1906 Grand Prix season

The age of Grand Prix racing began in 1906 with the first Grand Prix de l'ACF .

After the conditions for the previous Gordon Bennett Cup were rejected by the French automotive industry, a new format was launched this season with the Grand Prix , which was intended to ensure more equal opportunities among manufacturers of the automotive nations. The Targa Florio in Sicily also served a similar purpose, but for which other provisions applied and which established itself in the following years as a kind of alternative to the "French" Grand Prix . These most important motorsport events were already (unofficially) referred to as Grandes Épreuves in common parlance .

Racing calendar

Grandes Épreuves

	date	run	route	winner	statistics
1	June 26-27	ACF Grand Prix	Le Mans	Ferenc Szisz ( Renault )	statistics

More races

date	run	route	winner	statistics
02/12	Grand Prix of Cuba	Havana	Victor Demogeot ( Darracq )
06.05.	Targa Florio	Grande circuito delle Madonie	Alessandro Cagno ( Itala )	statistics
08/13	Ardennes races	Bastogne	Arthur Duray ( Lorraine-Dietrich )
07.06.	Vanderbilt Elimination Race	long Island	Joe Tracy ( Locomobile )
June 13-14	Vanderbilt Cup	long Island	Louis Wagner ( Darracq )	statistics

Race results

Grandes Épreuves

Ferenc Szisz on his victory run

French Grand Prix - Le Mans

→ Main article : 1906 French Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Ferenc Szisz	Renault	12: 07-14.0 h
2	Felice Nazzaro	Fiat	+ 31.19.4 min
3	Albert Clement	Clement-Bayard	+ 35.39.2 min

The French Grand Prix was held on a 103 km long Circuit de la Sarthe circuit near Le Mans , which had to be lapped a total of twelve times on two days on June 26 and 27, 1906. 32 drivers in twelve different teams, including Renault , Brasier , Mercedes-Benz , Fiat and Itala , competed.

The Hungarian Ferenc Szisz , who lives in France and a former mechanic for Louis Renault , took the lead on the fourth lap. After six laps there was a break and on the second day the drivers started according to the time gap of the previous day. Thanks to a safe, car-friendly driving style, Szisz defended his lead and won with a 31-minute lead over Felice Nazzaro .

More races

Ardennes Race - Bastogne

space	driver	team	time
1	Arthur Duray	Lorraine-Dietrich	5: 38.39.2 h
2	René Hanriot	Darracq	+ 01.41.8 min
3	Henri Rougier	Lorraine-Dietrich	+ 11.32.2 min

On August 13, 1906, the Ardennes race was held again. It is a circuit race near Bastogne that has been held since 1902 .

In 1906, with the victory of Belgian Arthur Durays , the race once again brought the triumph of a French vehicle.

The winner Louis Wagner at the finish line.

Vanderbilt Cup - Long Island

space	driver	team	time
1	Louis Wagner	Darracq	4: 50.10.0 h
2	Vincenzo Lancia	Fiat	+ 03.18.0 min
3	Arthur Duray	Lorraine-Dietrich	+ 03.34.0 min

On October 6, 1906, the invitation race for the Vanderbilt Cup of the American industrialist William Kissam Vanderbilt II took place on Long Island for the third time .

It brought the first major victory for Louis Wagner , who became one of the stars of the French pre-war era.

Web links

Commons : Automobilsport 1906  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Hans Etzrodt: GRAND PRIX WINNERS 1895–1949. www.kolumbus.fi, June 9, 2013, accessed April 12, 2015 . 
• 1906 Grand Prix. (No longer available online.) Www.teamdan.com, archived from the original on December 3, 2018 ; accessed on February 12, 2020 (English).