Competitive motor racing began very soon after the invention of the first successful petrol-driven car. Although the internal combustion engine had been invented in Germany and it was Great Britain that had led the industrial revolution, both countries were initially hostile towards the motor car. England going so far as to restrict the speed to that of a man walking in front with a red flag in order to warn pedestrians and horses!. So France took the lead in the creation of motor sport. In 1887 the first motor car 'reliability' trial was organised by the French newspaper 'Le Velocipede'. The event involved a short run from Paris to Versailles but unfortunately only one competitor showed up and the event had to be abandoned.
In June 1894 Pierre Gifard, editor of the newspaper Le Petit Journal, announced the running of a reliability trial between Paris and Rouen. A prize of 5,000 francs was offered for the car which, crewed by a driver and mechanic, completed the course safely and with the minimum of expense. On July 22nd 1894 a total of 21 cars started the race from the Porte Maillot in Paris. It was to be a gentlemanly affair with the competitors making the 80 mile trip to Rouen - including a brief stop for lunch! First home was the Comte de Dion driving a steam driven tractor. He completed the course at an average speed of 11.58 mph. However the organisers considered his vehicle to be impractical and, as he didn't have a mechanic alongside him he was not awarded the prize.
Within a year of this first historic event a committee of Parisian newspaper publishers was formed with the aim of promoting the use of the motor car. A few years later they would adopt the title of Automobile Club de France (ACF); the first organization dedicated to motoring in France. For their first event they organised a race from Paris to Bordeaux and back. This was won by Emile Levassor who, at the wheel of a 2-cylinder, 4-bhp Panhard-Levassor, drove 48 hours 48 minutes virtually non-stop.
Controversy raised its ugly head once again; Levassor's car only had two seats instead of the required four and as moral victor was denied the prize-money of 31,000 Francs. History is however less fickle than race organisers and his achievement is honoured by a statue overlooking the finishing line at the Porte Maillot in Paris. One other interesting entrant in this race was the Peugeot of André Michelin which used pneumatic tyres. At that time the norm for wheels used on cars was either iron or solid rubber. At first the "air tyre" was ridiculed as impractical and it must be said that Michelin's car did suffer from numerous punctures, mainly due to the poor condition of the roads in France at that time.
From these gentlemanly ‘trial' events the first true Grand Prix was run by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest, the same group that would eventually take responsibility for the world famous Le Mans 24 Hour race. A 60 mile road circuit close to the town was chosen and it was decided that the race would take place over a two day period with competitors covering a distance of 686 miles. A new formula was also declared with a maximum weight of 1000kg excluding wings, lights, upholstery and tools. Each manufacturer was permitted to enter a maximum of three cars and the entry-list included virtually every manufacturer of any note at the time; Mercedes, Fiat, De Dietrich, Renault, Brassier and Panhard were just a few of the entrants.
Winner on day one was the Hungarian Francois (Ferenc) Szisz who with his co-driver Marteau finished at an average speed of around 60mph. In second place was the Frenchman Albert Clément who just pipped the Italian Felice Nazzaro into third place. The second day saw Nazarro and Clément exchange second and third places but the honour of winning the first ever Grand Prix went to Szisz and his Renault Type AK 90CV. Grand Prix Racing was born into the hands of the French much as it is today, even though virtually every grand prix car is designed and built in Britain.
