George Hepburn Robertson (November 22, 1884 – July 3, 1955) was an American
racecar driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...
. His father ran one of New York's first big garages and Robertson grew up surrounded by
Mors,
Panhard
Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...
s and other cars.
Career
Robertson raced a
Christie, a
Hotchkiss, and a
Simplex, as well as a
Locomobile with which he won the 1908
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, ...
. This victory was the first in the Cup by an American driver in an American car, the legendary "Old No. 16".
For the
1910 Vanderbilt Cup, he was the captain of the
Benz team but suffered arm injuries in a crash while showing a newspaper reporter the
Long Island course and was forced to retire from driving.
In 1921, he served as
Duesenberg's team manager in their victory of the
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 ...
at
Le Mans as
Jimmy Murphy drove the first American car to win a Grand Prix held in Europe.
Robertson later became vice president of the ''Motor Development Corporation'' and general manager of
Roosevelt Raceway
Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 fee ...
, host to the
George Vanderbilt-sponsored Cup in
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
and
1937.
In 1951, racing historian Russ Catlin
officially revised AAA records with championship results based on all AAA races from 1902 to 1915 and 1917 to 1919. This had the effect of changing the
1909 champion from
Bert Dingley
Albert Francis "Bert" Dingley (August 21, 1885 – April 7, 1966) was an American racecar driver. Having started his career on the West Coast by 1904, Dingley appeared in a couple of Vanderbilt Cup races and suffered serious injuries at Tacom ...
to George Robertson.
References
General references
*
External links
Arlington National Cemetery
1884 births
1955 deaths
American racing drivers
Racing drivers from New York City
AAA Championship Car drivers
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