1903 in Sports - Motor Racing

Motor Racing

Paris-Madrid Trail

  • The Paris-Madrid Trail is run on 24 May with a scheduled distance of 1014 km. It is a disastrous event which causes at least eight deaths including those of drivers Marcel Renault and Claude Barrow. The race is stopped by the authorities at Bordeaux. It is in retrospect sometimes referred to as the VIII Grand Prix de l'ACF. Fernand Gabriel (France) is the first to reach Bordeaux in his Mors.
  • Road racing is banned as a result and the legacy of the event is the introduction of circuits, the first being opened at Le Mans in 1906 for the inaugural French Grand Prix, organised by the Automobile Club de France (ACF).

Gordon Bennett Cup

  • Fourth running of the Gordon Bennett Cup takes place in Ireland due to road racing being illegal in Great Britain, the scheduled host. The location is the roads around Athy, County Kildare, and the winner is Camille Jenatzy (Belgium) driving a Mercedes
  • It is at the 1903 Gordon Bennett cup that international racing colours are formally adopted with Italy taking red, Germany white, France blue and Great Britain taking its British racing green (BRG) for the first time. The British choice of green is partly due to the event being held in Ireland, which at the time is part of the UK, and to precedent as the winning Napier of 1902 had been painted olive green.

Ardennes Circuit

  • Second running of the Ardennes Circuit race around Bastogne is won by Pierre de Crawhez driving a Panhard-Levassor 70 hp in a time of 5:52:07. The total distance is 512.05 km (85.34 km x 6 laps).

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