# Paris–Bordeaux–Paris

The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris Trail race of June 1895 is sometimes called the "first motor race", although it did not fit modern competition where the fastest is the winner. It was a win for Émile Levassor, who came first after completing the 1,178km race in 48 hours, almost six hours before second place. However, the official winner was Paul Koechlin, who finished third in his Peugeot, exactly 11 hours slower than Levassor, but the official race regulations had been established for four-seater cars, while Levassor and runner-up Louis Rigoulot were driving two-seater cars.

## First race

Paris–Bordeaux–Paris is sometimes called the first motorcar race in history or the "first motor race". The 1894 Paris–Rouen had been run over public roads as a contest (concours) not a race, and the fastest finisher, a steam-powered vehicle, was judged ineligible for the main prize. Émile Levassor finished first in the 1,178 km Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race, taking 48 hours and 48 minutes, nearly six hours before the runner-up Louis Rigoulot, and eleven hours before the official winner, Paul Koechlin in his Peugeot. Officially, the race was for four-seater cars, and Levassor and Rigoulot drove two-seater cars. The ensuing outcry caused the A.C.F. to organise their next event, the 1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris, so that the fastest finisher was the winner.

## Name

The race is sometimes referred to as the I Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. This results from a retrospective political move that began in the early 1920s when French media represented many races held in France before the 1906 French Grand Prix as being Grands Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, despite their running pre-dating the formation of the Club. Hence, the 1906 race was said to have been the 9th edition of the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France. The ACF itself adopted this reasoning in 1933, although some members of the Club dismissed it, "concerned the name of the Club was lent to the fiction simply out of a childish desire to establish their Grand Prix as the oldest race in the world".

## Levassor's progress

Levassor, who drove one of his cars, a 1205 cc (74 ci) Panhard & Levassor, started carefully, observing his opponents; he overtook the then leading Marquis de Dion who stopped to take on water for his steam car. Levassor led the race since then, stopping regularly to check his car's components. He came to Bordeaux several hours before any driver was expected to come which resulted in the fact that he had to drive back to Paris as well (the driver who was his change was still asleep in a hotel, and no one knew which one). Levassor accepted the situation calmly, waking the organisers up to prove his coming and his time, had some sandwiches and champagne, took a brief walk and set off for Paris at 2:30 am. When Baron René de Knyff met him en-route, he was so surprised by Levassor's time that he nearly crashed. Levassor, after spending two days and nights behind the wheel, triumphantly reached Paris, achieving an average speed of 24.5 km/h. He said after the race: "Some 50 km before Paris I had a rather luxurious snack in a restaurant which helped me. But I feel a little tired."

## Legacy

The race proved that both the drivers and the cars were capable of such distances and it generated public enthusiasm which indicated that such events were commercially viable.

## Results
### Overall

The overall results were:
| Pos | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Émile Levassor | Panhard & Levassor | 48:48:00 | 24.54 km/h Ineligible for First prize – 2 seater |
| 2 | 15 | Louis Rigoulot | Peugeot | 54:35:00 | Ineligible for First prize – 2 seater |
| 3 | 16 | Paul Koechlin | Peugeot | 59:48:00 | Named as the winner, received the main prize. |
| 4 | 8 | Auguste Doriot | Peugeot | 59:49:00 | |
| 5 | 12 | Hans Thum | Benz / Roger | 64:30:00 | |
| 6 | 7 | Émile Mayade | Panhard & Levassor | 72:14:00 | |
| 7 | 28 | Rene de Knyff | Panhard & Levassor | 78:07:00 | |
| 8 | 13 | Émile Roger | Roger | 82:48:00 | |
| 9 | 24 | Amédée Bollée | Bollée | 90:03:00 | |

### Did not finish

Entrants who did not finish:
| Driver | No. | Car | Notes |
| André Michelin | 46 | L'Éclair | Orléans (B)/Tyre Trouble – Finished outside time limit. |
| Léon Serpollet | 20 | Gardner-Serpollet | Poitiers (B)/Broken Crank Shaft |
| Paul Thaillier | 37 | Vincke et Delmer | Angouleme |
| Hildebrand | | Wolfmuller | Angouleme |
| Charles Prévost | 6 | Panhard & Levassor | Angouleme/Broken Wheel-Disqualified |
| Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat | 3 | De Dion-Bouton | Vouvray/Broken Shaft |
| Charles Jeanteaud | 25 | Jeanteaud | Orléans/Axle Trouble |
| Millet | 42 | Millet | Orléans |
| | | Gardner-Serpollet | Versailles |
| P. Gautier | 18 | Gautier-Wehrlé | (Poss. Pierre or Charles Gautier) |
| | 26 | Rossel | |
| Unknown | 43 | Gautier-Wehrlé | (Poss. Pierre or Charles Gautier) |

### Entrants

Entrants in order of departure:
| Depart order | No. | Driver | Car | Notes |
| 1 | 15 | Louis Rigoulot | Peugeot | petrol |
| 2 | 3 | Comte de Chasseloup Laubat | De Dion-Bouton | steam |
| 3 | 8 | Auguste Doriot | Peugeot | petrol |
| 4 | 35 | | Vacheron | petrol – Did not finish |
| 5 | 12 | Hans Thum | Benz – Roger | petrol |
| 6 | 5 | Émile Levassor | Panhard et Levassor | petrol |
| 7 | 19 | | Lebrun et Duval | petrol – Did not finish |
| 8 | 24 | Amédée Bollée | Bollée | steam |
| 9 | 27 | | Bogard | electric – Did not finish |
| 10 | 32 | | Lepape | petrol – Did not finish |
| 11 | 16 | A. Koechlin | Panhard et Levassor | petrol |
| 12 | 6 | Prévost | Peugeot | petrol |
| 13 | 22 | | Compagnie des moteurs légers | petrol – Did not finish |
| 14 | 10 | | Decauville | steam – Did not finish |
| 15 | 20 | Leon Serpollet | Serpollet | steam |
| 16 | 21 | | Serpollet | steam |
| 17 | 43 | | Gautier–Wehrlé | steam |
| 18 | 18 | P. Gautier | Gautier (motorcar) | petrol |
| 19 | 7 | Émile Mayade | Panhard et Levassor | petrol |
| 20 | 13 | Émile Roger | Roger | petrol |
| 21 | 46 | André Michelin | L'Éclair of Michelin | petrol – Did not finish |
| 22 | 25 | Charles Jeanteaud | Jeantaud | electric |
| 23 | 1 | Jules-Albert de Dion | De Dion-Bouton 20 HP | steam |
| 24 | 37 | Fréderic (Paul Thaillier) | Vincke | petrol |
| 25 | 28 | | Panhard et Levassor | petrol |
| 26 | 40 | | Delannoy | petrol – Did not finish |
| 27 | 14 | | Ducan et Suberbie | steam – Cycle |
| 28 | 37 | | Millet | petrol – Cycle – Did not finish |
| 29 | 28 | Boulanger | Briest | petrol – Cycle – Did not finish |
| 30 | 42 | | Marc Létang | steam – Cycle |