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Circle Genealogic and Historic Champanellois Association "Law 1901" of Saint-Genès-Champanelle, 63 , France |
GORDON-BENNETT Cup 1905
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1905 - The sixth edition of the race thus returned to France in 1905 organized by the Automobile Club of France (ACF). On proposal of the brothers MICHELIN Edouard and André, the circuit of Auvergne was selected in February. The eliminating heats took place in april and the race itself was held on July 5, 1905. The french eliminating heats as from april 1905 : 24 competitors representing 10 racing teams : |
manufacturer | car number | 1st pilot |
car number | 2nd pilot |
car number | 3rd pilote |
RICHARD BRASIER | 1 | Léon THERY | 11 | Gustave CAILLOIS | 21 | Phil STEAD |
RENAULT FRERES | 2 | Ferenc SZISZ | 12 | EDMOND | 22 | Maurice BERNIN |
CGV | 3 | Léonce GIRARDOT | - | - | - | - |
BAYARD CLEMENT | 4 | Albert CLEMENT | 14 | René HANRIOT | 24 | VILLEMAIN |
HOTCHKISS | 5 | Hubert Le BLON | 15 | Achille FOURNIER | 25 | A. LAVERGNE |
AUTO MOTO | 6 | LAPERTOT | - | - | - | - |
DIETRICH | 7 | Fernad GABRIEL | 17 | Henri ROUGIER | 27 | Arthur DURAY |
DARRACQ | 8 | Victor HEMERY | 18 | Louis WAGNER | 28 | Genty DE LA TOULOUBRE |
PANHARD LEVASSOR | 9 | George HEATH | 19 | Georges TESTE | 29 | Henri FARMAN |
GORDON BRILLIE | 10 | Louis RIGOLLY | - | - | - | - |
The french manufacturers could present to 3 pilots at the eliminating heats. See the regulations of the French qualifiers See the mechanical specifications of the race cars of the french eliminating heats. Théry, Caillois and Duray will be qualified for the race of July 5, 1905, while arriving 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the time of the eliminating heats on June 16, 1905. Only 15 competitors will finish the heat. A price of 100 000 francs will reward the winner poured by one of the members of the Automobile Club of France. The departure on July 5, of the final, will see 18 competitors of 6 different nations clashing : Every country had to raise on his vehicles a color so that the spectators recognize the nationality of this one : black pour Italy, green for Great Britain, red for the United States of America, white for Germany and blue for France. (nonknown color for Austria, like Germany or the yellow of Belgium not present this time ?) |
manufacturer | country of the manufacturer | car number | pilot |
RICHARD BRASIER | France | 1 | Léon THERY |
NAPIER | Great Britain | 2 | Arthur CLIFFORD EARP |
MERCEDES | Germany | 3 | Camille JENATZY |
FIAT | Italie | 4 | Vincent LANCIA |
DAIMLER | Austria | 5 | Hermann BRAUN |
POPE-TOLEDO | USA | 6 | Herbert LYTTLE |
RICHARD BRASIER | France | 7 | Gustave CAILLOIS |
WOLSELEY | Great Britain | 8 | Charles ROLLS |
MERCEDES | Germany | 9 | Pierre de CATERS |
FIAT | Italy | 10 | Alessandro CAGNO |
DAIMLER | Austria | 11 | Otto HYEROMINUS |
POPE-TOLEDO | USA | 12 | Albert DINGLEY |
DIETRICH | France | 13 | Arthur DURAY |
WOLSELEY | Great Britain | 14 | Cecil BIANCHI |
MERCEDES | Germany | 15 | Wilhelm WERNER |
FIAT | Italy | 16 | Felice NAZZARO |
DAIMLER | Austria | 17 | Alexandre BURTON |
LOCOMOBILE | USA | 18 | Joe TRACY |
See the portrait gallery
of the 18 competitors from 1905
Théry and his mechanic Muller will gain the victory after a hard race into 7.02 min with an average of 78 km/h to traverse the 548 kilometers of the race over the circuit of Auvergne (4 turns of 147 km). Only 10 competitors out of the 18 at the departure, will finish the race : |
place | manufacturer | country of the manufacturer | pilot | time realized | middle speed |
1st | RICHARD BRASIER | France | Léon THERY | 7 h 02 42 | 78,428 km/h |
2nd | FIAT | Italy | Felice NAZZARO | 7 h 19 09 | 75,341 km/h |
3rd | FIAT | Italy | Alessandro CAGNO | 7 h 21 22 | 74,693 km/h |
4th | RICHARD BRASIER | France | Gustave CAILLOIS | 7 h 27 06 | 73,691 km/h |
5th | MERCEDES | Germany | Wilhelm WERNER | 8 h 03 30 | 68,198 km/h |
6th | DIETRICH | France | Arthur DURAY | 8 h 05 00 | 67,917 km/h |
7th | MERCEDES | Germany | Pierre de CATERS | 8 h 07 11 | 67,087 km/h |
8th | WOLSELEY | Great Britain | Charles ROLLS | 8 h 26 42 | 65,098 km/h |
9th | NAPIER | Great Britain | Arthur CLIFFORD EARP | 8 h 27 29 | 64,970 km/h |
10th | DAIMLER | Austria | Herman Hermann BRAUN | 8 h 33 05 | 64,210 km/h |
Podium
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1st Léon THERY 1879-1909 |
2nd Felice NAZZARO 1881-1940 |
3rd Alessandro CAGNO 1883-1971 |
Pilots |
1. Léon Théry (France) • Born: April 16, 1879 in Paris (10th arrondissement), • Died: March 8, 1909 in Paris, France (aged 29) Théry was nicknamed "The Chronometer" for his exceptional racing consistency. Initially a mechanic, he participated in events on Decauville cars at the end of the 19th century (Paris Amsterdam Paris 1898, Tour de France Automobile 1899, victory in the Coupe des Voiturettes 1900, etc.). Having become a star driver for the manufacturer Charles Henri Brasier, he won the Gordon Bennett Cup two consecutive years: in 1904 in Homburg (Germany) and in 1905 in Auvergne (France) on Richard Brasier 80 and 96 hp cars respectively. His performances earned him national renown, with a hero's welcome in Paris and a visit to the Élysée Palace by President Loubet. In 1908, he participated in the Grand Prix de l'ACF but retired due to a mechanical problem on the penultimate lap. He died the following year of tuberculosis. |
2. Felice Nazzaro (Italy) • Born: December 4, 1881 in Monteu da Po (province of Turin, Italy) • Died: March 21, 1940 in Turin, Italy Iconic Italian driver of the years 1900–1925, winner of the Kaiserpreis (1907), the Targat Florio (1907, 1913, 1920), and the French Grand Prix (1907, 1922). He raced for FIAT and then his own brand and managed the FIAT racing team. |
3. Gustave Caillois (France) • Born: December 15, 1874 in Paris, France • Died: February 13, 1958 in Nice, France A cyclist and then a racing driver active from 1904 to 1913, he participated in prestigious races such as the Gordon Bennett Cup and the Vanderbilt Cup, racing under the pseudonym "Siolliac.". |
4. Alessandro Cagno (Italy) • Born: May 2, 1883 in Turin, Italy • Died: December 23, 1971 in Turin, Italy Born on May 2, 1883, in Turin, Cagno began his career as an apprentice mechanic in the Storero workshop, then became the third FIAT employee, a test driver, and Giovanni Agnelli's personal chauffeur. He began competing as an onboard mechanic in the 1903 Paris-Madrid race, then took the wheel himself shortly after. He won the Mont Ventoux hill climb in 1905, then became the first-ever winner of the Targa Florio in 1906, driving an Itala. Cagno also competed successfully in fuel-economy tests and motorboat races. Passionate about aviation, he co-founded the civil pilot school in Pordenone, designed aircraft, and flew over Venice, participating as a volunteer pilot in the Italo-Turkish War. After the First World War, he returned to racing, notably winning the Leningrad-Tbilisi-Moscow race in 1923 with the FIAT team. He then continued his career as a test driver and businessman in the automotive industry. |
5. Wilhelm Werner (Germany) • Born: April 23, 1874 in Großgartach (near Heilbronn), Germany • Died: March 9, 1947 in Großgartach, Germany A German pioneer at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft from 1895. He distinguished himself notably by winning the Semmering hill climb in 1902. |
6. Arthur Duray (Belgium) • Born: February 9, 1882 in Ixelles (Brussels, Belgium), naturalized French in 1933 • Died: February 10 or 11, 1954 in Paris, France Belgian pilot naturalized French, speed record holder between 1903 and 1904, competitor in the Vanderbilt Cup and international events; he served during World War I and was also an aviation pioneer. |
7. Pierre de Caters (Belgium) • Born: December 25, 1875 in Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium • Died: March 21, 1944 in Paris, France Belgian baron, pioneer of the automobile, aviation (first Belgian to fly in 1908) and nautical speed. He trained pilots during the war and was one of the first Belgian aircraft manufacturers. |
8. Charles Rolls (United Kingdom) • Born: August 27, 1877 in London (Berkeley Square), United Kingdom • Died: July 12, 1910 in Bournemouth (Southbourne), United Kingdom Co-founder of Rolls-Royce, passionate about automobile speed and aviation. He made the first round-trip flight across the English Channel. He tragically died at the age of 32 during an air show. |
9. Arthur Clifford Earp (United Kingdom) • Born: 1879 in Lambeth (Surrey, London), United Kingdom • Died: 1921 in Camberwell (London), United Kingdom British volunteer driver, known for his exploits at Daytona Beach in 1906, completed a 100-mile race on a wheel rim after a flat tire, and competed in several editions of the Gordon Bennett Cup. |
10. Hermann Braun (Germany) • Born: December 18, 1874 in Cannstatt (Stuttgart), Germany • Died: August 16, 1942 in Stuttgart Bad Cannstatt, Germany A German pioneer as a mechanic for Daimler and driver. He won several editions of the Solitude Bergrennen starting in 1903 (6 PS class). A notable figure in motorsport before the Grand Prix. |
It was the last edition of the motor race GORDON-BENNETT. p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">By the continuation, the Automobile Club of France will organize its race the GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE on the circuit of Sarthe. p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">James GORDON-BENNETT organized then a cup of the airships in 1906 to 1909, that of aviation before to die in 1918. |
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Michelin victories in 1905
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Pierre SOUVESTRE's account
of the 1905 GORDON-BENNETT Cup
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