1910 American Grand Prize

August 2023 GP American Grand Prize November 12 1910 II American Grand Prize United States Savannah, U.S. Public roads 17.3 27.8 24 415.2 668.1 Felice Nazzaro Fiat 13:42.0 7 Italy 1861 David Bruce-Brown Benz United States 1908 Victor Hémery Benz France Bob Burman Marquette-Buick United States 1908 The 1910 American Grand Prize was a Grand Prix auto race held on closed public roads outside Savannah, Georgia, United States, on November 12, 1910. It was the second edition of the Automobile Club of America's American Grand Prize. The race was won by American David Bruce-Brown in a Benz. Summary After a successful race in 1908, the Automobile Club of America made plans with the rival American Automobile Association to hold the Grand Prize and Vanderbilt Cup together on the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1909. However, only the Vanderbilt race was held, and the Grand Prize pushed back to 1910. After the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup saw the deaths of 2 riding mechanics and several serious spectator injuries, the Grand Prize was cancelled once again. A last-minute request by the Savannah Automobile Club saved the race for the year, but only gave one month to prepare the course. A shorter 17-mile (27 km) course was laid out, but due to the short notice, many European teams were not able to make the trip; only 6 European cars entered the event, down from 14 two years ago. The race began at 9 AM, with cars leaving the start line at 30-second intervals. Victor Hémery, driving a Benz, led early. Arthur Chevrolet was second after lap 1, but would eventually be overtaken by the factory Benzes and Fiats before falling out of the race on lap 9. Felice Nazzaro took over second place and pushed hard to catch Hémery. After setting the lap record on lap 7, Nazzaro slid off the road into a ditch, bending his rear axle; he would retire a few laps later. Wagner assumed the lead, but he too would leave the road and strike a tree on lap 17. He resumed, but front axle damage later sent him into a cartwheel at speed, ending his race. Ralph DePalma, Bruce-Brown, and Hémery took over the first three positions, within two minutes of each other. On the penultimate lap, De Palma cracked a cylinder in the last of the Fiats. At the finish, Hémery crossed the line first due to the staggered start, and as in 1908 was forced to wait for the next car to cross the line. In the end, Bruce-Brown finished just 1.42 seconds faster than Hémery. Classification thumb|David Bruce-Brown atop his Benz thumb|Felice Nazzaro's Fiat Pos No Driver Car Laps Time/Retired 1 15 USA 1908 David Bruce-Brown Benz 24 5:53:05.35 2 9 FRA Victor Hémery Benz 24 + 1.42 3 17 USA 1908 Bob Burman Marquette-Buick 24 + 18:18.14 4 4 USA 1908 Ralph Mulford Lozier 24 + 33:07.33 5 12 USA 1908 Joe Horan Lozier 6 24 + 36:57.37 6 14 USA 1908 Ray HarrounUSA 1908 Joe Dawson Marmon 24 + 37:16.87 Ret 19 USA 1908 Ralph DePalma Fiat 23 Cylinder Ret 10 ITA 1861 Felice Nazzaro Fiat 19 Rear axle Ret 6 USA 1908 Charles Basle Pope Hartford 19 Piston Ret 16 FRA Louis Wagner Fiat 17 Crash Ret 18 USA 1908 Willie Haupt Benz 13 Crash Ret 7 USA 1908 Harry Grant Alco 6 11 Gears Ret 3 USA 1908 Arthur Chevrolet Marquette-Buick 9 Crankshaft Ret 13 USA 1908 Louis Disbrow Pope Hartford 9 Cylinder Ret 8 USA 1908 Joe Dawson Marmon 5 Crankshaft DNS 1 FRA Étienne Planche Roebling-Planche DNS 2 USA 1908 Harry Grant Alco DNS 5 USA 1908 G. Armstrong Mercedes DNS USA 1908 W. H. Sharpe Sharpe-Arrow Fatal crash in practice DNS USA 1908 Joe Matson Simplex Engine in practice References Nye Doug The United States Grand Prix and Grand Prize Races, 1908–1977 1978 Doubleday Garden City, N.Y. 978-0-385-14203-8 Doug Nye Galpin Darren II American Grand Prize http://www.dlg.speedfreaks.org/archive/book/book.html The History of Motorsport before World War I 27 August 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20120331125729/http://www.dlg.speedfreaks.org/archive/book/1909.pdf 31 March 2012 live 132–133 Etzrodt Hans Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 https://www.goldenera.fi/gpw1.htm 23 February 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20110606110020/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gpw1.htm 6 June 2011 live External links American Grand Prize Races historical marker United States Grand Prix 1910 1908 American Grand Prize 1911 American Grand Prize Category:United States Grand Prix American Grand Prize American Grand Prize American Grand Prize Category:History of Savannah, Georgia Category:November 1910 sports events in the United States American Grand Prize