1908 GRAND PRIX -

1 9 0 8

35 Christian Lautenschlager
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
Mercedes

6 Victor Hémery
Benz & Cie
Benz

23 René Hanriot
Benz & Cie
Benz

GRAND PRIX DE L'AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE FRANCE

Dieppe (F), 7 July, 1908 (Tuesday).
10 laps x 76.988 km (47.84 mi) = 769.88 km (478.38 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Engine		Mechanic

1	Dario Resta	Austin Motor Co Ltd.	Austin	9.6	S-6	Lambetti
2	Willy Pöge	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	13.5	S-4	Bott
3	Léon Pierron	SA Motobloc	Motobloc	12.8	S-4	Sonan
4	Ferenc Szisz	Renault Frères	Renault	12.0	S-4	Marteau
5	Arthur Duray	De Dietrich et Cie	Lorraine-Dietrich	13.6	S-4	Matthys
6	Victor Hémery	Benz & Cie	Benz	12.4	S-4	Gilli
7	Vincenzo Lancia	Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino	F.I.A.T.	12.0	S-4	Bordino
8	Léon Théry	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	13.6	S-4	Mignot
9	Emile Stricker	Sté Générale d. Automobiles Porthos	Porthos	9.1	S-6	Berger
10	Fritz Opel	Adam Opel	Opel	12.0	S-4	Weyl
11	Victor Rigal	SA de Ets Clément-Bayard	Bayard-Clément	14.0	S-4	Gilbert
12	Alessandro Cagno	Fabbrica Automobili Itala	Itala	12.0	S-4	Moriondo
13	Pryce Harrison	Weigel Motors Ltd	Weigel	12.8	S-4	Colman
14	Camille Jenatzy	Société Nouvelles des Automobiles Mors	Mors	12.8	S-4	Dayssiolles
15	Lewis Strang	E. R. Thomas Motor Co.	Thomas	11.2	S-4	Guichard
16	George Heath	Société des Anciens Establissements	Panhard-Levassor	12.8	S-4	Mousch
17	François Degrais	SA des Ateliers Germain	Germain	12.5	S-4	Salvator
18	John Moore-Brabazon	Austin Motor Co Ltd.	Austin	9.6	S-6	Lane
19	Otto Salzer	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	13.5	S-4	Stegmaier
20	Pierre Garcet	SA Motobloc	Motobloc	12.8	S-4	Gauderman
21	Gustave Caillois	Renault Frères	Renault	12.0	S-4	Vivet
22	Henri Rougier	De Dietrich et Cie	Lorraine-Dietrich	13.6	S-4	Bohn
23	René Hanriot	Benz & Cie	Benz	12.4	S-4	Heim
24	Felice Nazzaro	Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino	F.I.A.T.	12.0	S-4	Fagnano
25	Paul Baras	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	12.0	S-4	Godin
26	Gaubert	Sté Générale d. Automobiles Porthos	Porthos	9.1	S-6	Chartier
27	Carl Jörns	Adam Opel	Opel	12.0	S-4	Breckheimer
28	Fernand Gabriel	SA de Ets Clément-Bayard	Bayard-Clément	14.0	S-4	Alézy
29	Henry Fournier	Fabbrica Automobili Itala	Itala	12.0	S-4	Ayana
30	Gregor Laxen	Weigel Motors Ltd.	Weigel	12.8	S-4	Robinson
31	Landon	Société Nouvelles des Automobiles Mors	Mors	12.8	S-4	Bache
32	Maurice Farman	Société des Anciens Establissements	Panhard-Levassor	12.8	S-4	Köhler
33	René Roch-Brault	SA des Ateliers Germain	Germain	12.5	S-4	Jargot
34	Warwick Wright	Austin Motor Co Ltd.	Austin	9.6	S-6	Hadley
35	Christian Lautenschlager	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	13.5	S-4	Mäckle
36	Albert Courtade	SA Motobloc	Motobloc	12.8	S-4	Malafaye
37	Sergei Dimitriewitch	Renault Frères	Renault	12.0	S-4	Saglini
38	Ferdinando Minoia	De Dietrich et Cie	Lorraine-Dietrich	13.6	S-4	Cenotti
39	Fritz Erle	Benz & Cie	Benz	12.4	S-4	Gass
40	Louis Wagner	Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino	F.I.A.T.	12.0	S-4	Ferro
41	Paul Bablot	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	12.0	S-4	Lausson
42	Jules Simon	Sté Générale d. Automobiles Porthos	Porthos	9.1	S-6	Kinsch
43	Christian Michel	Adam Opel	Opel	12.0	S-4	Sitaritz
44	Lucien Hautvast	SA de Ets Clément-Bayard	Bayard-Clément	14.0	S-4	Chassagne
45	Giovanni Piacenza	Fabbrica Automobili Itala	Itala	12.0	S-4	Craviolo
46	Shannon	Weigel Motors Ltd.	Weigel	12.8	S-4	Deavis
47	Jules Robin	Société Nouvelles des Automobiles Mors	Mors	12.8	S-4	DNS - did not start
48	Henri Cissac	Société des Anciens Establissements	Panhard-Levassor	12.8	S-4	Schaube
49	Émile Perpère	SA des Ateliers Germain	Germain	5.1	S-4	Ghide

Lautenschlager victorious with Mercedes in the 1908 Grand Prix

by Hans Etzrodt

The Automobile Club de France held their 1908 Grand Prix again on the 76.9 km long Dieppe Circuit. The roads were in worse condition than the previous year, cause of countless tire failures and tar-particles in the dust being a great peril to drivers' eyes. A total of 49 cars raced according to the Ostend formula. Never in the past had an automobile race been followed with such interest as this 1908 Grand Prix with 17 teams present, 8 from France, 3 from Germany, 2 each from Italy and Great Britain, and one both from America and Belgium. Single starts were at six on Tuesday morning with 1-minute intervals. Salzer (Mercedes) led the 1st lap, Nazzaro (FIAT) the 2nd round, Wagner (FIAT) the 3rd and Hémery (Benz) lap four. Lautenschlager (Mercedes) was with the first three since the second lap, took the lead on lap five and kept it till the end, winning the race ahead of Hémery and Hanriot in Benz cars. The best French machine, Rigal (Bayard-Clément), ended up in 4th place despite replacing 19 tires. He was followed by 19 other finishers. The new detachable rim caused countless failures and crashes.
The Grand Prix des Voiturettes, held the day before for 64 smaller cars, is not included in this report.

For the 1908 Grand Prix, the Automobile Club de France abandoned the fuel consumption formula. Instead a new formula was decided by AIACR on July 15, 1907 in Ostend, therefore called the Ostend Formula with a minimum dry weight of 1100 kg - 2425 lb, including oil and other lubricants but without water, fuel, tools, spare wheels and fenders; maximum cylinder bore 155 mm for 4-cylinder engine, same usable piston area for other cylinder number (1-cylinder 310 mm, 2-cylinder 219 mm, 3-cylinder 179 mm, 6-cylinder 127 mm, 8-cylinder 110 mm engine); the stroke was not limited and varied considerably. The weight of the driver and his mechanic had to be at least 120 kg - 265 lb; only they were allowed to do repairs and tire changes. Every car had to have a reverse gear, an exhaust pipe lateral towards the rear, high enough to not cause dust; the width of the car not to exceed 1.75 m. Regulations did not allow replacement of a wheel. Detachable wheel rims were now used on all cars equipped with wooden artillery wheels. Cars were to be painted in national colors as used in the 1907 Grand Prix, Italian cars had to be red; USA red and white; English, green; French, blue; German, white; Belgian, yellow; Swiss, red, and yellow. The numbering system of previous years had proved unsatisfactory. Making identification easier for the spectators, they simply numbered the cars from 1 to 49. The starting order was decided by drawing lots.

Circuit:
After looking at various circuits, the ACF decided again on the Circuit de la Seine-Inférieure. It was so known because of its situation in the French region's department la Seine-Inférieure. But it was also known as the Dieppe Circuit. The course was roughly triangular and almost flat, only 76.988 km in length, to be rounded in anti-clockwise rotation, covering 10 laps or 769.88 km distance. A larger beautifully decorated grandstand was built a short distance after the road junction of N.25 and N.320, at the left-hand hairpin or Fourche, and the cars were passing the grandstand before they reached their highest speed. The pits were placed in a trench extending along the whole length of the stand, so the spectators could see the operations of refilling and repairs without rising from their seats. At the back of the stands were the restaurant, press rooms and other facilities. From the start the course followed along a 2 km straight near the river Eaulne south-eastwards through Envermeu to Londinières with a sharp left turn north over a railway, it continued along N.314, climbing through Fresnoy and descending to Sept-Meules, with a sharp dip to the bottom. Thereafter a climb before a long straight followed with a sharp descent to Eu where N.314 joined N.25. Following N.25 south-westwards the course led along a winding descent into Criel, followed by a 3 km climb to the top off the cliffs, with sight of the English Channel as the course then ran parallel to the sea, with the last 16 km stretch which allowed full speed until it reached the left-hand Fourche outside Dieppe and soon thereafter the starting point. For the upkeep of order on the circuit gendarmes and soldiers were stationed along the track, as even more spectators were expected than in the previous year. Split pale fences were erected at every village through which the race passed to prevent animals and children running across the track. There were seven footbridges built at different points on the circuit. The course was tarred throughout but during the previous day's race the cars slightly pulverized the tarred surface and drivers suffered during the race from eye troubles, due to the tar-dust.

Entries:
Not more than three cars per manufacturer could be entered. The normal fee was 5,000 Fr. for one car, 9,000 Fr. for two cars, 12,000 Fr. for three cars. By February 16 the entry list for ordinary fees closed with a total of 46 cars. Three more were entered by the end of May, when the entries consisted of 17 teams with a total of 48 cars. The Grand Prix had to develop into a battle of the nations. Nine German cars (Mercedes, Benz and Opel) were meeting six British cars (Austin and Weigel), 24 French cars (Motobloc, Renault, Lorraine-Dietrich, Brasier, Porthos, Bayard-Clément, Mors, Panhard-Levassor), six Italian cars (FIAT and Itala), one American car (Thomas) and three Belgian cars (Germain). A complete list is at the beginning of this report with a few remarks added here for a few entries. The cars showed little change compared with previous year's models but were slightly modified. Landon (31 Mors) replaced Charles Jarrott who withdrew a few days before the race. General Director Alfred Vischer, since 1904 design engineer at DMG, managed the Mercedes team with Director Adolf Daimler also present. DMG had been practicing extensively with a modified 1907 racecar chassis fitted with the newly designed 12,780 cc engine, reaching a top speed of 167 km/h. With the experience gained in the tests, several changes were made back in Stuttgart like shortening the wheelbase and raising the height of the rear body work to protect driver and mechanic better. The wheel rims were changed from 2.5 mm to 5 mm thick steel and exceptionally high inflation pressure was used for the tires, resulting in less tire problems for their cars.

Practice:
Early in February the ACF announced that the 1908 Grand Prix was again held on the Dieppe course, when drivers of the various factory teams were seen on the course. As there was no official practice anyone could test their car around the circuit. Practice on the circuit was not permitted after May 1 when a speed limit of 15 km/h was imposed and strictly enforced.

Scrutineering:
Scrutineering and weighing of the cars took place from nine in the morning until late afternoon on Sunday before the race on Tuesday the 7. July. The weighing of each batch of cars was performed at appointed hours, and after release from the scales much photography was the order of the day. At the pesage it was seen that the Mercedes had the lightest cars. Robin (47 Mors) did not start since the car was so badly damaged in a practice crash when driven by Robin that it did not start at the race. The weights of each car are listed on the starting list.

Race:
The ACF ran the Grand Prix des Voiturettes for 63 small cars on Monday, which was won by the Delage of Guyot at 80.5 km/h average speed. The course itself was in bad condition from the voiturettes the day before and especially the turns had changed into driving groves. Even road improvements made in the afternoon and during the night could not succeed in a decent road.

Motor Age p2 > The Thomas car, however, was doomed to an inglorious defeat because of an unfortunate accident an hour before the signal was given to line up for the start, while driving the American car into the enclosure prior to the early morning start, Straub's machine came to a sudden stop with a whirr and a crash. Something was wrong with the transmission and reversing gear. In desperation Strang called for his mechanic to eliminate the trouble. "Do something, for heaven's sake," was the frenzied cry of the driver, who had studied the course for weeks for his crucial test of speed. But there was not time to remedy matters. Forced to enter the international battle disabled-with the first and second and reversing gear out of commission-the American competed only on his nerve. Technically speaking, had there been time for a conference, the American car would have been disqualified, as the rules of the race plainly call for a reverse gear driven by the motor of the car.

Long before the start the grandstand and the enclosure were overfilled with an estimated number of 300,000 spectators around the entire circuit. The starting order had been decided by drawing lots. On Tuesday morning was a deep blue sky with the sun shining, promising a hot day. At six in the morning, a canon shot was fired to announce the start. The 48 cars were sent away at 1-minute intervals. The first car, the green Austin of Resta started only one minute later at 6:01. He was followed by the gentleman driver Pöge in the Mercedes, then Pierron, next Szisz in the Renault. The 8th starter was Théry in the Brasier, who received the most prolonged roar from the crowd. The last driver, Perpère, left at 6h49m.

No.

Driver

Car

Wt./kg