I had a chance to catch a ride in one of the 2 cylinder De-Dion race cars (as pictured below), what is often forgetten is how fast these cars were, the car below will run 70 to 80 mph...now put that on a dirt road that is narrow and visibility is nil. One drivers comment about the race was that he knew where the turns were, becuase the telephone poles changed direction...it was so dusty and visibilty was so poor, that was driving by looking at the tops of the telephone poles. My father has lots of first hand accounts of this era, in my opinion, those guys were f'in nuts.
Bob, I did another search and found that Foxhall Keene {see pic.} drove a 1902 Mors in another race but it's not listed where this race is. I also posted another photo previously and identified the person standing next to the speaker as W. Vanderbuilt. That is incorrect. The person is in fact Foxhall Keene. So in response to your question i'm now scratching my head and thinking could the gentleman standing really be Foxhall Keene. Kurtis.
Fur biscuit, click on the link to read a first hand account of the race through the eyes of Charles Jarrott who was classified as 4th in a de Dietrich. www.dlmweb.com/news20.html
spindly little bits of steel and wood hurtling over cart roads at breakneck speeds...where do i sign up. something raw and visceral that must be relegated to the past due to the "advancement" of society. but I digress, want to scare yourself shitless: drive a stock '24 Model T at 55 mph...
Not much to offer to the thread but a small piece of paper. It is the oldest auto race ticket I have seen. It is ticket # 5,085 for the Automobile Club of Kansas City First Annual Race Meet on Kansas City Driving Club's Track, Automobile Day, Thursday, October 8, 1903. The President was William Huttig, and the treasurer was Henry C. Merrill. I read once there were only three cars registered in KC at that time, but don't know how true that was. 106 years ago probably means many country folks had not seen an automobile yet. The price of the ticket was 50 cents, I had to pay 30 times that and didn't even get to see the race! BobW
Foxhall Keene what a great name, you know he had to be born into a comfortable life with a name like that. I concure that your photo and mine are the same car. You sure have a great collection of stuff, keep posting it!
That's a great find Bob. It's amazing how items like these can still be found in the condition similar to yours. The 1903 Kansas meet was similar to other events in America at that time. Most, if not all were run as a reliability test and not a winner take all race. The real contests at that time were fought out in the streets just as they are today, but the organisers did set the foundation stone for future races. I've added a few grainy pics of some early "races", one being the first auto race on a closed curcuit in America at Narragansett Park, Cranston organised by the Rhode Island State Fair, the others are from Harlem, Illinios and the last is a typical match race of unknown location.
First pic: Willie Knipper driving a Chalmers-Detroit. He corrected after this corner to finish 3rd in the 1909 Vanderbuilt Cup. Second pic: Eddie Pullen driving a Mercer with all four off the dirt at the Elgin National Cup road race.
If you have half a day to spare go and make yourself a cup of tea, find a comfortable chair and browse hundreds of photos. www.brooklands.org.uk
.INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. {from L to R} Henry Ford with the creators of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A.C.Newby, Harry Wheeler, Carl Fisher and James Allison. 1909. Driver Lewis Strang inspecting an 8ft model of the planned 2.5 mile oval. Harry Knight #7 Wescott wrecked during the first race. And the remains after the race. Rookie Louie Fontaine crashes his Brett 'Junior' through the wall at the 1921 running of the '500. 1936 Indy 500. The first official pace car.
Thanks Kurtis for more outstanding photos ! Interesting to see the Hotchkiss team back on wood spoked wheels for the 1906 Vanderbilt race. Must have been more durable than the wire wheels in the French Grand Prix of three months earlier were two Hotchkiss cars DNF because of wheel trouble... By the way: wasn't Elliot Shepard related to the Vanderbilts ?
French roads at the time were far superior to any other country. The foreigners learned a hard lesson when competing against the French in their own backyard. In comparison American roads were better suited to a horse and cart but over time they improved but the biggest problem in the States and abroad were tires. Wasn't Shepard a cousin to the Vanderbilts or was that his mother? Photo below is Williams brother, Alfred J. Vanderbilt in a Fiat.
It sure is but not as epic as this one. THE greatest photo in motorsports. Manfred von Brauchitsch at Donnington. 1937.
that will make for an interesting segway to all time bad ass pictures of Pre-ww2 cars doing the nasty. Oldfield catching the blitzen benz blowing a tire at full chat in a corner is awefully hair raising. I like this picture of Rudi brow beating the SSK around Monaco. Not that the picture is impressive, but that knowing how much of a beastie bastard the SSK is, and understanding just how much driving is required for Monaco.
Totally agree with you Fur biscuit. I think the driver who was the most capable to stick it out had the greatest chance of winning at that place, especially at the time of the giants. I've always liked this shot of Nuvolari at a Targa Florio race but it's diffucult to compare this one to the Merc at Monaco. I can't imagine what the arms felt like after a race.
The Alfa's and the Bugatti's were probably the car to beat around the streets of Monaco, it's amazing that particular car was actually leading at one stage. It also helps to have a driver like Rudolph Caracciola.
1929 MONACO GP. and the BUGATTI'S. Concieved by the Automobile Club de Monaco and the club's honorary president, Prince Louis II, to invoke some prestige in the ACM and the pricipality itself, it was not a good time to inaugurate a motor race. The 'Great Depression' was just around the corner and cars conforming to the latest GP rules were not being built. Of the 23 invited to this race only 16 showed up for official practice except William Grover. A Brit who took the pseudonym 'Williams', Grover arrived in the early hours of race day and proceeded to wake everyone by learning the circuit in his Bugatti 35B. Eventually let off by the organisers he would start the race in 5th position and go on to be the first winner. First two pics: 'Williams' leading the Mercedes of Caracciola. Third pic: Again leading in an underpowered 35C against the twin-cam 51 of local hero Louis Chiron.
Louis Chiron was a works Bugatti driver, winner of six GP's, resident of Monte Carlo and a helper of the first race at Monaco. He would miss that inaugural race, instead travelling to the U.S. to compete at the Indianapolis 500 but would return and eventually win his home race in 1931.
Louis Chiron (MC) 3 Aug 1899 - 22 Jun 1979 <DL><DD>Chiron was known for his elegant, clean driving style. To the fans he was known as Le Vieux Renard (The Old Fox). It is remarkable that one of the greatest drivers ever would come from the little principality of Monaco. That fact would also forever change the history of Grand Prix racing as Chiron together with Anthony Noghès gave the GP calendar its most glamorous event, the Monaco GP. Chiron's career, spanning over a colossal 35 years, included a multitude of victories comparable only to the great Nuvolari. Chiron was known as a "ladies' man" with faultless appearance including light blue racing suit and polka dot neckerchief. He had learnt to drive in the Army during WWI. Became personal driver to Marshal Foch after the war. Started racing in 1923. with great success. Racing Bugattis 1926-32 Chiron became famous as the top Bugatti driver of the era. He then turned to Alfa Romeo and continued to show good results. Organised the first Monaco GP together with Anthony Noghès 1929. Founded Scuderia CC together with Caracciola 1933. Works driver for Scuderia Ferrari 1933 - 1935, culminating in the famous victory at the 1934 French GP. From then on however his career took a deep dive. He had the bad fortune to join Mercedes at the wrong moment and after a serious crash Chiron retired from GP racing to concentrate on sportscars. Retired 1938. After the war Chiron made a comeback, racing for Talbot in 1946-49 and Maserati in 1950-51, his last victory being at the 1949 French GP, when he brought the Talbot-Lago to a surprise win against the faster opposition. Retired again 1956 and thereafter Chiron concentrated his efforts to organize and arrange the Monaco GP as "Commissaire General". Click here for full biography. [SIZE=-1]1933: 4 Monaco GP / DNF AVUS GP / 4 Eifel GP / DNF French GP / DNF Belgian GP / DNF Swedish Summer GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]DNA Coppa Acerbo / DNA Comminges GP / 1 Marseille GP / DNF Italian GP / 1 Czech GP / 1 Spanish GP[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1934: 2 Monaco GP / 2 Bordino GP / 3 Tripoli GP / 1 Casablanca GP / DNF AVUS GP / 3 Eifel GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]2 Penya Rhin GP / 1 French GP / 1 Marne GP / 3 German GP / DNF Dieppe GP / DNF Belgian GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]DNF Coppa Acerbo / DNF Nice GP / 5 Swiss GP / 6 Italian GP / 10* Spanish GP / DNF Czech GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]DNF/ 2* Alger GP[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1935: 5 Monaco GP / 2 Targa Florio / 5 Tripoli GP / 2 AVUS GP / 2 Biella GP / 3 Eifel GP / DNF French GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1 Lorraine GP / 2 Marne GP / 3 Belgian GP / 2 Dieppe GP / DNF German GP / 4 Comminges GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]6* Coppa Acerbo / 2 Nice GP / DNF Swiss GP / DNS Italian GP / DNFSpanish GP / 3 Czech GP[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1936: DNF Monaco GP / 9 Tripoli GP / DNFTunis GP / 6 Penya Rhin GP / 6 Eifel GP / DNF Hungarian GP /[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]DNF German GP[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1937: 1 French GP (sports car)[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1938: DNS German GP[/SIZE] </DD></DL> [SIZE=-1]taken from here :-http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/main.htm[/SIZE]
He wasn't a bad rally driver either, winning the Monte Carlo Rally outright in 1954 in a Lancia Aurelia GT.
[L to R] 1st pic: 1930 MONACO GP. #18. Louis Chiron leading the #28. Bugatti 35C of 'Williams'. following pics: 1931 MONACO GP. #22. Louis Chiron on his way to winning his home town Grand Prix.
Bugatti 'TANK'. The company's foray into streamlining. It was popular amongst the people but a little on the heavy side.
The Jalopy Journal
