Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-25
H|[L|ARD IS WINNER
IN LIGHT AUTO RACE
He Makes an Average of
Fifty-TW0 Miles an Hour.
DUEL between LEADERS
Two Accidents. but None Reported
Seriously Hurt.
FIFTEEN MACHINES STARTED
Crowds Witness Contests. P. o.
Car. in Saturdays Fatal Accident,
Guided Today by Connors.

SAVANNAH. Ga, November 25-
William l.. HiIlinrd Of Boston, drivins,
the Italian entry, the Lancia. today won
the first International light car rsre
ever rum in this country. He maintained
an average of approximately fifty-two
miles an hour for the entire distance Gf
106 miles.
SAVANNAH, Ga, November 2o.-F1f-
teen of the fastest little automobiles ever
set on wheels were started here today on
a race of 1876 miles for the honors OF the
first international light-car race ever held
i'm this country.
The tiny cars. with motors humming.
darted away from the starting line at
breakneck speed. and during the first
half of the race the leaders cut out pace
of fifty three miles an hour
Duel Between Leaders.
The race run under a brilliant summer
sun which followed morning of fog,
soon developed into a duel between Robert
Burman. in the Buick car, No. s. and Hil
lard. driving the Italian Lancia. No. =.
Burman jumped into the lead right after
the start and. kept gaining until the tenth
man met with a slight mishap.
The Lancia quickly shot into the lead.
From being five minutes behind in the
ninth lap the car jumped to an ADVANTAGE
of more than three minutes in the tenth.
The Chalmers. No. 10. driven by Lori
mer. was a close third when the race was
half over. The races were witnessed by
an immense throng gathered in the two
big grandstands and all along the 9.S-miie
course. The racing pathways We're kept
absolutely clear of all trespassers. and
the drivers had free way to use their ut
most speed
The people of Savannah, keyed to a high
pitch of excitement by the preliminares
and practice spins of the races. began
early to make their way to the course.
Visitors from all sections of the coun-
try. including an especially large con-
tingent which came by boat and special
trains frfom New York. are in the city and
were among the first to find places in the
two grand stands, which are said to seat
between 1900 and $1,000 people.
Fifteen Cars Start.
When the last little member of the
Maxwell mosquito fieet''-the rear guard
of the fifteen racers-had been sent away
without the semblance of a hitch any
where the crowd cheered.
The little racers after making the first
turn. could be seen speeding through the
trees down White Bluff road. Then came
a wait Of nearly four minutes for the re-
turn of the first car around the course.
1t proved to be the Lanca No. .. which
had passed the S r. o. No / four and
half miles from the start.
The second car to complete the first
lap was the Chalmers No. 3; Then came
Buick No. g. which evidently had made
up more ground than any of the other
contestants.
The Isotta and the Cameron were next
to show. followed. in turn. by Chalmers.
No. 10: Buick. No. IL, and Maxwell, No.
The first accident reported was to
Chalmers car. No. 13 which ran into a
tree after turning out of White Bluff road.
Ne one reported hurt.
The cars kept coming past the stand at
frequent intervals The crowd in the
grandstand was in a constant flutter or
excitement.
When the times of the first lap Were
announced it was found that Buick, No.
IA. driven by Easter. was in -he lead.
having made the lap i'm 11.N at a rate
averaging about fifty-tive miles an hour.
The Lancia. No. >. was second in elapsed
time. and Buick, No. II, was third.
First Accident of Race.
The Lanca led the cars by the stand Oh
the completion of the first lap, followed
closely by Buick. No. s, which had a lead
of about thirty seconds over the Italian
car in elapsed time. All the cars finished
the first lap safely except the unluc.y
Chalmers. No. 1G, which had BurlS as
driver. when it came to grief.
Three little cars came dancing down
the stretch together in the second lap.
The crowd was set in an uproar.
The Lancia and Buick. No. 8, were still
leading the procession they completed
the third lap. The Lancia, driven by Hill
lard, seemed to be just loafing along,
running well within its limit of speed.
Although 1t was led by the Buick car. No.
=. there were many VINO picked the 1tal-
ian winner.
The elapsed time of the two leaders at
the end OF the third lap was: Buick, No
s. - minutes 4S seconds: Lancia, 81 min
utes 16 seconds.
The second car to drop out of the race
was Buick. No. It, driven by Jefers 1t
left the track about two miles from the
stand. Again. happily. no one was hur.
The entire first quarter of the race was
for the lead between Burman III his
Buick and Hilliard in the Lancia- Bur
man drove into the lead at almost
jump and continued steadily to gain un-
TIL at the end Of the fifth lap, with one
fourth of the race completed. he had
lead of > minutes and % seconds--the
total elapsed time being: Buick, "a min
utes 30 seconds; Lancia, 30 minutes 50
seconds
The other cars still in good position
were at this time ranged in the follow
ing order: Buick, No IL, third: Cameron
fourth. Chalmers. No. 10. fifth: Chalmers,
No =. sixth: Isotta seventh and Maxwell,
No. 8, eighth.
Burman Passes Hilliard.
There was great excitement and cheer
ing when, at the close of the sixth lap
directly in front of the stand, Burman
drove his Buick past the Lancia and
took the actual as well as the elapsed
time lead in the race. The times at the