20-21 May: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~20 May~ 1903: The first commercial vehicle race began in New York City, with two races on two days sponsored by the Automobile Club of America (ACA). The light truck winner for both races was a Waterless Knox driven by Harry Knox, while the heavy truck winner for both races was a Herschmann steamer. 1904:…
13-14 May: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~13 May~ 1900: Friz Held driving a Benz won the Mannheim-Pforzheim-Mannheim road race. 1950: The very first round of the Formula One World Championship was held on the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire. The event was graced by the presence of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – the first and only time a reigning monarch…
6-7 May: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~6 May~ 1906: The inaugural running of the Targa Florio, the legendary open-road endurance race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded by wealthy Sicilian wine producer Vincenzo Florio, the race was held at Madonie and run over three laps of the 92.47-mile circuit, totalling 277.41 miles. Each lap was an ordeal as…
29-30 April: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~29 April~ 1899: A car named La Jamais Contente driven by Camille Jenatzy became the first vehicle to go over 100 km/h (62 mph) at Achères, Yvelines near Paris, France. The alloy torpedo–shaped electric vehicle which set a land speed record of 65.79 mph (105.88 k/h) had two direct drive Postel-Vinay 25 kW motors, running…
22-23 April: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~22 April~ 1900: The Turin-Pinerolo-Saluzzo-Cuneo-Turin road race was won by L Gastè driving a Perfecta 6 hp tricycle, who completed the 131 km at an average speed of 64.5 km/h. 1907: The Targa Florio held at Madonie over 3 laps of the 92.473 mile circuit, totaling 277.42 miles, was won Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat.…
15-16 April: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~15 April~ 1912: Washington Augustus Roebling II, car racer and designer, perished in the RMS Titanic when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. Roebling was the son of John A. Roebling, president of Roebling and Sons Company of Trenton, New Jersey. Continue Reading → 1923: Run over 4 laps of the Media Circuit…
8-9 April: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~ 8 April ~ 1901: The first formal automobile race in Great Britain, staged at the Crystal Palace in London, was won by Charles Jarrott driving an 8-hp Panhard et Levassor. 1910: The Los Angeles “The Boards” Motordome, the first speedway with a board track, opened near Playa Del Rey, California, with a nine day…
1-2 April: This Weekend in the History of Motor Sports
~1~ April 1903: The Polish Count Eliot Zborowski, father of the creator of the ‘Chiity-Chitty-Bang-Bang cars, became the first competitor to be killed during a hillclimb, when he crashed his Mercedes at Le Turbie., near Nice, France. The event was abandoned and the course subsequently shortened to less that half its former length. 1967: Mario…
25-26 March: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~25 March~ 1901: The Mercedes was introduced by Gottlieb Daimler at the five-day “Week of Nice” in Nice, France. Driven by Willhelm Werner, the car dominated the events at the competition. Mercedes cars were conceived at the same venue in Nice two years earlier. After seeing a Daimler car win a race there, businessman Emile…
18-19 March: This Weekend in Motor Sport History
~18~ 1927: Wade Morton set a US stock car record, driving an Auburn 8-88 1,000 miles at an average speed of 68.37 mph at the Atlantic City Speedway, New Jersey, US. 1929: Bill Lowe drove a Lombard to victory in the 1100cc class of the Australian Grand Prix, held at Phillip Island. 1972: Bobby Unser…
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