Victor Rigal (22 September 1879 – June 1941) was a French racing driver.

Biography

He began his career in motorsport at the Critérium des Coeurs in 1898, on a

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, ...

made by

De Dion-Bouton De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Steam cars T ...

. He won the Levassor Prize for Motorcycles in 1901, and obtained the record of the kilometre in the same year at 33 seconds, at nearly 110 km/h in Achères, thanks to a twin-cylinder engine from

Buchet Buchet () was a French motorcycle and automobile manufacturer between 1911 and 1930. Origins Société Buchet was founded in 1888 at Levallois-Perret as a producer of lamps. In 1899 Élie-Victor Buchet began to manufacture engines for auto-mak ...

. In 1902, he won the kilometre-long Deauville category for motorcycles at almost 125 km/h, still with the Buchet engine (32CV 4.3L), with the same vehicle still allowing him in November to reach more than 124 km/h in the Parisian region on another kilometer, accomplished in 29 seconds. He then took part in the Paris-Madrid Motor Race in 1903, on a Mors type Z. In 1906, he finished fourth in the Targa Florio in an

Itala Itala was a car manufacturer based in Turin, Italy, from 1904 to 1934, started by Matteo Ceirano and five partners in 1903. Ceirano family background The Ceirano brothers, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni, Ernesto and Matteo, were influential in the ...

35/40HP, becoming one of the official Werner drivers on tri-cars. He then returned to participate in the Italian event the following year on a

Berliet Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'ad ...

, and in 1907 was hired by

Darracq Motor Engineering Company Darracq Motor Engineering Company Limited was a London importer, retailer and wholesaler of French-made Darracq and Talbot automobiles, a coachbuilder making regular production runs of bodies for S T D group products and a property holding compa ...

. In 1908, he won in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

the coast races of both Pont de Bainethun and Porte Gayole, on a

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 ...

on the same day. He finished 3rd in the 1912

Grand Prix de France 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 Champions ...

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 Newha ...

on a

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...

, winning the Coupe l'Auto category 3 Litre. He came 4th in 1908 on a Clément-Bayard, 5th in 1907 on a Darracq, and 7th in 1914 on a

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

EX5. He also participated in the Grand Prix of the United States in 1908, where he finished 7th and obtained places of esteem at the Cup of Carts where he is often registered. In 1922, he won the Côte de Poix (near

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

) on a

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 ...

20HP, then that of Saint-Martin (Boulogne-sur-Mer) the following year with the same car, while during the same time Louis Rigal started his own course in motorsport. One of Victor's final races was in 1929 at the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

in an Alfa Romeo. In 1924, Victor Rigal was appointed the Commissioner General of the Capital Rally of Deauville, organized by the ACO. In the field of aviation, Victor Rigal was the owner of a Voisin-Antoinette

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

in the late 1900s, which he announced at the

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

meeting. He then flew on Sommer-Gnome biplanes in 1910 which belonged to him too.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigal, Victor 1879 births 1941 deaths Racing drivers from Paris French racing drivers French military personnel of World War I