Louis Wagner

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Louis Wagner at the French Grand Prix in 1914
Louis Wagner at the wheel of a Peugeot 174S, before the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1926

Louis Auguste Wagner (born February 5, 1882 in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais , † March 13, 1960 in Montlhéry ) was a French racing driver .

Career

Louis Wagner's career as a racing driver is closely linked to the development of the automobile, which makes him a historic figure in automobile history. Already in the last years of the 19th century he drove his first, albeit short, road races. He celebrated his first victory in 1903 when he won his class on a Darracq at the Circuit des Ardennes in Bastogne . 1904 he was part of the factory team of Darracq that the Gordon Bennett Cup was eighth.

In 1906 Wagner won the Vanderbilt Cup and in 1907 he finished fifth in the Kaiserpreis race . It achieved its historical importance through his victory at the Grand Prix of America in 1908 . It was the first Grand Prix on American soil and the fourth in motorsport history.

In 1914 , Wagner was only defeated by Christian Friedrich Lautenschlager at the French Grand Prix , and in the 1920s he was part of the Alfa Romeo works team alongside Giuseppe Campari and Felice Nazzaro .

Louis Wagner, who also competed in the Indianapolis 500 mile race on a ballot in 1919 , also won the first British Grand Prix in 1926 .

He competed twice in the Le Mans 24-hour race . In 1925 he finished sixth on an Ariès , but retired a year later after a technical defect. He died in 1960 at the age of 78 in his home near the Montlhéry circuit .

statistics

Le Mans results

year team vehicle Teammate placement Failure reason
1925 FranceFrance Société des Automobile Ariès Ariès Type S GP2 FranceFrance Charles Flohot Rank 6
1926 FranceFrance Société des Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 174S FranceFrance Christian Dauvergne failure defective starter

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Commons : Louis Wagner  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Wagner, Louis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wagner, Louis Auguste (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French racing car driver
DATE OF BIRTH February 5, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Le Pré-Saint-Gervais
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1960
Place of death Montlhéry