Three cars from the entry list for the first French Grand Prix in 1908 were recently reunited at the Vintage Sports Car Club sprint meeting at Curborough in the English Midlands. The Panhard, Itala and Mercedes that are now owned by Mark Walker, George Daniels and Ben Collings, respectively, took part in the inaugural French race on July 7, 1908. Starting from Dieppe, drivers negotiated 10 laps of a perilous 47.8-mile road circuit. Victory went to Christian Lautenschlager driving a Mercedes after seven arduous hours of racing.
While he did not regularly take to the track, Lautenschlager did compete in the 1923 Indy 500 in one of three four-cylinder Mercedes entered by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft that year, all of which were fitted with “revolutionary” superchargers, the first time such devices were seen at the Brickyard. Lautenschlager lasted only 14 laps before crashing out in Turn One.
Further centenary celebrations are planned in Dieppe to honor the event that is regarded as one of the all time great Grand Prix races in that it featured 37 cars from 13 manufacturers in six different countries.
By Mike Jiggle
