History Auto racing 1894-1942

People do a lot of things that don't sound like fun to me.

 

Hi,
I found your great website, nice!

I was wondering if anyone here could help me with this:
I'm working on a book on Hélène Dutrieu, aviation pioneer (and much more...)

She also was auto-race pioneer in 1898 to 1904, though I have not yet found any evidence of this (photo or record or newspaper clipping....)

Did anyone here ever come across her name? Or have seen a picture of her in an automobile/racing.

Any info would be of great importance!

you can contact me via [email protected]

kind regards
gunter

 

I've certainly never come across Mlle Dutrieu racing cars. It would definitely have been worthy of note at the time! The British press reported quite widely on her performance in the ladies' bicycle races at The Aquarium in November 1896 and there's a somewhat scornful report in The Times - they thought the 'entertainment' of watching people taking risks was a bit common! - about her stunt bicycle riding at the Crystal Palace Christmas Circus in 1903. It actually sounds like quite a spectacular show; she started from the top of a narrow ramp and jumped a gap onto another ramp, still apparently travelling downwards! Flight has quite a few references to her flying exploits.

I wonder if this might just be an embellishment of some occasion(s) when she rode and/or raced a motor tricycle? They were a regular feature of bicycle race meetings at that time and quite a few male ex-racing cyclists (Edge, Jarrott, etc) raced them before turning to cars instead.

Mlle Camille du Gast and Baroness Hélène van Zuylen are normally considered the first two female motor racers. With those two names there's scope for quite a bit of confusion with Hélène Dutrieu ... Chinese whispers?

 

A Straight Eight Studebaker competing in the 1929 Brooklands Double Twelve event.

 

Thanks I just got this Christmas present today. It was purchase approx. 40 years ago at the Hershey swap meet. Any information on would be appreciated

 

A night race... but going the wrong way for LeMans... Hummmm.... Gary

 

Brighton Beach race by Peter Helck, you should be able to Google all the info you need or buy his book on eBay. Great gift, Merry Christmas! Bob

 

Thank you very much. Gary

 

IMPERIA's test track in Belgium...then and now.

 

Does anyone know anything more about the Miller Junior Special cars please?

The Miller Offenhauser page has a great write up about the history of the two cars. It also mentions that a Dave Hedrick is/was building a copy around the one surviving engine, but has no further details.

I'd love to know more about this exciting project and wonder if it was ever completed?

 

Dave has been at it for a very long time, though I haven't spoken to him in years. He's obviously not one to rush things through, but I hope we will finally see the car in all ist splendour. There's still a lot to be learned about the history of these cars, though we made some progress in recent time. Technically, they were not Millers, only the chassis were built (under contract) in California. The engines were the work of Riley Brett and W. W. "Billy" Brown of Kansas City/MO, and the cars were financed by a KCMO gentleman name of C. L. Richards, also responsible for the earlier "Richards Special" Indy car (not to be confused with the "RIChard Special" of Cleveland/OH).

 

Thanks Michael. I hope we can somehow get an update sometime!

 

My scanner isn't big enough to fit some of these in their entirety, but I figure some will want to see them anyway. Peter Helk paintings from Automobile Quarterly

Ray Harroun in the Marmon Wasp and Ralph Mulford, Lozier 1911 Indy

 

It was @badshifter s post about the welded up Peerless block that reminded me that I had these. Premier built for the Vanderbilt cup, but it was way too heavy to meet the max. 1000kg weight limit, so never raced there. The green car was the Barney Oldfield Peerless "Green Dragon"

 

1908 Vanderbilt Cup George Robertson, Locomobile

 

Well, that settles it, doesn't it? Harroun is clearly ahead...

 

Thanks for artwork. The Premier is a good reason to visit the Indy museum. I would LOVE to hear it run. I saw the Green Dragon in 2012.

 

I saved the best one for last. Jimmy Murphy leading (I think) Ralph De-Palma's Ballot, Le-Mans 1921. Unfortunately the entire pic wont fit in my scanner. I wish I could get a nice big art print of this without the seam, I'd love to frame this and hang it on my living room wall.

 

Those are really nice. thanks, so much fun to study the detail and the action.

 

George, I too really appreciate Peter Helck's artwork. His attention to detail and the speed he seems to instill in his paintings are second to none. I have a few of his copies hanging in my shop (along with some large Montaut and Gamy prints which to me are a close second). The 1921 Grand Prix pic above has Murphy leading Jean Chassagne but it is easy to mistake for De Palma as they both drove Ballots and De Palma finished second and may have given some decent pursuit at times.

 

Jim, where did you get the Peter Helck prints?

 

George I collected prints for some time. I believe I got a couple of Helcks at a swap meet that they used to hold the day before the 500 at Indy. The Helcks are not that high a quality but they look fine in the shop (like something you would find on an old calendar from old car clubs). The Montaut and Gamy prints on the other hand are very high quality-I wish I could find Helcks as high a quality.There was one small Helck print where the mechanics are working on the car prior to the 500 in a garage and I liked it so much I photographed it and had a large picture blown up. I have copies of his books and have thought about blowing up some of them but as of yet I have not. I have run out of wall space anyways I suppose.

 

I have two of the Tony Nippel Road & Track prints from the sixties on the wall in my hallway, the Bugatti and the Alfa. I found a Peter Helk website today, but they only have 4-5 automotive prints, none of them really blow my skirt up as much as the ones I posted here, especially the Duesenberg and the Premier.
Do you remember the large classic car photos Car Life sold by mail in the sixties? I have the Duesenberg Model J phaeton, but I don't have it hung, its stored away for now.

 

Don't remember the Car Life prints offhand. If I run into a Helck print of Murphy or the Premier I will let you know.

 

Beverly Hills? Man, I wish they would hurry up and invent time travel before I die!

 

If you like Peter Helck and the Vanderbilt Cup races check out this web site and get a weekly update. Bob http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/b...helcks_poster_for_the_1936_vanderbilt_cup_rac

 

Altoona, Pa.