Briarcliff Preparations

The attached brief article discusses preparations for the Briarcliff, New York (Westchester County) road race of 1908. This race was eventually won by Lewis Strang in and Italian Isotta racer. The event proved to be a "one-off" as the terrain was so rugged and treacherous no one in their right mind would want to return for more abuse. Given the poor roads of the region the course preparation was an overwhelming task. To complement every other inconvenience State Engineer Frederick Skene proved to be a taskmaster, demanding that race promoters deposit $200 for every mile of the course to repair any damage inflicted on the already nearly impassable terrain that the County passed off as roadway. Already one test car had met with an accident while inspecting the course, crashing off a wooden bridge and leaving driver J.R. Ryal with a broken leg - although the report also indicates that Ryal may have already injured his leg in a previous mishap.