The 1908 French Grand Prix was a

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motor race held at

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

on 7 July 1908.

Formula Changes

The race was run under a new formula agreed in Ostend in 1907. There was no fuel consumption limit, but the cars had a minimum weight of 1100 kilograms, and a maximum cylinder bore of 155 millimetres. This formula differed from the regulations in place for the American

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...

series, which discouraged American manufacturers from entering the race. Lewis Strang drove the single American entrant, the

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Flyer. D. Napier & Son cars were disqualified from the race due to their use of

Rudge-Whitworth Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pug ...

center locking hubs, which the organizers believed were unsafe.

The Race

Christian Lautenschlager Mercedes 1908 French Grand Prix

Christian Lautenschlager won the race in his Mercedes finishing nearly nine minutes ahead of

Victor Hémery Victor Hémery (18 November 1876 – 9 September 1950) was a champion French racecar driver of the early Grand Prix motor racing era. Life and career He was born in Sillé-le-Guillaume, Sarthe, France. In 1904 he joined Automobiles Darracq Fra ...

's Benz. Lautenschlager's average speed for the race was . Otto Salzer set fastest lap in his Mercedes, with an average speed of over . The race was notable for tragic reasons. Henri Cissac's car lost a tyre and rolled, killing Cissac and Jules Schaube, his riding mechanic. This was the first fatal accident in Grand Prix history.

Classification

References

French Grand Prix French 1908 in French motorsport {{Motorsport-stub