1906 ARDENNES CIRCUIT

1 9 0 6

7 Arthur Duray
De Diétrich et Cie
Lorraine-Diétrich 125 hp

13 René Hanriot
Société A. Darracq
Darracq 85 hp

12 Henri Rougier
De Diétrich et Cie
Lorraine-Diétrich 125 hp

1906 ARDENNES CIRCUIT RACE

Bastogne (B), 13 August 1906 (Monday).
7 laps x 85.714 km (53.262 mi) = 599.988 km (372.838 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Weight	kg	Remarks

1	Count Robert d'Hespel	Ste des Auto Corre	Corre	70 hp	10.8	S-4	1007
2	Victor Hémery	Société A. Darracq	Darracq	85 hp	12.7	S-4	970
3	Albert Clément	SA de Ets Clément-Bayard	Clément-Bayard	100 hp	12.9	S-4	995
4	Camille Jenatzy	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	125 hp	14.4	S-4	1000
5	Jules Barillier	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	105 hp	12.8	S-4	990
6	André Pilette	Grégoire et Cie	Grégoire	90 hp	13.0	S-4			DNS - did not start
7	Arthur Duray	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	125 hp	18.1	S-4	1002
8	Louis Wagner	Société A. Darracq	Darracq	85 hp	12.7	S-4	970
9	A. Villemain	SA de Ets Clément-Bayard	Clément-Bayard	100 hp	12.9	S-4	995
10	Alexander Burton	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	125 hp	14.4	S-4	1000		Repl. Marieaux
11	Paul Baras	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	105 hp	12.8	S-4	993
12	Henri Rougier	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	125 hp	18.1	S-4	1002
13	René Hanriot	Société A. Darracq	Darracq	85 hp	12.7	S-4	990
14	Pierre Garcet	SA de Ets Clément-Bayard	Clément-Bayard	100 hp	12.9	S-4	1001
15	Otto Salzer	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	125 hp	14.4	S-4	1000
16	"Pierry"	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	105 hp	12.8	S-4	1000
17	Fernand Gabriel	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	125 hp	18.1	S-4	1002
18	Victor Demogeot	Société A. Darracq	Darracq light car	85 hp	12.7	S-4	650
19	Foxhall Keene	Foxhall Keene	Mercedes	125 hp	14.4	S-4			DNS - did not start
20	Paul Bablot	Société des Automobiles Brasier	Brasier	105 hp	12.8	S-4	1001
21	Wyndham Sorel	De Diétrich et Cie	Lorraine-Diétrich	125 hp	18.1	S-4	1001

Duray wins 1906 Ardennes Circuit with De Diétrich

by Hans Etzrodt

The Belgian AC organized the 1906 Ardennes Circuit Race, with 19 cars lined up at the start after which Wagner (Darracq) completed the first round and did the fastest lap. Salzer (Mercedes) was second, Duray (Lorraine-Diétrich) third, Rougier (Lorraine-Diétrich) fourth, Clément (Clément-Bayard) fifth and Hanriot (Darracq) sixth, followed by 11 other finishers. Baras (Brasier) and d'Hespel (Corre) retired. After the second lap Duray was first, Salzer second, Clément third and Hémery (Darracq) fourth. The Darracqs of Hanriot and Wagner followed next ahead of the two De Diétrich cars of Gabriel and Rougier. Burton (Mercedes) and "Pierry" (Brasier) retired. Duray also led the third lap with the Darracqs of Hanriot and Wagner still second and third ahead of Gabriel while Clément dropped to fifth, likewise Salzer fell to sixth place. Hémery (Darracq) and Demogeot (Darracq light car) retired. After four laps Duray was still first, Hanriot second, Clément third ahead of Rougier, Wagner and Gabriel. After the fifth round Duray's lead over Hanriot had increased, followed by Clément, Gabriel, Barillier (Brasier) and Rougier. After six laps Duray had a four-minute lead over Hanriot, Barillier was third, Rougier fourth, Gabriel fifth and Salzer sixth. Bablot (Brasier) retired. After seven laps Duray won by only 1m42s ahead of Hanriot while Rougier was third, over 11 minutes back. Barillier came fourth, Gabriel fifth, Clément sixth, Sorel (De Diétrich) seventh, Wagner eighth, Salzer ninth, Jenatzy (Mercedes) tenth, Villemain (Clément-Bayard) eleventh and Garcet (Clément-Bayard) twelfth.

The Royal Belgian AC organized again the 1906 Ardennes Circuit race that was run over the same course as in 1902 and 1903 having to cover seven laps of the now 85.714 km long Bastogne circuit on Monday, 13. August. Categories for Light Cars or Voiturettes had been eliminated, resulting in a field of 19 starters. The official end of the race was decided 7 hours after the start of the last driver. According to Der Motorwagen, the regulations this time allowed help from a third side, and regarding the refreshment stations which were without any restrictions.

Circuit:
The 85.714 km hilly Ardennes Circuit was driven in anticlockwise direction seven times, a total distance of 599.998 km. The same route, now remeasured, had been used for the 1902 and 1903 race. The course passed through small towns and large villages that did not require neutralization. As a result, the race was without any mandatory stops. From the start at Bastogne at a 300-meter stretch of cobbled stone paving the road headed south-west for 25 km to Longlier along a straight road with some fast bends. At Longlier the course turned south-east for 23 km passing through some sharp turns, climbing up to Béhême village, then downhill to Habay la Neuve. At that juncture, the track led east, to soon turn north for 17.2 km to reach Martelange, near the Luxembourg border. The following section went further north for 20.2 km on an almost straight stretch to Bastogne., completing the 85.714 km circuit. The repeated passing of the cars over the same road made the race very interesting for the spectators. The course had been tarred to reduce the dust.

Entries:
FIAT, Panhard, C.G.V., Hotchkiss and Mors were absent but seven other companies were present.
Lorraine-Diétrich entered four 125 hp 18.1-liter cars for Fernand Gabriel, Wyndham Sorel, Henri Rougier and Arthur Duray. Duray's car was painted red and could be recognized early from far away while Rougier's car was painted green.
Darracq entered two 85 hp cars with 12.7-liter 4-cylinder engine for Victor Hémery and Louis Wagner while Victor Demogeot ran a Darracq light car, fitted with a similar engine.
Mercedes, after their Gordon Bennett defeat, appeared with four 125 hp 14.0-liter 4-cylinder Mercedes for Camille Jenatzy, Marieaux, Otto Salzer and Foxhall Keene. Salzer was an employee in the DMG running-in department who was competing in his first race. His mechanic was Mercedes chief test driver Christian Lautenschlager. It had been expected that the American Foxhall Keene would drive his own Mercedes but for unknown reasons he failed to appear, and the team was then down to three cars. Alexander Burton started at the last minute replacing the ailing Marieaux who had been ill at the start.
Clément-Bayard entered three 100 hp cars with 12.9-liter 4-cylinder engine for Albert Clément, A. Villemain and Pierre Garcet. Villemain's car was painted blue.
Brasier entered this event for the first time with four 105 hp cars using 12.8-liter 4-cylinder engines for Jules Barillier, Paul Baras, Paul Bablot and "Pierry". One day before the race "Pierry" practiced the third Brasier car on the course and crashed at Habay-le-Neuve turn, with a small Mercedes "spare parts" car which drove against regulations on the left side of the road when descending a winding hill in the opposite direction from that in which the race is run. Both drivers escaped without injuries. But the badly smashed-up Brasier with chassis and body damage was transported to Bastogne, where the Brasier factory workers were busy the entire night repairing the damaged car enabling it to start.
Grégoire entered only one 90 hp 13.0-liter 4-cylinder car for amateur driver André Pilette, who during practice skidded at the Longlier turn and overturned his Grégoire car. The driver suffered a broken arm, facial and inner injuries while the mechanician was not injured but the Grégoire car was wrecked.
Corre entered one 70 hp car with 10.8-liter 4-cylinder engine and it only appeared in the last moment at Sunday's weight-in for Count Robert d'Hespel, who had no time to even drive a single lap on the circuit.

Scrutineering:
On Sunday, 12. August scrutineering and weighing of the entrants started at the Bastogne railroad station. The weighting operations were to begin at 10 o'clock. However, by 8 o'clock, many competitors were already there also the commissioners in charge of the operations, Count de Liederkerke and Hansez. This time there were also some contestants whose vehicle exceeded the weight limit. The cars had to be brought below the maximum weight with all kinds of tricky actions, until they were declared allowed to start. The weights in kg are listed at the list of entries.

Timing, Scoring, Controversy and Variances:
1 - L'Auto has race numbers, intermediate lap times and intermediate total times.
2 - Omnia has also race numbers and intermediate times and intermediate total times.
3 - AAZ(A) has only intermediate times copied from L'Auto but some variances.
4 - AAZ(D) has only intermediate times but some more variances.
5 - La France Automobile only lists intermediate times published with the most variances of any source.
6 - La Vie Automobile lists intermediate times and is the only source displaying results in fifth of seconds.
7 - The Autocar (GB) has no race numbers but shows intermediate times with only one error.
There were some variations between the accounts used for this Ardennes Circuit report, including Gerald Rose, however his final times were correct. Each of the intermediate times has been rechecked, so adding up all lap times turns out all the correct final times.

Start:
The morning weather was fine, and the road was good when the 19 cars lined up ready to be released in two-minute intervals. At 7:00 a.m. d'Hespel was slow to get away with his Corre car as he was nervous since he had arrived with his car only at the last moment and did not know the racetrack at all. The second car was Hémery on the Darracq with which he had won the event last year, which he preferred to the new machine, but his car had the new V-shaped coolers. Albert Clément was next, his head encased in the wood enforced casquet worn by all the Clément-Bayard drivers. Jenatzy got away better than any of those before, but Barillier on the Brasier bettered his start. Next was Duray on a red Lorraine-Diétrich, followed by Wagner on one of the new Darracqs with V-shaped coolers. Rougier started on a green painted Lorraine-Diétrich. All cars, save the Darracqs were fitted with detachable rims which contributed to increased race speeds.

Time

Driver

Racing Car

Remarks