1914 French Grand Prix

GP French 4 July 1914 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France France Lyon, France Public roads 23.380 37.629 20 467.600 752.58 Max Sailer Mercedes GP 20:06.0 Germany empire Christian Lautenschlager Mercedes GP Germany empire Louis Wagner Mercedes GP France Otto Salzer Mercedes GP Germany empire The 1914 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Lyon on 4 July 1914. Hailed as one of the greatest races of the twentieth century,Georgano 1971, p.87 it was a contest between the French Peugeots and the German Mercedes. For the first time, the Grand Prix was run to an engine limitation – of 4.5L maximum capacity. It was won by the Mercedes of Christian Lautenschlager who won at an average speed of 105.7 km/h on after a tense seven-hour contest with the Peugeot of Georges Boillot. thumb|300px|right|Christian Lautenschlager with his riding mechanic Hans Rieger https://mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com/marsClassic/en/instance/picture/Christian-Lautenschlager.xhtml?oid=121884 No. 28 Mercedes thumb|300px|right|Louis Wagner in his No. 40 Mercedes thumb|300px|right|Georges Boillot No.5 Peugeot Regulations and Circuit For several years, the Automobile Club de France (ACF) had been trying to reduce engine sizes in racing which it saw as increasingly dangerous with their higher speeds. In earlier French GP, the cylinder bore was limited. This year, for the first time, it mandated a maximum engine size of 4.5-litresRendall 1993, p.72-3Higham 1995, p.194-6 along with an allowable weight range of 800-1100 kg lb 0 on (excluding fluids and tools). This obviously benefited the leading French racing manufacturers of Peugeot and Delage, that had dominated the recent years of nimble voiturette racing along with Sunbeam, at the expense of the big-engined cars of Italy and Germany.Ludvigsen 2009, p.32-3 There was also an entry limit of five cars per manufacturer, and no privateer entries were permitted.Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gpw5.htm 2019-08-26 2007-09-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012944/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gpw5.htm dead thumb|300px|right|The 1914 Lyon circuit (north is to the right) thumb|300px|right|Lautenschlager descending le piege de la mort switchback The city of Lyon promised large subsidies to host and the race was held on a 37.6 km clockwise road circuit to the south of the city. The northernmost point, the Les Sept Chemins hairpin, is located to the south of Brignais-Les Ronzières, in the commune of Vourles. Start and Finish was some 800m to the south of the hairpin at the Route nationale 86 (today Route Départementale 386) leading to the town of Givors. Between the Givors railway stations, it turned south west and took the Route nationale 88 (today Route Départementale 488) Route de Rive-de-Gier winding along beside the Gier (a tributary of the Rhône) to Châteauneuf. There, the circuit turned north east again. Racers returned on a 12 km mi on long Chemin de Grande Communication (today Route Départementale 342) straight before coming to a steep downhill right-left switchback (nicknamed le piege de la mort – the Death trap- at 45 38 30.1 N 4 44 55.6 E inline). A sharp right hand turn at the hairpin Les Sept Chemins completed the lap.Cimarosti 1997, p.48Fox 1973, p.15-66th Gear History http://www.forix.com/8w/f14.html 2019-09-16 At the end of June the two hairpin turns were concreted and the course was re-laid with granite chips to prevent its break-up and coated with calcium chloride to reduce the dust raised. The Grand Prix was to be twenty laps of the circuit, totalling 752.6 km. Entries On 28 June, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire was assassinated in Sarajevo. A week later, the French Grand Prix was held under an increasingly tense political situation across Europe. The race attracted one of the highest-quality fields hitherto assembled, of 37 starters from 13 manufacturers and 6 countries. Peugeot were the strong favourites to repeat their victories in 1912 and 1913. They arrived with the new EX-5 (or ‘L-45’, after its engine size) for team drivers Georges Boillot, Jules Goux and Victor Rigal. The 4.5-litre four-cylinder engine had a twin-overhead cam (DOHC) and generated 112 bhp. Now fitted with four-wheel brakes it also sported a streamlined extended tail.Rendall 1993, p.74-5 Boillot had tested it at Brooklands and found it lifted the top speed by 8%. The tail also accommodated two spare tyres.Cimarosti 1997, p.49-50 thumb|300px|right|Arthur Duray and the Delage team Louis Delâge bought the new 5-speed Type S for Albert Guyot, Arthur Duray and Paul Bablot.Fox 1973, p.19 Like the Peugeots and FIATs, it was sporting four-wheel brakes.Rendall 1993, p.74-5 New French company Alva convinced Ferenc Szisz, winner of the inaugural Grand Prix in 1906, out of retirement to lead their team. thumb|300px|right|The 5-strong Mercedes team The most serious opposition to the French teams would come from Mercedes, returning to the Grand Prix for the first time since winning in 1908 with much bigger engines, well over 10 liter. Under the 4.5-litre capacity limit, higher revs were needed to get power, as superchargers were nearly a decade away. The company had not yet made a racing engine that revved over 1500rpm, so Paul Daimler engaged the aero-engine division to assist with engine development. The new unit had innovative single-cast cylinders with four valves each and a single overhead camshaft (SOHC), giving 106 bhp at 3100rpm. Gone was the chain-drive, instead a lighter live rear-axle was used. However, they did persist with rear brakes only. Five of the six 18/100 cars built were entered, with a strong team of drivers led by Christian Lautenschlager, victor in 1908. Alongside him were Otto Salzer, young future Mercedes director Max Sailer,Legate 2006, p.11 French veteran Louis Wagner and Belgian Mercedes-agent Théodore Pilette. The new Opel was a development of the 4.0-litre 1913 model, retaining its single-overhead camshaft, with four valves per cylinder and a live rear axle like the Mercedes. They were the lightest cars in the field, well over 100 kg lighter than most others. Regular works driver Carl Jörns led a team of three cars. From Italy came FIAT (including veteran Alessandro Cagno), Felice Nazzaro's own team Automobili Nazzaro, and a single entry from Aquila Italiana. Great Britain was represented by Sunbeam (Resta, Lee Guinness and Chassagne) and Vauxhall who included American Ralph DePalma in their squad. Manufacturer/Type Engine size CarNumber DriverFrance Alda 4.4L S4 1 Hungary 1896 Ferenc Szisz 15 Italy 1861 Pietro Bordino 29 France Maurice TabuteauGermany empire Opel 4.44L S4 2 Germany empire Carl Jörns 16 Germany empire Emile Erndtmann 30 Germany empire Franz BreckheimerBelgium Nagant 4.44L S4 3 France Leon Elskamp 17 France Dragutin EsserUnited Kingdom Vauxhall 4.49L S4 4 United Kingdom John Hancock 18 United States 1896 Ralph DePalma 31 United Kingdom William WatsonFrance Peugeot EX-5 4.49L S4 5 France Georges Boillot 19 France Jules Goux 32 France Victor RigalFrance Th. Schneider 4.44L S4 6 France René Champoiseau 20 France Fernand Gabriel 33 France . JuvanonItaly 1861 Caesar Scacchi 7 - (Did not arrive) 21 - (Did not arrive)Italy 1861 Automobili Nazzaro 4.44L S4 8 Italy 1861 Felice Nazzaro 22 France Jean Porporato 34 Italy 1861 . De Moraes ("Cenesio")France Delage Type S 4.44L S4 9 France Paul Bablot 23 France Albert Guyot 35 Belgium Arthur DurayUnited Kingdom Sunbeam GP 4.44L S4 10 France Jean Chassagne 24 United Kingdom Dario Resta 36 United Kingdom Kenelm Lee GuinnessSwitzerland Pic-Pic 4.43L S4 11 France Paul Tournier 25 United Kingdom Thomas ClarkeItaly 1861 Aquila Italiana 4.49L S4 12 Italy 1861 Eugenio Beria d'Argentine(Did not arrive) 26 Italy 1861 Bartolomeo Costantini 37 - (Did not arrive)Italy 1861 FIAT S57/14B 4.49L S4 13 Italy 1861 Alessandro Cagno 27 Italy 1861 Antonio Fagnano 38 United Kingdom John ScalesGermany empire Mercedes 18/100 GP 4.48L S4 14 Germany empire Max Sailer 28 Germany empire Christian Lautenschlager 39 Germany empire Otto Salzer 40 France Louis Wagner 41 Belgium Théodore PiletteSources:GEL Motorsport Information Page http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1914/1914.html 2019-09-06 2008-04-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20080421010755/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1914/1914.html deadCimarosti 1997, p.53 Practice thumb|300px|right|Boillot's No. 5 Peugeot at the hairpin Les Sept Chemins – note the streamlined tail housing two spare tyres thumb|300px|right|Grid before the start thumb|300px|right|Goux's Peugeot coming past the start/finish line to start his 7th lap Mercedes knew that meticulous preparation would be needed if they were to beat the French cars. In January, the company had sent its team to France to reconnoitre the track to calculate gearing ratios.Fox 1973, p.20-1 Two cars were ready in April for testing where two changes were noted. The extended tail was cut off to save weight and, from the long straights and winding corners, the engineers recommended changing to a five-speed gearbox. However, there was no time to arrange the latter. The ACF organised a practice period on the new circuit three weeks before the event. However, because they were public roads all that could be arranged were a couple of 90-minute pre-dawn sessions, which left most teams disgruntled. The Vauxhall cars were not even ready by then. The Peugeot team was confident that their 4-wheel brakes would allow better cornering, but the circuit had only two sharp and slow corners. On the other hand, large parts were fast sections or flat out straights were the higher top-end speed from the Peugeot's DOHC engine and streamlined rear-end would be decisive.Fox 1973, p.15-6 In contrast, the Mercedes’ lower centre-of-gravity would provide better road-holding to give it an edge over the French cars. They were also running on more durable Continental tyres while the French cars were on Dunlops. Thus, the Mercedes team calculated they would only need to make a single tyre-stop for each car during the race. During practice though the Peugeot drivers found their cars handled badly, with the poor weight distribution having the spare tyres stowed in the extended streamline tail. The only disruption for Mercedes was when Pilette missed a gear-change and over-revved his engine badly. The Race Race-day was hot and fine, and about 300,000 spectators lined the roads. So many were coming out on the trains from the city that many missed the 8am start. For the first time, cars were flagged off in pairs at 30-second intervals, in numerical order. First away were Szisz and Jörns,Venables 2009, p.34 but Boillot was the first to arrive back at the finish-line. However, Sailer was ahead on elapsed-time with an 18-second lead and from the beginning he forced the pace, drawing Boillot into a speed-contest. Jörns had to stop on the first lap for radiator repairs, dropping his Opel out of the reckoning.Ludvigsen 2009, p.34 thumb|300px|right|Max Sailer setting the pace in his Mercedes at the Grand Prix thumb|300px|right|Pilette's Mercedes ahead of a Nazzaro on the winding road by the River Gier When Boillot had to pit unexpectedly after an hour, on the third lap, it allowed Sailer to take the lead on the road. Pilette's Mercedes retired at the same time, the gearbox damage in practice proving terminal. Sailer pressed on setting the fastest lap of the race on lap four and extending his lead over Boillot to almost three minutes. Whether it was racing inexperience, or internal rivalry with team-leader Lautenschlager to prove a point, Sailer had pushed his car too hard and stopped with a broken conrod along the Gier River on the sixth lap.Fox 1973, p.24-5 (Sailer and no one else at Mercedes had said there was a deliberate plan to use a “hare” to break the Peugeots.) After seven laps Boillot had the lead over Lautenschlager, while Goux had just overtaken Duray's Delage to move into third. On the tenth lap at the halfway point, Wagner, Salzer, and Resta's Sunbeam, had also overtaken the Delage. Boillot led by a minute and the German team started coming in for their scheduled stops. Lautenschlager was running out of brakes and his stop became a bit of a shambles as the normally well-drilled Mercedes team cost him 2–3 minutes in the pits. But the Peugeot Dunlops were wearing far quicker – Boillot had to make six pitstops for tyre changes to the single ones for the Mercedes cars. thumb|300px|right|Refuelling Tournier's Pic-Pic thumb|300px|right|1906 Grand Prix winner Ferenc Szisz in an Alda But despite that, Boillot's skill and all-or-nothing driving kept him with a 2-3 minute lead. By the 11th lap with the pitstops done, Wagner had passed Goux and Lautenschlager to move into second. Then a dangerous accident happened. Szisz had pulled over on the roadside to change a wheel, when he was struck by Breckheimer's Opel when it was obscured by the dust. His arm broken, it fell to his less injured mechanic to slowly get the car back to the pits where Szisz could get attention.Vanderbilt Cup Races http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/drivers/bio/ferenc_szisz 2019-09-12 The Peugeots’ stops lost their advantage and the Mercedes’ pursuit was relentless. Although Wagner had to pit on lap 15 to replace tyres, Salzer overtook Goux to move up to fourth. When Boillot then had to pit for tyres on the 17th lap Lautenschlager reduced the lead from 2 minutes to just 14 seconds. He overtook the Peugeot as they approached Givors. Boillot's car had been thrashed to its limits and was now falling apart, down to three cylinders. By the end of the 18th lap he was 30 seconds behind. Boillot kept pushing regardless but on the last lap his engine finally expired when he over-revved it on the climb out of the Gier valley. Boillot was distraught, hunched over the steering wheel weeping at his failure. So after seven hours of racing, Mercedes took a crushing 1-2-3 victory with Lautenschlager repeating his 1908 win ahead of Wagner and Salzer. The French crowd was silent, with Goux's fourth place nearly ten minutes back ahead of Resta's Sunbeam being scant consolation. Post-race Within a month of the race Europe had descended into World War I war and European racing ceased for four years. With his 25000 franc prizemoney, Lautenschlager retired from racing and was able to build himself a house. Georges Boillot was initially the personal driver for Marshal Joffre,Venables 2009, p.30 but then transferred to the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) as a fighter pilot. He was shot down over Verdun in April 1916 in a dogfight and died in the wreckage. Fagnano had throttled back on his FIAT and finished 11th and last, well over an hour after the winner. It was postulated that, as the sole finisher for FIAT, it had been a prudent move by the team. This was in light of the fact that the scrutineers had found the total engine cylinder-volume was over the 4500cc limit. This would disqualify the team but FIAT's strong support of the race in the past allowed them to race.Ludvigsen 2008, p.33 After being driven back to celebrations in Berlin, one of the Mercedes (probably Lautenschlager's) was sent on display at the dealership in London, and also two of the Opels. War broke out just afterward, and it was commandeered and turned over to Rolls-Royce where it was carefully pulled apart. The SOHC valve train of the successful GP engine ended up in the Rolls-Royce Eagle aero engine design and in Bristol fighter planes. American driver Ralph DePalma bought one of the Mercedes GP cars after the race and took it to Tcitizens The USA to win the 1915 Indy 500. Believed to be Wagner's No. 40, there is still considerable conjecture and confusion as to which Mercedes chassis ended up in London and the USA.MotorSport May 1982 https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1982/52/matter-identity 2019-12-09 Carl Fisher, on the Indianapolis 500 organising committee, purchased two of the Peugeot EX-5s. When they landed in the United States he handed them over to the Premier Motor Corporation for three replicas to be made.Rendall 1993, p.76 In the 1915 Indianapolis 500, DePalma drove the Mercedes to beat Dario Resta, in a Peugeot EX-5, by three and a half minutes. With DePalma holding out, Resta got his revenge the year after, in the shortened 1916 Indianapolis 500. A Peugeot won again in the 1919 race.Venables 2009, p.34 Classification PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/Retired 1 28 Germany empire Christian Lautenschlager Mercedes 18/100 GP 20 7:08:18.4 2 40 France Louis Wagner Mercedes 18/100 GP 20 7:09:54.2 3 39 Germany empire Otto Salzer Mercedes 18/100 GP 20 7:13:15.8 4 19 France Jules Goux Peugeot L45 20 7:17:47.2 5 24 United Kingdom Dario Resta Sunbeam GP 20 7:28:17.4 6 17 France Dragutin Esser Nagant 20 7:40.28.2 7 32 France Victor Rigal Peugeot L45 20 7:44.28.2 8 35 Belgium Arthur Duray Delage Type S 20 7:51.32.0 9 6 France René Champoiseau Th. Schneider 20 8:06.51.6 10 2 Germany empire Carl Jörns Opel 20 8:17.09.6 11 27 Italy 1861 Antonio Fagnano FIAT S57/14B 20 8:26.11.2 DNF 5 France Georges Boillot Peugeot L45 19 Engine DNF 11 France Paul Tournier Pic-Pic 18 Accident DNF 22 Italy 1861 Jean Porporato Nazzaro 18 Engine DNF 3 France Leon Elskamp Nagant 18 Clutch DNF 23 France Albert Guyot Delage Type S 18 Engine DNF 9 France Paul Bablot Delage Type S 16 Engine DNF 16 Germany empire Emile Erndtmann Opel 12 Transmission DNF 30 Germany empire Franz Breckheimer Opel 12 ? DNF 10 France Jean Chassagne Sunbeam GP 12 Engine (conrod) DNF 1 border|23px|link=Hungary Ferenc Szisz Alda 11 Driver injured DNF 15 Italy 1861 Pietro Bordino Alda 10 ? DNF 13 Italy 1861 Alessandro Cagno FIAT S57/14B 10 Valve DNF 36 United Kingdom Kenelm Lee Guinness Sunbeam GP 9 Engine DNF 25 United Kingdom Thomas Clarke Pic-Pic 8 Wheel DNF 33 France Henri Juvanon Th. Schneider 8 Engine DNF 34 Italy 1861 . De Moraes ("Cenesio") Nazzaro 8 Engine DNF 20 France Fernand Gabriel Th. Schneider 8 Engine DNF 18 USA 1912 Ralph DePalma Vauxhall 7 Gearbox DNF 29 France Maurice Tabuteau Alda 7 Accident DNF 38 United Kingdom John Scales FIAT S57/14B 7 Engine (Valves) DNF 14 Germany empire Max Sailer Mercedes 18/100 GP 5 Engine DNF 8 Italy 1861 Felice Nazzaro Nazzaro 3 Engine DNF 41 Belgium Théodore Pilette Mercedes 18/100 GP 3 Drive (Propeller shaft) DNF 31 United Kingdom William Watson Vauxhall 2 Engine (Carburettor) DNF 26 Italy 1861 Bartolomeo Costantini Aquila Italiana 1 Engine DNF 4 United Kingdom John Hancock Vauxhall 1 Engine References Citations 30em Bibliography Cimarosti, Adriano (1997) The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing London: Aurum Press Ltd 1-85410-500-0 Fox, Charles (1973) The Great Racing Cars & Drivers London: Octopus Books Ltd 0-7064-0213-8 Georgano, Nick (1971) The Encyclopaedia of Motor Sport London: Ebury Press Ltd 0-7181-0955-4 Higham, Peter (1995) The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing London: Guinness Publishing 0-85112-642-1 Legate, Trevor (2006) 100 years of Grand Prix Kent: Touchstone Books Ltd 0-9551-0201-4 Ludvigsen, Karl (2008) Racing Colours - Italian Racing Red Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd 0-7110-3331-5 Ludvigsen, Karl (2009) Racing Colours - German Racing Silver Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd 0-7110-3368-4 Monkhouse, George (1953) Grand Prix Racing Facts and Figures London: G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd Rendall, Ivan (1991) The Power and The Glory – A Century of Motor Racing London: BBC Books 0-563-36093-3 Rendall, Ivan (1993) The Chequered Flag – 100 years of Motor Racing London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd 0-297-83220-4 Venables, David (2009) Racing Colours - French Racing Blue Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd 978-0-7110-3369-6 External links Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 : Part 1 (1895–1916) https://web.archive.org/web/20090413060254/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gpw1.htm 2009-04-13  – list of the races and winners. Retrieved 28 Aug 2019 Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 : History https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012944/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gpw5.htm 2007-09-30  – Hans Etzrodt's description of the annual regulations, and changes. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019 GEL Motorsport Information Page  - Darren Galpan's list of the races, entrants and results. Retrieved 6 Sep 2019 6th Gear History  - Leif Snellman's article of the race “Remember it for the one who lost”. Retrieved 16 Sep 2019 French Grand Prix 1914 None None 1913 French Grand Prix 1921 French Grand Prix Category:French Grand Prix French Grand Prix Grand Prix Category:July 1914 sports events in Europe