Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-10
Is
WINNER Of
MOTOR EVENT
Erwin Bergdoll in Philadel-
phia Race Makes Better
( Than Mile a Minute for
Two Hundred Miles.

Philadelphia. Pa, Oct. 9.-In one Of
the greatest road races even seen in
this section, Erwin Bergdoll, Phil
adelphia amateur driver, won the
Quaker City Motor clubs two hundred
and two and q half mile automobile
race with ninety horsepower Benz
car in Fairmont park this afternoon.
His time was three, hours, eighteen
minutes and forty one seconds. Wish
art, In Mercedes, was second, time
three hours, twenty minutes, eleven
seconds. Ralph Mulford was third in
three hours, twenty-one minutes and
fifty-two seconds. Len Zengle, who
won the race last year in a Chadwick,
finished fourth in National.
His time was three hours, twenty
five minutes, and f1fty-nine seconds.
Bergdoll drove q wonderful race. He
not only lowered the record for the
course which was 3:29:07, made last
year but he twice lowered today the
record for the lap His best time was,
1928, for the 81 1-10 miles. The best
previous time, was made by Ray Har-
roun last year in Marmon when he
covered the distance in 1888. There
were no accidents and great crowd
of people saw the race.
Sixteen Cars Start Race.
Sixteen cars entered in the fourth
annual road race of the Quaker City
motor club got away at IL o'clock to-
day for the 202 1a mile grind over the
8 1-1O course in Fairmount park. The
first car sent of by G. Hilton Gantert,
the starter was National guided by
Len Zengle, who won the race last
year in a Chadwick machine In hours,
20 minutes and 1888 seconds.
The weather was perfect and the
police estimated that half million
people were grouped around the
twenty seconds after Zengle shot
away, Ralph Mulford Iii a Lozier was
given the word and he was followed
IN twenty seconds BY Charles Basle in
q Cole. Then the other cars followed
at twenty second intervals.
Zengle was the first around the
course in ISL seconds. He was closely
followed by Milford. The record for
the lilo is 1888 seconds. Erwin
Bergdoll came around in 7.34, 9 new
record
Bergdail's Record Laps.
Not content with breaking the
course figures in the first lap the dare
devil Bergdoll, who is philadelphia
amateur driver, running a ninety
horsepower Benz came around on Inc
second lap with another new record
Z minutes and 28 seconds.
At the end Of the fifth lap, or one
fifth OF the race, Bergdoll was leading
his time was thirty y-eight minutes
nineteen seconds. Wishart in Mer-
cedes was second, thirty-nine minutes
and nineteen seconds and Mulford IN
Lozier, third thirty-rine minutes and
thirty seconds. UP to that time there
was little trouble among the cars, ex-
cept that OF Fred Betz, in a Fiat, which
had spark plug trouble.
AS the cars spun around the course
Bergdoll continued to be the sen
sensation OF the race. He passed car
after car and on the seventh lap equal
led the new record he made on the sec
ond lap 1928. His time for the 567s
miles was 1890 averaging sixty-five
miles an hour.
The finish of the tenth lap found
Bergdoll in his Benz still showing the
way. His time for the eighty-six miles
1854. He was then five minutes
thirty-eight seconds ahead OF last
years time for ten laps.
Second, Mulford in a Lozier, time
7S:48: Wishart in a Mercedes was
third time 1887 and Grant, the twice
Vanderbilt cup winner, was fourth In
81.13