New-York tribune., 1905-02-06
HOW AUTO" Marks FELL
Ne1C Time Set at OrmOnd from KiIO-
metre to Hundred Miles.

The automobile tournament the Ormond-Day-
tona Beach resulted in records from the kiio-
metre TO one hundred miles. H. L. Bowden covered
the mile on Tuesday in O:32 49, but despite the
automatc timing apparatus and the stop watch
1t Will not stand official record According 20
the rules of the American Automobile Association.
under whose auspices the car entered. ma
chine must not weigh than 2,204 pounds. Mr..
Bowden's automobile much than this
weight. and therefore his time win not stand Of
fetal 1t was however. the fastest mile ever made
by a motor vehicle. and Mr. Bowden rest con-
tent with that His car went by the crowd like a
cannon shot. So fast did he travel that he
ignorant himself when he passed the finishing line,
and the car went for distance before being
brought to a stop In this mile he covered the
kometre in 0:20 80. The official record is O21 2-5
made by Baras last year. Mr.. Bowden's machine
was built at his home by four of his machnists
1t is fitted with two sixty Mercedes engines of 60
horsepower each and has eight cylinders.
Arthur z. Macdonald probably the next
most conspicuous figure. In the time trials for one
mile he covered the distance in a 9O-horsepower
Napier machine IN "a 3-5 seconds. and this time will
go down official The old time 80 seconds.
made by William <. Vanderbilt IT., last year. In
the same machine this young Scotchman did the
five miles in 3I7, thus breaking the former record
Of William X. Vanderbilt, jr made last year, Of
1881 1-5. The ten and twenty mile records also go
to him. The ten miles he covered In 6:l5 break
ing Mr.. Vanderbits record Of $50, and the twenty
in 1928 against the 1902 or Mr.. Vanderbilt
H. W. Fletcher. In the S0-horsepower De Dietrich,
the same car in which Gabriel intended to do SO
much in the Vanderbilt Cup race on Long Island.
now owned by o. F. Thomas, in the fifty
mile handicap for the Florida East Coast Chal-
lenge Cup cut down Mr. Vanderbilts record of
40:49 40 TO 1851 Mr. Vanderbilt made his time in
a race in which there controls. Mr..
Fletcher brought himself into the public eye by
winning the 10Omie contest for the Vanderbilt Cup
in 1924. The run without any controls. ac-
cording to Mr.. Vanderbilts wishes. There was no
beach record for the distance. but the American
road record for the distance was 2:520s. made oy
Emil Voght Long Island IN April. 1902
Before the tournament began Fletcher was a
driver known by few and without experience. In
the ffty-rnile handicap he started from scratch.
and his handicap kept him from getting first place.
In both the long contests he proved himself a
capable driver. with the recklessness and daring
that an automobilist must have to win
Several thousand more spectators went South to
see the races than in the last year. Incompetent
manag cement by several of the officials carried the
tournament on for two days longer than necessary.
The races were often not run when they should
have been and the shifting Of starts between Day
tona and Ormond unfortunate.
Last year the tournament was for three days.
Part Of the time there was rain which delayed the
contests somewhat yet on the third evening there
was nothing left save the time trials. These were
ished on Saturday night. w. J. Morgan. who pro-
vided the first tournament on the beach, and
whose efforts have helped make the course the
most famous in the world had full charge Of the
previous affairs. He chose the Otf1claIS and got
the entries. and everything was run off smoothly
and without delay, save that caused by the wealth
er. This year he arranged about getting the en-
tries, got most of the prizes and appointed com
petent officials. His plans were changed by the
Florida East Coast Automobile Association. under
the auspices OF which the tournament was held, and
the American Automobile Association. new or
ganzation has been formed. which will be known
as the Ormond Racing Association. This viii run
off q tournament next year, and w. J. Morgan
viii again have control.
cars had to be withdrawn from th9 tournament
before making an ot1claI SHOWING IN practice
automobilists here declare that the home manu-
facturers ship their without first giving them
4 proper trial There is one American how
ever, the work, of which will be remembered for
long This is the Tea Kettle the freak steam
made by Louis L. Ross. This car cut down
the klOmetre record for steam to 024 10; the
old record OF 2-5. held by lie BlOn. He made
the mile in SS seconds. The fastest steam record
was 81 40 made by Ross at Providence.