Motorsport year 1902
In the motor sport year 1902 , motor sport was generally under great pressure. Accidents at previous racing events had led to racing bans being issued for events on public roads in some countries, including France. Only after the Automobile Club de France (ACF) had announced its efforts to get the races back on track by issuing the first motorsport regulations - and not least due to pressure from the French automotive and fuel industries - did the annual "big" race become , for which the Paris – Vienna route had been selected that year, was still approved.
Mainly in order to reduce the ever increasing speeds again, the ACF issued a general racing formula for the first time in which the weight of the car was limited to a maximum of 1000 kg (plus 7 kg extra weight for magneto ignition). In this way it was hoped to prevent further growth in engine sizes. In the races, which are still held from city to city on public roads, both participants and the local population remained very much at risk.
A first step away from this form of racing was the first major circuit race, which was held for the first time this year on the Circuit des Ardennes near Bastogne in Belgium. However, the lap length of 85 km was still relatively long.
The motorsport year 1902 also brought the first major international success for Great Britain with the victory of Selwyn Edge on Napier in the Gordon Bennett Cup.
Race results
Paris – Vienna
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Marcel Renault
|
Renault | 15: 47.43.8 h |
| 2 |
Henri Farman
|
Panhard & Levassor | + 12.46.4 min |
| 3 |
 J. Edmond |
Darracq | + 22.32.4 min |
The biggest race of the year led from Paris over 990 kilometers to Vienna from June 26th to 28th, 1902 . Since motorsport was banned in Switzerland , the stage was neutralized in this country - i.e. H. drive through without timing. For the first time in a major race, the racing formula issued by the ACF with a maximum weight of 1000 kg was used, but this did not lead to the intended reduction in engine performance. However, the extremely overbred wagons of the "heavy" class (over 650 kg) proved to be barely able to cope with the demands of the extremely demanding route - especially due to the poor road conditions on the mountain passages. When Panhard von René de Knyff, who was well in the lead, got stuck crossing the Arlberg Pass with a broken differential, the way was clear for a surprise success for Marcel Renault on a comparatively weakly motorized model of the "light" class of only about 30 hp. Of the 110 participants who started, 80 made it to the finish line.
Gordon Bennett Cup
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Selwyn Edge
|
Napier | 11: 52.52.6 h |
| no further drivers classified | |||
The third edition of the competition for the Coupe Internationale was also not held as a separate race due to concerns about a lack of participation, but again only as a special classification within the scope of the Paris-Vienna race, with the classification taking place on the section to Innsbruck. At least this time in the form of the British team there was at least one challenger for the previously dominant French. However, the two Wolseleys were not fully developed and could not really run, just as Selwyn Edge could not keep up with the pace of the French cars on a new Napier model that now complies with the regulations. But there were also major problems in the ACF team, in which three different companies were represented for the first time. The over-bred racing cars from Mors and the new CGV brand couldn't withstand the stress on the first day. So was René de Knyff as the leader in the overall standings in the Gordon Bennett vote by a wide margin in the lead until the previously ailing differential of his Panhard when crossing the Arlberg pass finally gave up the ghost. Edge, in eleventh place in the overall standings, just had to somehow reach Innsbruck to wrest the cup from the French team for the first time. According to the regulations, the British had the task of preparing the 1903 Gordon Bennett race .
Ardennes Race - Bastogne
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Charles Jarrott
|
Panhard & Levassor | 5: 53.39.6 h |
| 2 |
Fernand Gabriel
|
Mors | + 8.05.6 min |
| 3 |
 William Kissam Vanderbilt II
|
Mors | + 28.31.0 min |
On July 31, 1902, the Circuit des Ardennes was held for the first time in Bastogne , Belgium . The 85 km long route through the Ardennes had to be lapped six times. With Charles Jarrott a Briton won.
More races
- The Concours de côte du mont Ventoux is held for the first time.
literature
- B. von Lengerke: Automobile races and competitions (1894–1907), Fachbuchverlag-Dresden, 1st edition (April 25, 2014), facsimile of a work from 1908 (Richard Carl Schmidt & Co., Berlin); ISBN 3-95692-272-7 , ISBN 978-3-95692-272-5 , paperback
Web links
- 1902 Grand Prix and Paris Races. (No longer available online.) Www.teamdan.com, archived from the original on November 23, 2018 ; accessed on May 26, 2020 (English).
Individual evidence
- ^ Lengerke: Automobile races and competitions (1894–1907), facsimile of a work from 1908, p. 26