New-York tribune., 1909-08-01
WINS TWENTY-FOUR-HO
AUTO RACE.
Vanderbilt Cup Winner Ddshes OUer
Line in Sim pier in Stirring Con-
test at Brighton Beach.
FINAL SCORE IN 24-HouR AUTO RACE.

Robertson driver. October g. 1905
George Robertson winner Of the last Vanderbilt
cup rsce, added snothe. sictory 10 his long list
last night by dashng The line at the Brighton
Beach motordrome, winner Of the first twenty
four hour automobile race of the year Robertson
covered L0sl miles in his big Simplex car an
average speed of over IS miles an hour The
Rainier car finished second. with OF miles and
the others followed in this order Palmer and
Singer. with sss miles; stearns with sls miles
and the Lozier, with ss5 miles
NithShe dropping of thu shades Of night came
the tribes OF interested spectators that always
their best endeavors in the shouting liIe until the
end Of & race draws near. Many OF the most
strident notes of applause We're from persons Eho
had bravee rides in crowded elevated trains
Others. more fortunate. but not more vitality in
terested in the progress of the end the ult
mate result OF the contest rode gayiy into the in
Closure in automobile Flags few rom these
machines; IN bright colors stood while ;hey
encouraged their fsyorites victory. and the men
not content with shouting their excitement. looted
auto horns. thereby adding greatly to The ain.
Brighton Beach last right. WAS like Broadway
after a big election.
The grandstand MAS crowded The broal brick
walk front of the stand was packed. Open places
there were none, except such as were made ia the
horizon by the csreening. smoke tralled cars
The course well lighted, which threw the
grandstand into darkness. In it was The sleep
less mass OF humanity from which issued sound
each time the speeding autos flashed by that re-
ssmbled grOsn from some weird cavern. The
running close together as rule, so each
traction minute would bring the combina-
ton of the gattling gun rumble of the cars and
the rising cheerc Of the spectators There would
be cluster of smoke clouds left behind the ma
chimes that resemhIed the burning of haystacks
The exhaust from the high powered engines made
the noise of battle.
Drivers wore white streamers from the tops of
their tight fitting hoods. They looked like men Of
iron as they whisked by, glancing neither TO the
right left. In some way their costumes. under
the sreenish-yelow lights, seemed of glistening
mail To an imaginative man they resembled cru
saSers dashing again TO Jerusalem in glittering
arInor. but, alas, in modern vehicles and
spirited chargers.
Frequent sprints during the early morning hours
OF the and ia the afternoon kept the big
crowd that was always in attendance in a frenzy
OF excitement II apparent that. owing 10 the
poor condition Of the track. especially at the up
per turn. the previous record. made last year,
Of LII miles could not be broken. and the
contest went on the leaders time fell further away
from the old mark.
II the purpose OF the management make
the continuous one, without any stop TO re-
pair the track. done at previous twenty
four-hour track contests. but there many
complaints from the drivers that it was finally
decided to take the of Tor hour at 8 O'Clock
in the afternoon that the track could be made
safer
The greatest excitement of the morning hours
came when the Fiat car. which had led from the
start was stopped FOR a loosened bolt the begin
ming sf series Of mechanical troubles that finally
resulted in the machine being Withdrawn
The Haynes car. that had been undergoing re
pairs for some hours, compelled retire dur
ing the fifteenth hour. owing 10 the breaking of a
crank shaft. while the Acme car which expert
enced good deal Of trouble from The start. was
Withdrawn during the twenty-irst hour with
! broken frame
John Marquis, the driver Of the stearns car who
was hurt by the overturnng Of the machine in the
third hour, was able 10 he about the track during
the DAY.
Considering the bad condition Of the track the
fact that the race was freer from accidents than
any similar race record was regarded as re-
msTkable- The track was bumpy. and. despite all
me care bestowed upon IL, there danger spots
at many places, particularly on the upper turn \
street had been cut here when il was iuten led 10
make tie track property building lots and the
TeInaking "f the course mere had not been done
lone enough 20 insure perfect surface.
IL WAS at this turn that Marquis met with his
accident, the only one during the that at
al serious. one good feature was the absence OF
Sbs board fence that has proved such death trap
tn many previous track contests one contestant
in preliminary through the canvas
fence thai had been substituted. and was prac-
tically unhwt. This gave confidence 20 The drivers.
who felt that With the dangerous boards out of
the way, they could take chances on the badly
Up turns.
Three ~ the eight that started we're com
PEELED to leave the before the finish and in
two cases mechanical troubles attributable Ia the
poor track responsible. The Fiat com
pletely wrecked in its accident. ana this un-
doubtedly due the attempt Of Marquis TO take
The bad upper at full speed. This served
warning 10 the other drivers who treated the place
with great respect FOR the rest of the
George Robertson, winner OF the race, disap-
pointed At his inability TO beat the record made by
asst Was Df .
hardest races ever drove in" said the Vanderbilt
cup winner after the contest 4 had perfect con-
fdenoe in the car. and thought ! would break nv
record but the condition Of the track made
that. impossible j contented myself with takng
what seemed 10 ne safe lead, and simply tried
keep my advantage after that 7 am sorry the
record not broken, but only hope for bet
fortune and better track time"
Despite the big crowd that had turnAd cut on
Friday and during the afternoon. fresh streams
kept pouring In all evening There is something
vipid about The fascination Of the whirl of the
speeding cars by night that is lacking IN oiher
forms OF automobile racing The crashing lark +
the exploding cylinders. the constant motion the
squirting blue flame from the open exhaust valves
as the dark spots sre passed. all contribute lines
20 a picture that is unique
To the devotee OF twenty-four- hour race. with
its lnomentary thrills. lie great road races. like
those OF Long Island and Savannah. have sAen't :
tame in comparison There one car fias b. a siv'n n
spot once every Few minutes and he panoramic
e0scs is lost. unless seeks balloon for ones
observation point. Al Brighton il ,lifeTeI5.
There a car goes by every few seconds. AMI tho
whole picture is spread ollt before :ne eyes oi
every spectator.
Crosse Al the wheel Of the stearns car. who had
beer driven from the track for hours during The
dsy. did acrne remarkable driving after the race
resumed O'Clock. Seemingly Determined
&c make up many CT his lost miles ; possible
although knowing that his chance for victory ~as