Motor racing
Tour de France Automobile
was a
sports car race
held on roads around
France
regularly (mostly annually) between 1899 and 1986.
History
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]
The first edition in 1899 was won by
Rene de Knyff
driving a
Panhard et Levassor
at 30 mph (50 km/h). Organized by
Le Matin
, under the control of the
Automobile Club de France
, held July 16 to 24, in seven stages: Paris-Nancy; Nancy-Aix-les-Bains; Aix-les-Bains-Vichy; Vichy-Perigueux; Perigueux-Nantes; Nantes-Cabourg; Cabourg-Paris. Out of 49 starters, 21 vehicles finished.
[1]
The 1908 event was won by
Clement-Bayard
.
[2]
1950s revival
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]
The first event after the war took place in 1951, organised by the
Automobile Club de Nice
[
fr
]
, and was won by
Pierre Boncompagni
"Pagnibon"
/Barracquet in a 2.6-litre
Ferrari 212 Export
.
[3]
The event visited the
La Turbie
Hill Climb, near Nice.
The 1954 event was won by the 2.5 litre
Gordini
of Jacques Pollet and M. Gauthier, on the traditional Nice to Nice route.
[4]
Scuderia Ferrari won eight times between 1951 and 1962. After the triumph of Alfonso de Portago in 1956,
Olivier Gendebien
won with partner
Lucien Bianchi
three times in a row (1957, 1958 and 1959).
The 1956 event was won by
de Portago
/Nelson in a Ferrari 250 2.9 with Moss/Houel (Mercedes 300 SL) in second place.
[5]
In 1958 the British racing driver
Peter Whitehead
had a fatal accident on the tour driving a Jaguar with his half-brother
Graham Whitehead
, who was considered a reliable co-pilot in long-distance races. On September 21, 1958, after dark, Graham was driving when the car broke through a rotten bridge railing in
Lasalle, Gard
, near
Nimes
, and crashed into a ravine.
1960s
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In the 1960s, French racing and rally driver
Bernard Consten
(
fr: Bernard Consten
) won the race five times, making it the record winner to this day. In the same decade, the stage race was also opened to sports prototypes, so that racing cars like the
Ferrari 512 S
, the
Ford GT40
or the
Matra MS650
drove hundreds of kilometres on public roads.
The 1960 Tour de France took place between September 15 and 23 that year. Starting at Nice it visited
Mont Ventoux
, Nurburgring, Spa,
Montlhery
,
Rouen
and Le Mans with the finish at Clermont Ferrand. The event was won overall by the
Ferrari 250 G.T.
of
Willy Mairesse
/
Georges Berger
. The
Jaguar
3.8 litre Mk. II of Bernard Consten/J. Renel won the Touring category with the
BMW 700
coupe of Metternich/Hohenlohe winning the Index of Performance.
[6]
Willy Mairesse
won again in 1961 together with
Georges Berger
.
The last Ferrari victory was in 1964 with
Lucien Bianchi
/Georges Berger driving a
Ferrari 250 GTO
, entered by
Ecurie Nationale Belge
.
[7]
The event started at Lille, visiting Reims, Rouen, Le Mans, Clermont-Ferrand, Monza and Pau. The Touring car category was won by
Peter Procter
/
Andrew Cowan
in a
Ford Mustang
,
[8]
entered by
Alan Mann Racing
.
[9]
The A.C. Shelby Cobras of
Maurice Trintignant
,
Bob Bondurant
and
Andre Simon
all retired.
1980s
[
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]
The 1980s saw the event incorporated into the
European Rally Championship
which saw an influx of new competitors. The last event was held in 1986.
Historic race
[
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]
The event was revived in 1992 for
historic cars
, now known as the
Tour Auto
. It is held in April and features both a competition and a regularity class. The format is a 5-day event combining about 2,500 km of roads, 4 or 5 circuit races and 6 to 8 hillclimbs. The start is always in Paris, whereas the finish alternates between various southern seaside towns like Biarritz, Cannes and Nice. Patrick Peter of Agence Peter is the organiser.
The winning cars over the years (since 1996 only pre '66 cars can win overall, even though cars up to 1974 are allowed) include the Ford Shelby Mustang 350GT, Ford GT40, AC Cobra 289,
Lotus Elan
, Ferrari Daytona Gr IV. Drivers who won the competition class include
Jurgen Barth
,
Henri Pescarolo
and
Walter Rohrl
.
Competitors
[
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]
Previous winners of the original Tour de France Automobile who have participated in the Historic Tour Auto include JC Andruet, Jean Ragnotti, Bernard Consten, Gerard Larousse, Johnny Rives.
Other famous entrants since 1992 were: Stirling Moss, Danny Sullivan, Phil Hill, Ari Vatanen, Emanuele Pirro, Eric Comas, Bobby Rahal, Rob Walton, Walter Rohrl, Jurgen Barth, Yannick Dalmas, Thierry Boutsen, Romain Dumas, Nick Mason, Olivier Panis.
Dutch racing driver Hans Hugenholtz won the competition class of the Patrick Peter organised event 7 times (1993-1999-2000-2001-2004-2006-2007), more than any other entrant, with a Ferrari Daytona Gr. IV, Shelby Mustang 350GT, Ford GT40 (twice) and a Lotus Elan (3 times).
Winners 1951?1986
[
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]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
International Motor Cyclopaedia, Year Book-March 1908 to March 1909
, Pages 114?115, Publisher: E.E. Schwarzkopf, New York.
- ^
Hydro Retro, Clement-Bayard, pdf (French) Clement-Bayard, sans peur et sans reproche par Gerard Hartmann
- ^
The Motor Year Book 1952
, Temple Press, Page 196.
- ^
The Autocar
, September 17, 1954, Pages 401?402;
The Autocar
, September 24, 1954, Pages 426?427;
Motor Sport
, October 1954, Pages 557?558.
- ^
The Motor Year Book 1957
, Temple Press, Page 197.
- ^
Motor Sport
, August 1960, Page 627;
Motor Sport
, November 1960, Page 904.
- ^
Motor Sport
, November 1964, Pages 949, 956.
- ^
Motor Sport
, November 1964, Page 948.
- ^
For a road test of the Ford Mustang, DPK5B, which Bo Ljungfeldt drove in this event see:
Motor Sport
, December 1964, Pages 1013?1014.
- ^
Motor
, October 3, 1970, Page 70.
External links
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Africa
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Asia
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Australia
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Europe
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North America
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South America
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Hillclimbs
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