1905 Gordon Bennett Cup

This articile was originally published in the July 20, 1905 issue of The Automobile, an industry trade newspaper. This is a 20 page (PDF) report on the running of the 1905 James Gordon Bennett Cup held in France. This was the biggest race in the world in 1904 and 1905, but destined for oblivion the following year in 1906. This was because the Gordon Bennett Cup restricted each industrialized nation to only three cars. The French auto industry, far and away the world leader in production and the number of viable car manufacturers felt discriminated against and penalized for their success. Their response was to stage a new race, the French Grand Prix, which accepted any number of entries from manufacturers. With its introduction, the Gordon Bennett Cup faded into history.
 
However, for 1905, the contest was recognized as the world's most important race. Frenchman Leon Thery became the only man to win the event twice, having also reigned triumphant in 1904. This article chronicles his success, as well as the feeble American participation and the frustration of the powerful Mercedes team, who had taken the title in 1903. The package provides many different perspectives from different vantage points on the 85.35-mile circuit as well a detailed map of the course and tables that share technical information on the cars as well as the finishing order complete with times and speed averages. This is an outstanding artifact on this subject, the associated images are just about as good as they get from a digital capture of a photocopy off microfilm.