Chevalier René de Knyff (December 10, 1865 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium – 1954 in France) was a French

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

of car racing and later a president of ''Commission Sportive Internationale'' (''CSI''), now known as FIA. Between 1897 and 1903 he took part in 18 car races, 5 of which he won (Paris-Bordeaux 1898, Spa-Bastogne-Spa 1899, Tour de France 1899, Circuit du Sud-Ouest Pau 1899, and Nice-Marseille-Nice, 1900). He drove all the races in a

Panhard & Levassor 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#Military vehicles, Re ...

, wearing a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

cap which he always lost right after start. During his racing career, he was famous for his

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

ship and

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, and with proper consideration for wikt:fairness, fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" r ...

. For example, during the Paris-Bordeaux race in 1895, he saw his great rival Fernand Charron who was sitting on the road next to his undependable car, tired and desperate. De Knyff stopped, asked Charron if he could help him somehow, gave him a glass of

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

and encouraged him to go on, which Charron did. He was a popular figure also due to his enormous beard,

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

lifestyle (he knew where to get the best champagne, cigars and

Rhine wine German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Celts and Roman eras. Approximately 60 percent of German wine is produced in the state of Rhinela ...

), and interest in many other

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s, such as

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, and also

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. His cousin

Gaëtan De Knyff Gaëtan de Knyff, Chevalier du Saint-Empire (also ''Gaétan de Knyff''; born: 5 May 1871 in Duffel; died: 2 April 1933 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a Belgian car racer and cyclist. Gaëtan de Knyff was the son of lawyer Oscar de Knyff, Chevalier du ...

(1871-1933) was also active in cycling and car racing.

Honours

* 1881: Officier in the Order of Leopold.Handelsblad (Het) 15-05-1881

References

External links

Racing Database

* ttp://www.historicracing.com/drivers_alpha.cfm?driverID=1679&AlphaIndex=D Profile on Historic Racing 1865 births 1954 deaths French racing drivers {{France-autoracing-bio-stub Sportspeople from Antwerp Belgian emigrants to France