The San Francisco call., 1908-07-08
Two Killed in Auto
Race at Dieppe
German Drivers Win Honors in
Grand Prix Event and
american Quits

DIEPPE, July THE Grand PriX, the
blue ribbon OF the automobile world
was won today by a German, Laut-
enschlager, driving a Mercedes car
His time was hours 50 minutes 4S 40
seconds. His rate of speed was ILL.,
kilometers or 69.O5 miles an hour.
Hemery, in Benz car. was second and
Henriot, also in Benz, was third.
The German victory was not popular
but still the crowd cheered Lauten-
schlager with right good will.
There were numerous accidents and two
men were killed outright. Cissac and
his engineer, Schaub, were the VIC
tins. While finishing the final round
the tire of their machine. Panhard,
was torn off. The car was thrown on
top of the two men and they We're
horribly crushed.
A WeigeI car, driven by Harrison, an
Englishman, turned a somersault at a
dangerous point in the road near Eu
and Harrison was badly crushed. The
surgeons say his injuries are not
mortal.
When Strang turned up after the
race he explained that he had tire
trouble at every round and that finally
his cylinder was washed out.
Almost 100000 people saw German
drivers capture the automobile honors
of 1908. They got the first three
places in the Grand PriX race, while
another German cut down the Dleppe
track record by 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The race today was the most exciting
since the Grand PriX was inaugurated.
A terrific pace was set at the start
and three Frenchmen, Szisz, Thery and
Bablot and Wagner, an Italian, and
Salzer, a German, beat the lap rec
ord made last year in the first round.
In the second round NaZarro, driving
Fiat car, forged to the lead, but the
strain soon began to tell on the lead
ers. Tire trouble then developed and
a strong wind, at times reaching the
proportions of half a gale, that blew
straight in the faces of the drivers
as they came down the sea leg of
the triangular course. forced a reduc-
tion of the pace and put an end to
the hopes entertained earlier in the
day that the record of last year would
be broken.
Lautenschlager, in his Mercedes,
drove steadily and took the fourth
round when Navarro dropped back ow-
ing to a jammed clutch and he main
tanned his position to the finish
The English drivers were never
prominent from the beginning and
Strang, the American, driving a Thomas
car, after finishing the fourth round
next to the leader disappeared. After
the fourth round the Italians also
dropped back and were never in the
race. The Frenchmen, however, kept
up the struggle, but one by one the
crack drivers succumbed and left only
Thery in a Brasier, to see the fight
out. Thery is the veteran who won
the Gordon Bennett cup in 1903.
In the sixth round, however, Thery
had a tire accident and the last hope
of the French entries was gone. When
the race was about half over a stone,
thrown by a flying wheel. struck and
broke Hemery's goggles and a piece
of glass was driven into his eye. He
refused to quit and after a surgeon
had given him an injection of cocaine
to kill the pain he resumed his wheel
and continued to the end.
The other cars entered with their
drivers crossed the finish line as fol-
lows:
Bayard Clement, driven by RigaI hours
so minutes 50 seconds; Mercedes. Pegge,
1925 Opel, Joons, 7:39:40; Benz. Erbe,
7:43 81 Renault Dimitire Witch. 7:54:12: Pan
hard. Heath. 7:55 :36: German. Peppers. T:59:oS
Italia. Cagno, S:0T:56; Bsyard- Clement, Ca
briel, S:11:44 Motoblock. Courade, S:14:45; Re
nault. Caillois. S;19:57; Morse, Jenstzy, $780,
Austin. Brabazan, S42:50; Austin. Resta
s:46:50 Italia. Fournier S:47:20; Opel. Opel
9:0s: IL: Germain, De Gras. 9:1S:S4; Panhard.
Maurice Farman q:24:40