Albert Clément (July 7, 1883 – died 17 May 1907,

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime 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 ...

) was a French motor racing driver. In 1904 he won the ''II Ardennes Cup'' race and finished third in the ''III Ardennes Cup'' race at

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogn ...

. He also finished second in the Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island. In

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

he finished third in the inaugural

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

and 4th in the Vanderbilt Cup. All his driving was in the

Clément-Bayard Clément-Bayard, Bayard-Clément, was a French manufacturer of automobiles, aeroplanes and airships founded in 1903 by entrepreneur Gustave Adolphe Clément. Clément obtained consent from the Conseil d'Etat to change his name to that of his b ...

factory team that was owned by his father

Adolphe Clément-Bayard Gustave Adolphe Clément, from 1909 Clément-Bayard (22 September 1855 – 10 March 1928), was a French entrepreneur. An orphan who became a blacksmith and a '' Compagnon du Tour de France'', he went on to race and manufacture bicycles, pneumati ...

. Albert Clément died during practice for the 1907 French Grand Prix at Dieppe whereupon his father lost interest in motor racing. The Clément-Bayard team was withdrawn at the end of 1908.

Family life

Albert was the eldest of

Adolphe Clément ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...

and Céleste Angèle Roguet's four children, Albert, Angèle, Jeanne and Maurice. Angèle (1880–1972) was widowed from Albert Dumont, a director at the family's factory, then remarried Numa Joseph Edouard "Petit" Sasias with whom she had one son. Jeanne divorced

Fernand Charron Fernand Charron (30 May 1866, in Angers – 13 August 1928, in Maisons-Laffitte) was a French Innovator, pioneer of motor racing and automobile manufacturing. He started his sporting career as a successful cycle sport, cyclist. In 1891 he won the ...

, racing driver and manager of the plant at Levallois-Perret. Maurice married Renée Hammond and had three children Andrée, Jacqueline and Albert (who was nicknamed "Billy" to avoid confusion and memories of his uncle Albert). In the year after Albert's death his father changed the family name to Clément-Bayard to emulate the ''Clément-Bayard'' automobile brand. It honoured the

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (c. 1476 – 30 April 1524) was a French knight and military leader at the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his ...

who saved the town of Mézières from an Imperial army during the

Siege of Mézières The siege of Mézières took place in 1521, during the Italian War of 1521–1526. The town (now part of Charleville-Mézières) was besieged by an army of the Holy Roman Empire. Mézières was defended by French troops under the command of Pierre ...

in 1521.Nos belles anciennes – Clément-Bayard, Profile of Gustave Adolphe Clément

Motor racing

Clément-Bayard started building automobiles in 1903 and then started building racing cars in 1904. The racing team included Albert Clément among others.

1904 season

Clément finished 10th at the ''I Eliminatoires Françaises de la Coupe Internationale'', held at the

Forest of Argonne The Forest of Argonne () is a long strip of mountainous and wild woodland in northeastern France, approximately east of Paris. The forest measures roughly long and wide filled with many small hills and deep valleys formed by water run-off fro ...

on 20 May 1904. This was a qualifying contest for the French entry into the ''Coupe Internationale'' (''Gordon Bennett Race'') where only three cars were allowed per country. Clement finished the 6 lap, 532.79 km event in 7 hours 10 minutes 52.8 seconds. Clément won the ''II Circuit des Ardennes des Voiturettes'' on 24 July 1904 at

. He completed the 5 lap 240.010 km race in 4h 26m 52.6seconds at an average speed of 53.91 km/h in an 18Hp Clement -(Bayard?) (car no 5). He also set the fastest lap of the race at 45 minutes 2 seconds (63.89 km/h). Clément drove his Clement-Bayard into third place at the ''III Circuit des Ardennes'' race at Bastogne, on 25 July 1904. He completed the 5 lap, 591.255 km event in 6 hours 34 minutes 43.2 seconds. Clément finished second at the 1904 ''I.W.K. Vanderbilt Cup Race'' on Long Island on 8 October 1904. He led during the eighth lap of the ten lap race and finished the 457.686 km event in 5 hours 28 minutes 13 seconds.

1905 season

Clément retired his Clement-Bayard with overheating after 1 lap of the ''II Eliminatoires Françaises de la Coupe Internationale'' at the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

on 16 June. This was a qualifier for the ''Coupe Internationale'' (''Gordon Bennett Race''). At the 1905 Vanderbilt cup on Long Island Clément drove an 80-hp Clément-Bayard (France #12) but suffered reliability problems. Clément retired his Clement-Bayard after the first 166 km lap of the ''II Coppa Florio'' at

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

Italy on 4 September 1905.

1906 season

Clément-Bayard entered 3 cars for the

1906 French Grand Prix The 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, commonly known as the 1906 French Grand Prix, was a motor race held on 26 and 27 June 1906, on closed public roads outside the city of Le Mans. The Grand Prix was organised by the Automobile C ...

at Le Mans where Clément finished third in his 100Hp machine. He completed the 1,238 km event in 12 hours 49 minutes 46.2seconds. Clément lead the race at the end of laps 2 and 5 on the second day. Punctures were common and tyre manufacturer Michelin introduced a detachable rim with a tyre already affixed, which could be swapped in about 4 minutes car after a puncture, saving 11 minutes over manually replacing the tyre. These wheels were used by

Felice Nazzaro Felice Nazzaro (4 December 1881 – 21 March 1940) was an Italian racecar driver, a native of Turin. He won the Kaiserpreis in 1907 as well as the French Grand Prix in 1907 and 1922 and Targa Florio in 1907, and 1913. His European wins in 1907 r ...

on his FIAT enabling him to wrest second place from Clément on the second day. His father Adolphe was the owner of Dunlop France. Clément finished 6th in the ''V Circuit des Ardennes'' on 13 August 1906 at Bastogne. He completed the 7 lap 961 km race in 6 hours 2 minutes 55.2 seconds in a 100Hp Clement-Bayard. At the 1906 Vanderbilt cup Clément finished 4th driving a Clément-Bayard (France #15) and completing the ten laps averaging .

1907 season

Albert Clément died while practising for the 1907 French Grand Prix on 17 May. Of the 3 other Clément-Bayard entries, Pierre Garcet and Elliott Shepard, finished 7th and eighth respectively. Clément's car was entered by 'Alezy' who retired after 4 laps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Albert 1883 births 1907 deaths French racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France Sportspeople from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime