1905 ARDENNES CIRCUIT

1 9 0 5

2 Victor Hémery
Société A. Darracq
Darracq 85 hp

13 Henri Tart
SA Est. Panhard et Levassor
Panhard-Levassor 100 hp

14 Hubert le Blon
SA Est. Panhard et Levassor
Panhard-Levassor 100 hp

1905 ARDENNES CIRCUIT RACE

Bastogne (B), 7 August 1905 (Monday).
5 laps x 120 km (74.57 mi) = 600 km (372.8 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Weight	kg

	Heavy Car Category - 700 to 1000 kg
1	Émile Behr	Charron, Girardot et Voigt	C.G.V.	100 hp		S-4	1000
2	Victor Hémery	Société A. Darracq	Darracq	85 hp	9.8	S-4	940
3	Fernand Gabriel	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	80 hp	12.8	S-4	1000
4	Camille Jenatzy	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	125 hp	14.0	S-4	1005
5	Maurice Fabry	Fabbrica Automobili Itala	Itala	112 hp	14.8	S-5	1002
6	George Heath	SA Est. Panhard et Levassor	Panhard-Levassor	100 hp	15.5	S-4	1002
7	Louis Wagner	Société A. Darracq	Darracq	85 hp	9.8	S-4	950
8	Henri Rougier	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	80 hp	12.8	S-4	990
9	Baron Pierre de Caters	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	125 hp	14.0	S-4	1000
10	Georges Teste	SA Est. Panhard et Levassor	Panhard-Levassor	100 hp	15.5	S-4	1000
12	Arthur Duray	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	125 hp	17.0	S-4	990
13	Henri Tart	SA Est. Panhard et Levassor	Panhard-Levassor	100 hp	15.5	S-4	1003
14	Hubert le Blon	SA Est. Panhard et Levassor	Panhard-Levassor	100 hp	15.5	S-4	1003

	Light Car Category - 400 to 700 kg
11	"Montjoie"	Société A. Darracq	Darracq (light car)	85 hp		S-4	657

Hémery wins the 1905 Ardennes Circuit with Darracq

by Hans Etzrodt

The 1905 Ardennes Circuit Race, organized by the Belgian AC, used previous year's procedures. The heavy and light cars raced together on the same Bastogne circuit. The voiturettes contested a separate race, two days before the main event, on a shortened Arlon circuit. We describe this race after the big event's account.
Wagner (Darracq) led the first of five laps, followed by Tart (Panhard) and Hémery (Darracq) third with Rougier (De Diétrich) fourth. Montjoie (Darracq) was the only light car driver. If he finished the race, he would win the category. Behr (C.G.V.) and Gabriel (De Diétrich) retired. After the second lap Rougier (De Diétrich) took the lead, Jenatzy (Mercedes) was second, Hémery (Darracq) third, Tart (Panhard) fourth, while Wagner was fifth and Fabry (Itala) retired. After three laps Hémery (Darracq) was in the lead, 15 and 16 minutes ahead of Teste and Tart with their Panhards, while all others were no longer in this battle. After three laps Rougier (De Diétrich) retired. Hémery (Darracq) was still leading after lap four, followed by the three Panhard of Teste, Tart and Le Blon. Wagner, with the second Darracq was fifth, in the match between Darracq and Panhard. Jenatzy (Mercedes) retired when breaking a wheel. After the fifth lap Hémery won the race ahead of the two Panhard driven by Tart and Le Blon. Wagner (Darracq) was fourth, Heath (Panhard) fifth, De Caters (Mercedes) sixth, Duray (De Diétrich seventh and Teste (Panhard) retired just 15 km ahead of the finish. Montjoie (Darracq) won the light car category.

The Royal Belgian AC organized again the 1905 Ardennes Circuit race that was run over the same course as the year before for heavy racers and light cars, both having to cover five laps of the now 120 km long Bastogne circuit on Monday, 7. August. The large cars race had 13 starters, but light cars had only one contestant, while the racing voiturettes had just three runners.
The race for voiturettes along a shortened 40.240 km Arlon circuit happened on Saturday, 5. August together with motorcycles. We describe this report after the main race account.

Scrutineering:
Saturday afternoon on the 5. August the weighing of the heavy and light cars took place at the small town of Bastogne railroad station. The weights in kg are listed on the entry list of the heavy and light cars.

Circuit:
The 120 km hilly Ardennes Circuit was driven anticlockwise five times or a total distance of 600 km. The race was named after the dense Ardennes Forest with its rolling hills and ridges of Belgian provinces, Luxembourg, and Namur. The course passed through an area without any large towns or large villages that would require neutralization. As a result, the race was without any mandatory stops. The circuit was re-measured after last year's event. From the start at Bastogne at a 300-meter stretch of cobbled stone paving the road headed north-west for 23 km to Barrière de Champion, where the course turned south-west for 13 km passing Saint-Hubert further south for 13 km to Recogne then south-east for 13 km to Neufchâteau and Longliers further for 22 km to Habay-la-Neuve. At that juncture, the track led north-east for 12 km to Arlon cross-roads from where the course went further north for 24 km passed Martelange very near the Luxembourg border to Bastogne start and finish, completing the 120 km circuit.

Entries:
After the 1905 Gordon Bennett, the Ardennnes race was the most important event in 1905 but with a reduced field of the leading manufacturers present. Fiat and Wolseley withdrew their entries.
Panhard, who had won the first three races, appeared with four 120 hp cars in the hands of George Heath, Georges Teste, Henri Tart and Hubert Le Blon. Not more than four cars per manufacturer were allowed.
Lorraine-Diétrich entered three 125 hp cars, with 17.0-liter 4-cylinder engines for Fernand Gabriel, Henri Rougier and Arthur Duray.
Darracq entered two 85 hp 9.8-liter 4-cylinder cars for Victor Hémery and Louis Wagner. In the light car category started "Montjoie" which was a pseudonym, he likewise used "de La Touloubre". Charles Faroux referred to him also as "captaine Genty", in fact Henri-François Genty, commander at the first artillery company, who supposedly raced at 1903 Paris-Madrid on a Decauville, but this is unlikely. As "de La Touloubre" he appeared at the 1903 Laffray climb with a 24 hp Decauville light car.
Mercedes after their Gordon Bennett defeat, appeared with two 125 hp 14.0-liter 4-cylinder Mercedes for Camille Jenatzy and Baron Pierre de Caters, who was suffering from rheumatism.
ITALA had raced with 75 hp 14.0-liter 4-cylinder cars at the Gordon Bennet and appeared here with a brand-new car, with 112 hp 14.8-liter 5-cylinder engine.

Timing, Scoring, Controversy and Variances:
Final times: Six of the sources researched for this report agree on the final times of the 14 finishers.
Intermediate times: There is agreement between the six sources researched.
Voiturettes times: The six sources show large variances amid intermediate times. Gerald Rose's book for Voiturettes times was not used due to continuous variances. AAZ(A) and AAZ(D) seemed to have copied L'Auto intermediate and final times. Each of these times has been rechecked, so adding up all lap times turns out the correct final times, also supported by a few other sources.

Start:
Monday 25. July started 13 heavy cars, and one light car racing together, while the three voiturettes raced two days before but are listed at the end of this account.
At six o'clock sharp the road was closed to traffic and the racers soon began to line up, the first was Girardot (C.G.V.), who had drawn No. 1. the car was not driven by its owner, who was still on crutches after his fall in the Gordon Bennett race, and he had entrusted it to his mechanic Behr, who was to race "on his own" for the first time.
The start, at the Hotel Colin with a large display board showing the times of the various contestants and the grandstand opposite. Exactly at 6:30 a.m. Behr was sent off on his C.G.V. he clutched so violently that a drive shaft joint broke, and the vehicle remained there, unable to move further. The remaining 13 cars started at intervals of four minutes. When Teste got going, just before the start he lost air from one of his tires and spent 2min39sec changing a tire.

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