1903 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engineering company best known for its luxury motor cars in the Edwardian era and for its aero engines throughout the early to mid-20th century.
The French Grand Prix, formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF, is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest motor races in the world as well as the first "Grand Prix". It ceased, shortly after its centenary, in 2008 with 86 races having been held, due to unfavourable financial circumstances and venues. The race returned to the Formula One calendar in 2018 with Circuit Paul Ricard hosting the race, but was removed from the calendar after 2022.
Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because early races took place on open roads, accidents occurred frequently, resulting in deaths both of drivers and of spectators. A common abbreviation used for Grand Prix racing is "GP" or "GP racing".
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 2,000 hectares of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Also located here is Pollardstown Fen, the largest fen in Ireland. This area is of particular interest to botanists and ecologists because of the numerous bird species that nest and visit there. There are also many rare plants that grow there.
British racing green, or BRG, is a colour similar to Brunswick green, hunter green, forest green or moss green. It takes its name from the green international motor racing colour of the United Kingdom. This originated with the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, held in Ireland, as motor-racing on public roads was illegal in Great Britain. As a mark of respect, the British cars were painted shamrock green.
Selwyn Francis Edge (1868–1940) was a British businessman, racing driver, cyclist and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator; Clemént-Panhard, Napier and AC cars.
The 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, commonly known as the 1906 French Grand Prix, was a motor race held on 26 and 27 June 1906, on closed public roads outside the city of Le Mans. The Grand Prix was organised by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) at the prompting of the French automobile industry as an alternative to the Gordon Bennett races, which limited each competing country's number of entries regardless of the size of its industry. France had the largest automobile industry in Europe at the time, and in an attempt to better reflect this the Grand Prix had no limit to the number of entries by any particular country. The ACF chose a 103.18-kilometre (64.11 mi) circuit, composed primarily of dust roads sealed with tar, which would be lapped six times on both days by each competitor, a combined race distance of 1,238.16 kilometres (769.36 mi). Lasting for more than 12 hours overall, the race was won by Ferenc Szisz driving for the Renault team. FIAT driver Felice Nazzaro finished second, and Albert Clément was third in a Clément-Bayard.
Calverstown is a small village in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the town of Kilcullen and about 16 km (9.9 mi) from each of the towns of Athy, Kildare, Naas and Newbridge. It is an old settlement located close to the archaeological sites of Dún Ailinne and Old Kilcullen. The village has a stream running through it with another to the south. As of the 2016 census, Calverstown had a population of 699.
The 1905 International Tourist Trophy was an automobile motor race held on 14 September 1905 on closed public roads along the Highroads Course on the Isle of Man. It was organised by the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, and was the first time that what became known as the RAC Tourist Trophy was awarded. The race lasted over six hours and was won by John Napier, driving an Arrol-Johnston. Percy Northey finished second in a Rolls-Royce, while the Vinot-Deguingand driver Norman Littlejohn was third.
Henri Louis Rougier, was a French sportsman, racing cyclist, pioneer aeroplane pilot and sporting motorist. He is best remembered for his victory in the inaugural Monte Carlo Rally when he drove his Turcat-Méry from Paris to Monte Carlo, but he was also a regular competitor in both 'City to City' and Grand Prix races.
Léon Théry was a French racing driver, nicknamed "Le Chronometer", who won the premier European race, the Gordon Bennett Cup, in both 1904 and 1905.
The 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup, formally titled the III Coupe Internationale, was a motor race held on 26–28 June 1902, on public roads between Paris, France, and Innsbruck, Austria. The race was held over a 565 km section of the route of the Paris-Vienna race, held concurrently. France were to attempt to defend the Gordon Bennett Cup against Britain, and each country was represented by three entries, with the car that finished the race in the shortest time winning the race on behalf of his country. Selwyn Edge driving a Napier, and representing the Automobile Club of Britain and Ireland, was the only competitor to finish the race and so Britain were the winners of the Gordon Bennett Cup and would be required to defend it in Britain the following year.
Charles Jarrott was an English racing car driver and businessman. Jarrott raced from 1900 to 1904, winning the 1902 Circuit des Ardennes race and competing in the 1903 and 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup races. He was the chair of the Motor Cycling Club's Annual Dinner at the Trocadero on Saturday 12 December 1913. He co-founded a car import firm in 1902 and was a founder member of the Automobile Association, serving as chairman in 1922.
The 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, formally titled the IV Coupe Internationale, was a motor race held on 2 July 1903, on the Athy Circuit consisting of closed roads in Ireland. The race consisted of seven laps - alternating for six laps over a shorter circuit to the west of Athy and longer circuit to the East, before a final lap on the longer circuit to make the total distance 527 km. A British entry had won the previous edition of the race, which meant that the rights to host the race fell to the Automobile Club of Britain and Ireland. Legislation was passed to allow the race to take place on roads in Ireland, then a part of the United Kingdom. Britain were to attempt to defend the Gordon Bennett Cup against France, Germany and the USA, and each country was represented by three entries, with the car that finished the race in the shortest time winning the race on behalf of his country.
The 1901 Gordon Bennett Cup, formally titled the II Coupe Internationale, was a motor race held on 29 May 1901, on public roads in France between Paris and Bordeaux, concurrently with an open-entry race over the same course. Initially, France were to defend the Cup against Great Britain, however prior to the start, the sole British entry was forced to fit tyres of foreign manufacture making it ineligible for the Cup. The race was therefore competed by three French entries, the maximum permitted from one country under the rules, guaranteeing that they would retain the Cup. Léonce Girardot driving a Panhard won the race and was the only competitor to finish, with Fernand Charron driving a Panhard and Levegh driving a Mors retiring.
The 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup, formally titled the V Coupe Internationale, was a motor race held on 17 June 1904 on the Homburg Circuit in Germany. The race consisted of four laps of the circuit to make the total distance 527 km. A German entry had won the previous year's edition of the race, which meant that the rights to host the race fell to the Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD). Germany was to attempt to defend the Gordon Bennett Cup against France, Great Britain, Austria and Italy, and each country was represented by three entries, with the car that finished the race in the shortest time winning the race on behalf of its country.
Hubert Le Blon was a French automobilist and pioneer aviator. He drove a steam-powered Gardner-Serpollet motorcar in the early 1900s, and then switched to Hotchkiss for both the world's first Grand Prix at Le Mans in France and the inaugural Targa Florio in Sicily. At the Vanderbilt Cup races on Long Island he competed for the US driving a Thomas.
Richard James Patrick Mecredy (1861–1924) was an Irish bicycle racer, journalist and writer. He is credited as being the inventor of Cycle polo, the rules of which he drew up in 1891.
Fernand Gabriel was a French racing driver.
