Victor Théodore Eugène Hémery (18 November 1876 – 9 September 1950) was a French

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He was the winner of the

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, New York, Nass ...

in 1905.

Life and career

Hémery was born in

Sillé-le-Guillaume Sillé-le-Guillaume () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France, named after Guillaume de Sillé. In the fifteenth century the lord of the manor was Sir John Fastolf of Caister in Norfolk ...

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1904 he joined

Automobiles Darracq France Automobiles Darracq France was a manufacturer of motor vehicles and aero engines in Suresnes, near Paris. The enterprise, known at first as A Darracq et Cie, was founded in 1896 by successful businessman Alexandre Darracq. In 1902 he sold his n ...

as their chief tester and helped prepare cars to compete in that year's Gordon Bennett Cup. He drove a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Opel-Darracq to victory at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Bahrenfeld is a western quarter of the city of Hamburg in Germany, it is subject to the district/borough ''Bezirk Altona'' and was an independent settlement until 1890. It is home to DESY and the Barclays Arena. In 2023 the population was 31,438. Histor ...

. 1905 was one of the most successful years of Hémery's career. In August 1905, he drove a Darracq to victory in Circuit des Ardennes at

Bastogne Bastogne (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardi ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. That October, he won the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, beating

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 ...

Louis Chevrolet Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was an American racing driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet, Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. Early life Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born on December 2 ...

, and

Ferenc Szisz Ferenc Szisz (September 20, 1873 – February 21, 1944), was a Hungarian racing driver and the winner of the first Grand Prix motor racing event on a Renault AK 90CV on 26 June, 1906. Early life Szisz was born in the small town of Szeghalom ...

. On 30 December 1905 Hémery set a

land speed record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

of in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, France, driving a Darracq. Hémery left Darracq to join Benz & Cie. in 1907. In 1908, he won the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

race, and finished second in the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), 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 Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

. He scored another second-place finish behind Louis Wagner at the 1908 American Grand Prize in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. On 8 November 1909, Hémery set another new speed record at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

of driving the famous "

Blitzen Benz The Blitzen Benz is a race car built by Benz & Cie in Mannheim, Germany, in 1909. In 1910 an enhanced model broke the world land speed record. It was one of six cars based on the Grand Prix car, but it had an enlarged engine, , capacity with , i ...

" (

for "Lightning Benz"). In

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

, his Benz team finished 1–2 at the American Grand Prize, just 1.42 seconds behind winner David Bruce-Brown, the closest Grand Prize to date at the time. In 1911, Hémery won the

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

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

in a FIAT S61. Hémery died at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, on 9 September 1950, aged 73 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemery, Victor 1876 births 1950 deaths French racing drivers Land speed record people Grand Prix drivers