1914 French Grand Prix

  1914 French Grand Prix

Race details
1914 Grand Prix season
Date	4 July 1914
Official name	Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France
Location	Lyon, France
Course	Public roads
Course length	37.629 km (23.380 mi)
Distance	20 laps, 752.58 km (467.600 mi)
Fastest lap
Driver	Max Sailer	Mercedes GP
Time	20:06.0
Podium
First	Christian Lautenschlager	Mercedes GP
Second	Louis Wagner	Mercedes GP
Third	Otto Salzer	Mercedes GP

The 1914 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Lyon on 4 July 1914.

The Race

The restriction on Grand Prix cars for 1914 included an 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) maximum weight and a 4500cc maximum engine capacity.^[1][2]

Christian Lautenschlager won at an average speed of 65.665 mph (105.677 km/h). The fastest lap was set by Max Sailer, at an average speed of 69.780 mph (112.325 km/h).^[3]

The Grand Prix was a contest between the French Peugeots and the German Mercedes. This was the last Grand Prix before the First World War, and took place less than a week after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. An estimated crowd of over 300,000^[4] watched thirty-seven cars start in pairs with a thirty-second gap between each pair. Sailer led by 18 seconds at the end of the first lap, and by lap five had built a lead of almost three minutes.^[4] Sailer retired with a blown engine on lap six.^[3] Georges Boillot took over the lead and retained it for the next twelve laps. At one point he led by over four minutes.

The Mercedes drivers each made one stop during the race for new Continental tyres,^[2] regardless of the tyre wear. This contrasted with the poor wear^[2] of the Dunlop tyres used by Peugeot^[5] and Boillot's eight stops for tyres.^[4] Boillot's many stops allowed Lautenschlager to pass Boillot on lap 18. By the end of that lap, Lautenschlager had opened up a lead of over 30 seconds. Boillot dropped out during the final lap.^[3][4]

Ferenc Szisz, the winner of the first French Grand Prix in 1906, had to retire from the race through injury. On the 11th lap Szisz was forced to stop to change a wheel. During the wheel change, he was hit by another car and suffered a broken arm. His mechanic was also injured. This was the last Grand Prix before World War I started, and racing did not resume until 1919.^[6]

Classification

Grid before the start

Winner Christian Lautenschlager

Louis Wagner

Otto Salzer

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/Retired
1	28	Christian Lautenschlager	Mercedes GP	20	7:08:18.4
2	40	Louis Wagner	Mercedes GP		+1:35.8
3	39	Otto Salzer	Mercedes GP		+4:57.4
4	19	Jules Goux	Peugeot EX5		+9:28.8
5	24	Dario Resta	Sunbeam		+19:59.0
6	17	Dragutin Esser	Nagant		+32:09.8
7	32	Victor Rigal	Peugeot EX5		+36:09.8
8	35	Arthur Duray	Delage S		+43:13.6
9	6	René Champoiseau	Th Schneider		+58:33.2
10	2	Carl Jörns	Opel		+1:08:51.2
11	27	Antonio Fagnano	Fiat		+1:17:52.6
Ret	5	Georges Boillot	Peugeot EX5	19	Engine
Ret	11	Tournier	Pic-Pic	18
Ret	22	Jean Porporato	Nazzaro	18	Engine
Ret	3	Leon Elskamp	Nagant	18
Ret	23	Albert Guyot	Delage S	18	Engine
Ret	9	Paul Bablot	Delage S	16	Engine
Ret	16	Emile Erndtmann	Opel	12
Ret	30	Franz Breckheimer	Opel	12
Ret	10	Jean Chassagne	Sunbeam	12	Big end
Ret	1	Ferenc Szisz	Alda	11	Driver injury
Ret	15	Pietro Bordino	Alda	10
Ret	13	Alessandro Cagno	Fiat	10	Valve
Ret	36	Kenelm Lee Guinness	Sunbeam	9	Engine
Ret	25	Thomas Clarke	Pic-Pic	8
Ret	33	Juvanon	Th Schneider	8	Engine
Ret	34	De Moraes ("Cenesio")	Nazzaro	8	Engine
Ret	20	Fernand Gabriel	Th Schneider	8	Engine
Ret	18	Ralph DePalma	Vauxhall	7	Gearbox
Ret	29	Maurice Tabuteau	Alda	7	Crash
Ret	38	John Scales	Fiat	7	Valve gear
Ret	14	Max Sailer	Mercedes GP	5	Engine
Ret	8	Felice Nazzaro	Nazzaro	3	Engine
Ret	41	Theodore Pilette	Mercedes GP	3	Propellor shaft
Ret	31	W. Watson	Vauxhall	2	Carburettor
Ret	26	Bartolomeo "Meo" Costantini	Aquila Italiana	1	Engine
Ret	4	John Hancock	Vauxhall	1	Engine

References

1. Higham, Peter (1995). The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. Guinness Publishing. pp. 194–196. ISBN 0-85112-642-1.
2. Snellman, Leif. "8W, Remember it for the one who lost.". Retrieved 2008-06-25.
3. "1914 Grands Prix.". Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
4. Doyle, Gary D. "France, 1914 and the Artist Historians." (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-25.
5. David, Dennis. "Peugeot 1914 Grand Prix.". Retrieved 2008-06-25.
6. Sury, Geza; Hans Etzrodt; Jimmy Piget. "8W, The first Grand Prix.". Retrieved 2008-06-25.