The San Francisco call., 1908-10-04
Simplex Car First in
"A Hour Race
One Person Killed and Five In
iured During the Auto
Contest

BRIGHTON BEACH RACETRACK. n.
Y, Oct. 3.-Amidst the widest scenes,
George Robertson, driving Simplex car
No. 6, flashed across the finish line at
the Brighton Beach racetrack at 1890
o'clock tonight, winner of the second
international "a hour automobile race
Of the Motor racing association. Harry
Cobe, driving a SO horsepower Losier
machine, was second and Montague Rob
erts, at the wheel Of a y horsepower
Thomas, was third. six cars finished.
all OF them being Americans. The for
elgn cars, two French and two Italian,
We're put out of the contest by acct
dents, as were three American cars.
The hnal score was:
No. Make Drivers Miles
6-Simplex Robertson -Lescaultl .........1,117
2-Losier tCobe- -Muford) 125
s-Ihomas (Roberts- Winter .......-.....l,1l5
ll-Allen,kingston Qahwell- Pepperday) 907
9-Cleveland Chevrolet -Afiller) ....... 623
EStearns (IaurentMarquis) ............. 515
Best previous record was 1.IO7 miles.
The struggle for second place threw
both grand stands into the widest
tumult Roberts, driving like one pos
sessed, again and again caught up with
and passed the Losier car driven by
Cobe, cutting down the latter's lead
from nine TO four miles in the twenty
third hour. But Roberts car could not
stand the strain and just as 1t seemed
as II second place was his. the moter
went wrong and he had to retire to
his camp for new rubbers.
When he returned to the track the
Losier car had improved the oppor-
tunity and the gap between the two
was eight miles At this juncture the
referee ordered the Cleveland and
Stearns cars to turn in and give the
leaders q clear field to finish the race
One dead and five injured, a half
dozen costly racing automobiles
smashed into worthless masses, speed
records for a circular track shattered
this tells the story of the great "a hour
race.
AS the nerve straining contest drew
to a close a crowd of more than 10000
persons gathered at the little race
course by the sea There was excite
ment aplenty from start to finish of the
race, for hardly an hoUr went by with
out an accident. The terrific speeu
maintained by the racers cut the SOFT
track into deep ruts,. and every now
and then the automobiles would swerye
into the low fences
There was keen disappointment this
evening when car No. g. RenauIt
driven by the team of Strang and Basle,
was put out of the race by a mishap
Almost from the start the Renault car
had been the contender for first nonors.
being on equal terms and sometimes
ahead of car No. 6, which during the
closing hours of the race was so M
more miles ahead of the other racers
With victory apparently assured by
the miShap to No. 3, LeScault, who hao
succeeded Robertson as driver of the
Simplex No. 6. slackened speed and
drove his car carefully, SO as to avoid
mishap
1t was the simplex that was respen-
sible for the death of Thomas Pickett,
the special policeman who was run
down last night as he was trying to
drive some boys off the track, and il
was impossible for the crowd to for
get this incident as the Simplex ran
along in the lead. Pickett died today
in the hospital.
In the last half of the twenty-third
hour the i'll fated Zust car, driven by
Gratjen. dashed through the outer
fence and turned turtle. Gratjens s
mechanician suffered broken leg anu
possibly internal injuries. Gratjen es-
capped with slight bruises.