Georges Durand

Georges Durand

Georges Durand (born April 30, 1864 in Fresnay-sur-Sarthe , † May 3, 1941 in Le Mans ) was a French journalist and motorsport official. The Le Mans 24-hour race goes back to his idea of ​​staging a long-distance race for touring cars .

Life

From the beginning of the 20th century, Durand dealt with the topics of tourism and motor sports . In 1904 he founded the Syndicat d'Initiative des Alpes Mancelles and subsequently published tourist guides. At the same time he started working as a journalist and became a correspondent for the Touring Club de France.

With the establishment of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , Durand became a sports official and secretary of the club, and in this role he played a key role in organizing the first French Grand Prix in 1904 and 1906 on a circuit at Le Mans. In 1922 he had the idea of ​​holding a long-distance race for touring cars in order to demonstrate the capabilities of normal road cars. In October of the same year he spoke to Charles Faroux , the publisher of the trade magazine La Vie Automobile , at the Paris Motor Show , who was immediately enthusiastic. They called in Emile Coquille , Rudge-Whitworth's French representative , and discussed the possibilities. The original idea of ​​holding a race in such a way that eight hours of driving time should be enough into the night was discarded. They finally agreed on a race that should last exactly 24 hours. Durand and Faroux drew up the regulations, Coquille donated the Rudge Whitworth Cup, also known as the Biennial Cup, and 100,000 francs in prize money. This resulted in a legendary motorsport event that still exists today, and in which all well-known manufacturers in automotive history have participated since 1923.

In 1931, Georges Durand became Officier de la Légion d'Honneur and fell seriously ill in 1937, so that he retired from all his functions until the outbreak of World War II . Durand died in Le Mans in May 1941, where a street, Avenue Georges Durand, was named after him in 1945.

Web links

Commons : Georges Durand  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• About Georges Durand