Javi Martin
Evidently those first races were not, not even remotely, like the current ones. There are legendary events like the Mille Miglia, which was the quintessential motorsport race for 30 years, and what about the Targa Florio? The first edition of this test, which ran through the mountains of Madonia, in the province of Palermo, took place in 1908.
We cannot forget either the Pan-American Race, although this is somewhat more modern with the first edition in 1950. However, all these tests are after what is considered the first car race in history, the Paris-Rouen of 1894.
A true epic as only took place at the dawn of the automobile. It is true that there are currently very tough tests, such as the 5.000 kilometers that are covered in the Rally Dakar, the more than 5.000 kilometers that are also covered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans or 24 Hours of Nürburgring among others.
In any case, objectively, the safety conditions and the technological and technical advancement of current automobiles mean that tests of this caliber are not as herculean and heroic as that first Paris-Rouen. And that his journey was "only" 126 kilometers away. To situate ourselves, a Formula 1 race is longer, since by regulation they must travel between 305 and 310 kilometers.
GESTATION OF THE TEST
It all began on December 19, 1893, when the Parisian daily Le Petit Journal published a call made by the journalist Pierre Giffard, to celebrate an unusual automobile test between July 19 and 24 of the following year, that is, 1894. A race that would cover the roads that separated the French capital from the city of Rouen, with different stops scheduled so that the gentlemen could have a snack. In those years there were no professional pilots, they were real gentlemen drivers who on many occasions attended the tests with their own vehicles. What's more, many of the drivers came with cars of their own creation.
In those years, any resemblance to today is mere coincidence. The races, at least the first ones, were pure marketing that, in addition, used to be organized by the press. Winning a race brought publicity and renown, which in turn brought sales and capital, which was used to carry the business forward as expected. This is how many brands were born, as racing turned out to be very influential for buyers and manufacturers began to invest large amounts of money. Everything ended abruptly with the arrival of the First World War, although this is another matter entirely.
Returning to what is considered the first race in history, there are many curiosities that today may seem totally out of place. The objective, first of all, was demonstrate which was the best vehicle of the moment and exhibit, incidentally, the technological development of the automotive sector in France. Mr. Giffard opted for an open call, that is, anyone could sign up, although a series of conditions must be met.
MORE THAN 100 REGISTERED
The response was tremendously positive and a total of 102 registrations were received, an absolutely astonishing figure. It is necessary to understand that, at that time, the car was not, not even remotely, like what we have today. The cars of that time, at the dawn of this invention, hardly differed from horse-drawn carriages, which had a new -then- internal combustion engine, or a steam engine.
In addition, the "pilots" were dressed "street", that is, as they would dress for any other occasion. However, although the response was very good, finally only 21 cars were able to start, all the others did not meet the requirements of the test. Some couldn't keep going for more than five minutes at a time...
The rules stated that you could run with any propulsion technology, so they gathered at the starting line combustion engines with other steam engines, had them fueled by gas and even electric. The most striking thing was a vehicle that used the weight of its occupants to move.
THE PARIS-ROUEN OF 1894
That first race was called "Les Voitures sans Chevaux", literally the carriages without horses. It had a rally type format, that is, it was held on the road – back then there were not many problems with traffic – and the participants left one by one, with an established order and with a separation of 30 seconds. In each car, in addition to the driver and in some cases a mechanic, a judge had to go. He was in charge of complying with the rules, in addition to evaluating the driving style with a score of 0 to 20.
The race lasted no less than 6 hours and 48 minutes, with an average speed, by the winner, which did not exceed 20 km/h. The first to arrive was Jules-Albert, Count de Dion, who was accompanied by his mechanic, George Bouton. The car he drove was a De Dion-Bouton with a steam engine, which had been designed by Gottlieb Daimler. Let us remember that this would be the one who would found Daimler, would manufacture the first automobile with a combustion engine with four wheels and, later, would associate with Karl Benz to give rise to Daimler-Benz, today known as Mercedes AG. Second place was a Peugeot , which tied with a Panhard and Levassor.
Of all the participants in the Paris-Rouen of 1894, only four managed to reach the finish line, three of them with steam engines. In addition, after the race, De Dion was not proclaimed the winner, but there was a tie between the second and third classified, because, not only did they finish the race, but they were also the easiest to drive and that, in that race, also counted. The need for a stoker also worked against De Dion. The fastest car was Albert Lemaître's Peugeot 3 HP.
This type of racing on the open road, they ended with the terrible outcome the Paris-Madrid of 1903, which had to be canceled due to the large number of fatal accidents. The performance of the cars was no longer suitable for competing in speed tests on those dirt roads. Motorsports proved it in the worst possible way.
Images Wikipedia.
