First Race


"The history of the automobile is inseparable from the race" . Besides the fact that the races are a great source of progress, they are mainly a way to demonstrate that we can now move horses. The need to impose speed gasoline engine than electricity and steam. The first competitions are essentially endurance, so that the simple act of participating is synonymous with prestige for the driver and the manufacturer of the automobile. Among the participants of these courses are the big names in automotive history: De Dion-Bouton, Panhard, Peugeot, Benz, etc.. Organized in 1894, Paris-Rouen (then known as the "horseless carriages Contest") is the first course of history, 7 cars and 14 oil vapors are leaving for126Km. Georges Bouton is unofficially in 5:40, the winner of the race aboard a car he built with his partner Adolph Dion. However, officially, it is not classified as regulations stipulate that the car winner must be "safe, easy to operate and not expensive".

The car enthusiasts know a lot of hardship and suffering. The first is press denounces these "madmen" leading "monsters". In addition, infrastructure automobiles are currently unavailable, so in 1898 occurs the first fatality the Marquis de Montaignac is killed in a car Beyroux Landry. This does not, however, competitors to race cars, all of which are eager to discover the "horseless carriage". Henri Desgrange said in 1895 in The Self: "The time is very near where the car will cease to be fun to become a rich object almost exclusively practical utility. All these races have resulted in the end of the steam engine while highlighting the flexibility and durability of the engine combustion but they also demonstrate, through the Peugeot driven by André Michelin, the car gains a lot to "roll over air . The car driven by André Michelin at the Paris-Bordeaux race, the only tire fitted, is one of three coaches who managed to finish the race, although it has undergone numerous punctures and broken within roue.