James Gordon Bennett Cup

1905
By 1905, the James Gordon Bennett Cup was the biggest race in the world. It was also its final running. The French, far and away the leaders of the global automotive industry, did not like the rules of this international race which restricted countries to but three entries. France, with more high quality automobile manufacturers than the rest of the world combined, felt this was an unfair restriction. By 1906, they introduced the Grand Prix and changed history. This folder contains comprehensive information about the last running of this classic race and highlights great European road racers such as winner Leon Thery (Richard-Brasier); Ferenc Szisz (Renault); Fernand Gabriel (De Dietrich) and George Heath (Panhard). American entries included Joe Tracy (Locomobile); Herb Lytle (Pope-Toledo) and Bert Dingley (Pope-Toledo).

Gordon Bennett Trials 1905

This content was originally published in the June 29, 1905 edition of The Automobile. Unfortunately, I did not obtain the entire feature, but the small portion that appears here is quite useful. The main article chronicled the French elimination trials for the James Gordon Bennett Cup, the world's most important auto race that year. The elimination trials were necessary because the rules for the Bennett Cup limited the participation to three entries from each nation.
Locomobile Gordon Bennett Cup

This article was originally published in the April 22, 1905 issue of The Automobile. This is a rather technical piece on the 1905 American Locomobile racer (Bridgeport, Connecticut). This is much like a modern day car review or driving impression - although the writer did not drive the car.