the Saltburn Sands he broke 200km/h (120mph). Later, in December 1913, Arthur Duray reached 213.0km/h (132.4mph) at Ostend in the same vehicle.[10]
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.
The 1925 Grand Prix season was a watershed year in motor racing. It was the first year for the new AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Alfa Romeo, with its P2 model.
The 1926 Grand Prix season was the second AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season and the first running to new 1.5-litre regulations. The championship was won by Bugatti and its Type 35 was the dominant car of the year.
The 1927 Grand Prix season was the third AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season and the second run to a 1.5-litre engine limit. In a dominant display, the championship was won by Delage, with team driver Robert Benoist winning four of the five Grand Prix.
The 1907 Grand Prix season was the second Grand Prix racing season. It saw a blossoming of circuit events, with the shift from the inter-city races. The popularity of the inaugural French Grand Prix and Targa Florio saw those events held again. The new Kaiserpreis was the first major motor-race held in Germany. This year also saw a number of voiturette races as the number of specialist small-engine cars grew which gave close, exciting racing very popular with spectators.
The 1908 Grand Prix season was the third Grand Prix racing season. An international economic recession affected motor-racing with fewer races and smaller fields. However, in consequence, it also saw an increase in the number of smaller cars and voiturette racing. This gave close racing between the teams from Lion-Peugeot, Sizaire-Naudin and Delage. Both the major races in Europe, the Targa Florio and French Grand Prix, had precursor voiturette races, and along with the Coupe des Voiturettes, the honours were shared between those three manufacturers. This year’s Targa Florio had a small, but quality, field. Vincenzo Trucco won for Isotta-Fraschini with better mechanical reliability, after a close duel with the FIATs of Felice Nazzaro and Vincenzo Lancia.
The 1910 Grand Prix season was the fifth Grand Prix racing season. Because of the ongoing international economic recession, there were no Grandes Épreuves held. The American Grand Prize was held in Savannah.
The 1912 Grand Prix season saw Grand Prix motor racing in Europe and the United States. The growing economic confidence and interest from car manufacturers saw bigger fields and more races in the season. The French Grand Prix was held for the first time since 1908 and staged at Dieppe. The American Grand Prize was held in Milwaukee, moving from its previous home in Savannah.
The 1914 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Lyon on 4 July 1914. Hailed as one of the greatest races of the twentieth century, it was a contest between the French Peugeots and the German Mercedes. For the first time, the Grand Prix was run to an engine limitation – of 4.5L maximum capacity. It was won by the Mercedes of Christian Lautenschlager who won at an average speed of 105.7 km/h (65.7 mph) after a tense seven-hour contest with the Peugeot of Georges Boillot.
The 1913 Grand Prix season consisted of Grand Prix races in Europe and the United States. Once again, the Peugeot works cars were the team to beat, continuing their success. This year the French Grand Prix was held in Amiens. The ACF introduced a fuel-economy formula for the race to discourage bigger-engined cars. Peugeot drivers Georges Boillot and Jules Goux claimed a 1-2 victory for the company after Zuccarelli had been killed in practice.
The 1914 Grand Prix season consisted of Grand Prix races across Europe and the United States until abbreviated by the outbreak of World War I.
The 1915 Grand Prix season saw Grand Prix motor racing continue in the United States. Racing was suspended in Europe due to the outbreak of World War I. The American Grand Prize was held in San Francisco for the first time, in conjunction with the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. Several of the latest European cars had been imported to the USA before the war started. Briton Dario Resta had a Peugeot and Ralph DePalma raced one of the Mercedes GPs. While Resta won both races at San Francisco and DePalma won the Indianapolis 500, just ahead of Resta it was Earl Cooper, running a Stutz, whose consistency gave him the unofficial AAA national championship.
The 1916 Grand Prix season saw Grand Prix motor racing continue in the United States. Racing was suspended in Europe due to the World War I engulfing the continent. Once again European cars dominated Indianapolis with victory going to Briton Dario Resta in a Peugeot. With the organisers wanting to appeal to the spectators, this was the only year that the race was scheduled for a shorter length – to run only 300 miles. The Vanderbilt Cup and the American Grand Prize returned to Santa Monica, California at the end of the year. Resta repeated his victory from the year before, winning the Vanderbilt Cup. Then when he retired in the Grand Prize it was Howdy Wilcox and Johnny Aitken who won in another of the dominant Peugeots. Oval courses now dominated the AAA Championship with these two events being the only road-course races this year. It proved to be the final time these two formative American races were held in this format; while racing in America continued throughout the First World War, public interest had shifted away from road racing.
The 1921 Grand Prix season saw motor racing in Europe blossom again. The French Grand Prix was held for the first time since 1914, at La Sarthe, Le Mans. and the inaugural Italian Grand Prix was held in Montichiari, near Brescia. The 3-litre formula of the AIACR, already in use at Indianapolis, was adopted by those Grand Prix meaning manufacturers could design on a common formula.
The 1922 Grand Prix season had several notable events during the year. The AIACR governing body brought in a 2-litre formula for Grand Prix. French companies brought out straight-8 engines for their cars but it was FIAT's 6-cylinder engine that took the trophies. Veteran Felice Nazzaro won the French Grand Prix, held near Strasbourg. It was a tainted victory though, as Nazzaro's nephew was killed when his FIAT's suspension broke in the latter stages of the race. An almost identical accident also happened to team-mate Pietro Bordino, though he was only slightly injured. Pierre de Vizcaya's Bugatti finished second, nearly an hour behind.
The 1923 Grand Prix season was part of a watershed year for motor racing that saw significant advances in motor-racing engineering, design and events. Fiat's chief designer, Guido Fornaca, developed the 805, the first supercharged car to win a Grand Prix. Benz appeared with the first mid-engined racer and, along with Bugatti and Voisin, produced some of the first efforts at aerodynamics on racing cars. With the United States also adopting the 2-litre formula, Harry Miller could use the smaller engine size to design the first single-seater race-car, ideally suited to American oval racing.
The 1924 Grand Prix season saw Grand Prix motor racing spread further across Europe and North America. In Italy a number of new open-road events were held. In France two new circuits were opened – at Montlhéry near Paris and Miramas near Marseille.
The 1919 Grand Prix season was the first season following the armistice that ended World War I in November 1918. European economies were struggling, and many automotive firms had to recover and retool from military production. So, there was very little racing activity as it took time for the companies and populations to recover. As the world rebuilt there were only two major races held in the year – the Indianapolis 500 and the Targa Florio.
The 1920 Grand Prix season saw further activity in motor-racing gradually increase. Europe was still recovering from the end of the war and the terrible pandemic that swept the continent. Automotive companies were gradually re-establishing themselves after re-tooling from a wartime footing and getting production lines rolling again.
The 1909 Grand Prix season was the fourth Grand Prix racing season. There were no Grandes Épreuves that year, as the economic recession of the previous year continued on. Renault had withdrawn from motor-racing and a number of French manufacturers, falling behind the success of their German and Italian rivals, followed suit. The French Grand Prix was cancelled, leaving the Targa Florio in Italy and Vanderbilt Cup in the United States as the only major races this season. With so little competition and financial incentive, technological advances ground to a halt. Emphasis shifted from racing to setting speed and endurance records. Benz & Cie built a new 12.4-litre racing-engine, and its 200 bhp derivative was put into the Blitzen Benz. This 21.5-litre monster held the Land speed record from 1909 to 1922, with various drivers starting with Victor Hémery in November, 1909 at Brooklands.
References
Cimarosti, Adriano (1997) The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing London: Aurum Press Ltd ISBN1-85410-500-0
Georgano, Nick (1971) The Encyclopaedia of Motor Sport London: Ebury Press Ltd ISBN0-7181-0955-4
Higham, Peter (1995) The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing London: Guinness Publishing ISBN0-85112-642-1
Legate, Trevor (2006) 100 years of Grand Prix Kent: Touchstone Books Ltd ISBN0-9551-0201-4
Ludvigsen, Karl (2008) Racing Colours - Italian Racing Red Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd ISBN0-7110-3331-5
Monkhouse, George (1953) Grand Prix Racing Facts and Figures London: G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd
Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998) Indianapolis 500 Chronicle Publications International
Rendall, Ivan (1991) The Power and The Glory – A Century of Motor Racing London: BBC Books ISBN0-563-36093-3
Rendall, Ivan (1993) The Chequered Flag – 100 years of Motor Racing London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd ISBN0-297-83220-4
Venables, David (2009) Racing Colours - French Racing Blue Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd ISBN978-0-7110-3369-6
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
VI Targa Florio 
I Indianapolis 500
VI Coupe des Voiturettes
III Coupe d’Ostende
