javier romagosa
It was the beginning of the end. The carnage that took place in Paris-Madrid in 1903 put a tragic finish to the races between cities. In this article we recall the test through one of its participants, Charles Jarrot, who narrates his experiences in the first person. But we better let him be the one to speak.
WHAT DO I REMEMBER OF THE PARIS-MADRID OF 1903?
“Long avenues of trees, thick, covered by foliage, but grim in the bareness of their trunk; a long, endless, white ribbon that stretched forever to the horizon; the perpetual endurance of a bullet that advanced inexorably towards that point where heaven and earth meet; fleeting visions of the towns we passed through, and of the mad, sick, and reckless masses of people who put themselves ahead of the bullet, risking being killed or maimed, avoiding it at the last moment only thanks to a frantic gesture; a revitalizing relief, which washed over me every time we left the crowd behind and escaped, once again, of the catastrophe; but, above all, the horrible feeling of being the prey of a hunt.
Hundreds of cars of all conditions behind us. All of them hot on our heels, maybe down the road faster, struggling to get ahead and get dusty, leaving us behind as they sped off towards the distant finish line of Bordeaux."
This is how Charles Jarrot begins to tell in his book Ten years of Motors & Motor Racing the Paris-Madrid of 1903, the last of the legendary races disputed by the pioneers between big cities. And it is that, in the beginning, spurred on by the need to demonstrate to the world the validity of the then new automobile, its enthusiasts traveled faster and faster over longer distances. Of course, leaving almost always from the French capital, either in the direction of Marseille, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid... It all started in 1894 between Paris and Rouen, a route that totaled 126 kilometers and was covered in just over 4 hours. Ten years later it could well be done infinitely faster thanks to the dizzying technological development.
Cars of up to 14 liters, 90 CV, weighing 1.000 kilos and maximum speeds of about 115 km/h that did not hesitate to be increased by the drivers on downhill slopes. The goal was achieve running averages of up to 140 km/h on paved dirt roads for wagons and carriages. In addition, dotted with people on the sides who, as is still done today, recklessly exposing themselves to danger. All this can give us an idea of what was involved in running in one of the new infernal machines called automobiles; and yet, those heroes did not usually think too much about it.
«THE RACE TO DEATH»
The dawn of May 24th 1903, the members of the De Dietrich team, Jarrot, Barrow and Stead, got up at two. The departure was scheduled for 3:45 from Versailles, and Jarrot had won the previous great competition, held at the Ardennes Circuit, for which he would come out first in one of the greatest automobile odysseys carried out up to then. The rest of the participants would follow him separated from each other for a time of one minute. In haste, he left Barrow trying, perhaps futilely, to wrest the car away from him; It would be the last time he would see him...
"I asked for what would happen to the swaying crowd of people blocking the road at my exit. The response I received was a shrug and the affirmation that they would be removed as soon as I started moving forward. The soldiers in charge of keeping the runway clear were absorbed by the enormous number of enthusiasts present, so that disorder prevailed… ».
The first races, held during the previous decade, hardly anyone had come to see them. However, for two or three years motor sport moved masses, to such an extent that it was not possible to predict exactly what would be the response of the growing public to each specific event. And the Paris-Madrid of 1903 was exceeding all expectations.
Even as far as participants are concerned: 275 registered!, of which, finally, 221 attended. The event, governed by fairly lax regulations, was open to all kinds of vehicles and forms of propulsion, from motorcycles to cars, from normal and current vehicles to competition vehicles, from internal combustion engines to steam, including electricity; from quads and light vehicles to 12 or 14 liter monsters, the gross voitures forerunners of Grand Prix cars. Of course: these last three categories should not exceed 400, 650 and 1.000 kilos, respectively.
CHARLES JARROT GOES ON
Jarrot -who you can see in the main photo- started and, after the start, accelerated over 100 km/h, after verifying that the passionate people gathered would move away at the last moment whatever the speed of passage. He carried his greatest rivals -in many cases also friends- on his back, so it is easy to understand the feeling of hunting prey that we read before. He plowed the French roads until Louis renault he overtook him like an exhalation on his way to Bordeaux, the end of the first stage of the competition. This time his car was superior.
De Knyff and Werner also passed in front, the latter with a colossal Mercedes 90 HP, but both would break later. In reality, breakdowns were very common and that is why it was run in teams, always with a mechanic on board, a custom that would still be maintained until the 30s. And they did not have to be routine or easy to repair breakdowns: although the tires frequently burst -which, at the speeds that such mounts circulated, gives quite scary-, it was not uncommon for any other element of the machines to break, including axles or chassis. And yet, miraculously, until Paris-Madrid there were hardly any deaths or injuries to regret in the endless fight for speed.
While the English pilot was advancing in his De DietrichHe was quite surprised that he was not finding more competition. It was because he himself was doing great, but also because from behind the race had turned into a real carnage. It is said that the laxity of the regulations, which allowed the registration of anything, both in terms of vehicles and drivers, as well as the dryness of the terrain, were to blame. This did not necessarily have to be the case, since, as we have just said, previous tests had been held in similar conditions with hardly any incidents.
THE TEST IS SUSPENDED
Be that as it may, through sections in which it was possible to reach up to 140 km/h, the Paris-Madrid was leaving a river of deaths and wounded of diverse consideration in its wake. With cars smashed against the trees, like that of Barrow, Jarrot's partner, who died in a spectacular accident that occurred after ramming a dog that should never have invaded the road, theoretically closed. The photographs that were taken of the remains are overwhelming. There was burned-out equipment in the cabins, cars that finally ran over the public when trying to avoid a child who had run over the track... And an endless number of mishaps that dotted the route of damaged vehicles on the verges
Once the first pilots –Renault and Jarrot– They reached the finish line of the first stage, in Bordeaux, when confusing information began to be received. Until Charron arrived, another legendary runner, who, having made the journey in a touring car together with the women -he could not finish his racing car in time-, had been able to see what had happened from the rear. He stated that he had never seen such a thing., and further confirmed that Marcel Renault, brother of Louis, had died. Since then, the only pattern of the Billancourt brand would never run again.
Faced with what happened, the French government suspended the race, put the cars in train wagons dragging them with animals and sent them back to Paris. We must not forget that at that time, the automobile was still regarded not only as a promise of progress, but also as a danger. And given the demonstration of their destructive power, on this occasion the authorities did not even allow them to be uprooted.
Fortunately, the waters would soon return to their course, although always on circuits that, although they continued to be planned for some time on the open road, were circular and, therefore, much more controllable in every way.
THE END OF AN ERA
Fernand Gabriel was considered the winner of the race, that is, of the part that could be held (the stages to Vitoria and, finally, Madrid were pending). This one, although he did not arrive first in Bordeaux, covered the 557 kilometers that separate this city from the French capital, at the controls of a Mors, in 5 hours and 47 minutes, at an average of 105 km/h. Behind, Renault and our narrator, Jarrot, classified.
It is difficult for me to explain, but there is something very special about these races, always understood in their historical context. Thanks to the pilots who raced them, the car stopped being a more or less curious invention to become one of the most revolutionary of the XNUMXth century. People like those mentioned so far are the true parents of the car, the culprits that today it is understood in the way that so many of us are passionate about. I think that we especially owe it to them to be able to enjoy our fans today.
“It was the last big race to take place on French roads. Because I cannot put in the same category those that are now held in circuits; Paris-Amsterdam, Paris-Berlin, Paris-Vienna, all belong to the past and will never be repeated. And I think it was a successful ending, there, on the road between Paris and Bordeaux, where so many great events were held and where Levassor himself taught the world, eight years before, at last, the enormous possibilities of motor-driven vehicles. ”.
It was certainly the end of an era, perhaps the most heroic of all that make up the History of the automobile.
