ACA, MCA & International Rules

Attachment RacingRules112809 contains an article originally published in the November 28, 1909, Indianapolis Star. The article discusses the activities of American-based automobile organizations to feed input into the upcoming December 7, 1909, International Conference of Automobile Clubs to be held in Paris, France.
 
This underscores the cumbersome organization of American interests with, as an understanding reached after the destructive 1908 battle for control of auto racing governance, the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Automobile Club of America (ACA) agreed to a compromise. The ACA would manage all events deemed "international" (basically the American Grand Prize) and the AAA would oversee all "national" events (pretty much everything else).
 
The settlement between the rival clubs would in the long term insure that the ACA faded into irrelevance, in the near term they held an ace in their hand. That was their role in giving American interests a voice in international governance. This article reports that the ACA delegate to the Paris meeting, William S. Hogan, was prepared to carry with him the recommendations of the Manufacturer's Contest Association (MCA) recommendations concerning race car regulations.
 
Earlier in 1909, the AAA reached an agreement with the American automotive industry to establish the MCA. This organization was composed of American auto makers and they wanted to define the formula of racing cars to control the costs of producing them. The MCA was effectively defining the classes of race cars used in American competition and they wanted greater influence in decisions made on the international scale.
 
According to the article, the MCA's recommendations boiled down to two primary points.

• All race cars should have stock chassis.
• There should be five classes of cars based on engine capacity and minimum weight:

1. Class 1, 160 cubic inches or less, 1,200 pounds or more.
2. Class 2, 161 to 230 cubic inches, 1,500 pounds or more.
3. Class 3, 231 to 300 cubic inches, 1,800 pounds or more.
4. Class 4, 301 to 450 cubic inches, 2,100 pounds or more.
5. Class 5, 451 to 600 cubic inches, 2,400 pounds or more.
6. Class 6, 601 cubic inches or more, 2,600 pounds or more.

 
Another article on the same subject appeared in the Indianapolis News (Attachment AutoNews112309) on November 23. Note that it leads with the assertion that the ACA was the officially recognized representative of America internationally. A meeting of all such organization from industrialized nations was planned in Paris on December 7. Their delegate to the meeting was William S. Hogan. The article reports that this occasion was the first time American manufacturers had provided input to the international congress.