Beginnings of the automobile sport

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The beginnings of automobile sport go back to the time of the steam engines . The first documented races, however, had more the character of performance comparisons of self-propelled steam tractors , which, given the dimensions of such vehicles and the very low speeds, had little in common with the modern concept of "racing".

Only the great popularity of cycling towards the end of the 19th century gave rise to the idea of ​​organizing such competitions for other "horseless vehicles", especially since the first smaller and therefore more manageable vehicles - initially still primarily with steam drive - were developed for such purposes seemed more appropriate. Nevertheless, given the small number of copies available, it was difficult to find participants at all. This only changed with the advent of gasoline-powered vehicles in the 1890s, so that in 1894 the trip from Paris to Rouen in 1894 , which is generally regarded as the actual beginning of motorsport history, was already more than 20 participants. However, this event was not yet a "race" according to modern understanding, on the one hand because all possible types of vehicles with the most varied of drive concepts were represented, and the winner was not determined solely on the basis of the driving time - and thus the speed achieved was, but primarily other criteria, such as ease of use and economic efficiency in operation, were decisive.

Manchester (1867)

The earliest known report of a competition of self-propelled machines is the report of the British magazine The Engineer about a race of two steam tractors across the English city of Manchester on August 26, 1867. The single-cylinder machine designed by Isaac Watt Boulton covered the 8 miles (approx km) long distance between the starting point in Ashton-under-Lyne and the agricultural machinery exhibition in Old Trafford in less than an hour and was thus faster than the much larger two-cylinder version by Daniel Adamson . Whether it was more than a purely privately agreed matter (actually, such an action would not have been permitted under the provisions of the Red Flag Act , which stipulates walking speed for horseless vehicles and always being accompanied by a pedestrian with a red flag) However, it is just as questionable as the exact regulations of this "race", which has so far hardly been noticed even in specialist circles.

Wisconsin Reliability Trial (1878)

The Oshkosh Steam Wagon , winner of the Green Bay Steamer , with water tanker and crew

The first officially organized competition between two self-driving vehicles, on the other hand, is generally considered to be the Wisconsin Reliability Trial of 1878, in which two steam-powered tugs finally competed against each other out of a total of six registered participants for a price advertised by the US state of Wisconsin . In addition to a reliability test over a distance of 200 miles from Green Bay to Madison , for which, in addition to a minimum speed, criteria such as practicality and cost-effectiveness were required, the participants had to take part in various other disciplines, such as B. hauling or plowing , compete against each other. The program also included a one-mile race between the two vehicles - a lap on the racecourse on the grounds of the Oshkosh Fair Grounds , which can thus be described as the first automobile race track in history. The winner of the competition, both over the 200-mile total distance and on the lap around the racecourse, was the 4.5 t Oshkosh Steam Wagon , while its competitor, the slightly heavier Green Bay Steamer, was repeatedly held up by defects. A third vehicle had not appeared in time for the start in Green Bay, but was later allowed to enter the city of Jefferson with; however, this was only after the speed test in Oshkosh , Wisconsin had already taken place.

First races with steam cars (1887/88 and 1891)

De Dion-Bouton steam powered “Quadricycle” from 1885

In 1887, the French journalist and cyclist Paul Faussier organized a race for automobiles on the outskirts of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne , but only one participant, Count Albert de Dion with his steam-powered car, appeared at the start. In the following year , a first “real” race took place on the Paris – Versailles route and back, which de Dion won in front of the designer of his automobiles , Georges Bouton, in a three-wheeler that was also powered by steam. However, both events remained largely hidden from the public eye. In 1891, Auguste Doriot and Louis Rigoulot finally took part - albeit out of competition - with their petrol-powered Peugeot " Quadricycle " in the Paris - Brest - Paris cycling race . Armand Peugeot had persuaded the organizer of the race, the journalist and editor-in-chief of Le Petit Journal magazine , Pierre Giffard , to use the infrastructure of the event (marshals, timekeepers, etc.) to keep the car moving on what was the longest up to then Document the distance traveled by an automobile. Due to a mechanical defect, however, they had to make a long repair stay on the way, so that they did not reach Brest until the winner of the bike race had already returned to Paris.

Paris – Rouen (1894)

Participants in the Paris – Rouen race in 1894: Count Albert de Dion and company with the “Vicoria” steam carriage. The serenity is not played: Despite the longest lunch breaks and a “detour” into a field, De Dion crossed the finish line five minutes ahead of the runner-up in a Peugeot. The victory was not recognized.

It was only with the trip for “horseless vehicles” from Paris to Rouen, also advertised by Pierre Giffard in the name of Le Petit Journal for 1894, that a general public interest in such an undertaking could be achieved for the first time. The event, which had the character of a reliability drive, in which above all the quality of the construction, economy, user-friendliness and operational safety were assessed, is therefore generally known as the first really significant automotive competition in history. For the first time, a whole range of vehicle types (in addition to automobiles, two- and three-wheelers as well as quadricycles  - similar to modern " quads ") with different drive concepts (petrol, steam, electric and even muscle or spring-powered) had registered as participants , of which only steam-powered cars or internal combustion engines survived the various preliminary tests and were sent on the 126 km long route. The fastest of the total of 21 competitors, with an hourly average of around 19 km / h and a consumption of 800 liters of water, was Count Albert de Dion with his steam car, which is basically a tractor with an attached carriage, which is operated by the driver and the operator needed another heater on board. The winner's prize of 5,000 gold francs was awarded in equal parts to gasoline-powered cars from Panhard & Levassor and Peugeot , both equipped with Daimler engines built under license by Panhard .

→ Season report: 1894

Notes / individual evidence

  1. ^ The Engineer, August 30, 1867
  2. ↑ [1] The Wisconsin Engineer , October 1916, accessed May 13, 2020
  3. ^ [2] Daniel Strohl: The first American automobile race? , accessed on May 13, 2020
  4. ^ Allan E. Brown: The History of America's Speedways Past & Present (Second Edition), Comstock Park, Michigan: Allan E. Brown, 1994
  5. ^ [3] Christoph Maria Merki: The bumpy triumph of the automobile 1895–1930 , Böhlau Verlag, Vienna, 2002, p. 248 (accessed online on May 13, 2020)
  6. ↑ [4] Marco Marotta: 1884 De Dion Bouton Trepardoux Dos a Dos on www.drivetribe.com, accessed on May 13, 2020
  7. ↑ [5] The Steamcar Club of Great Britain: DE DION BOUTON et TREPARDOUX STEAM QUADRICYCLE on http://www.steamcar.net , accessed on May 13, 2020
  8. ↑ [6] Le Petit Journal of September 12, 1891 at https://gallica.bnf.fr , accessed on May 13, 2020