New-York tribune., 1911-11-26
READY FOR ROAD RACES
Savannah'S Carnival to Start at
Daybreak Tomorrow.
GREAT FIELDS TO CONTEST
Stirring Struggles Promised Be-
tween Worlds Fastest
Sneed Creations.

,bo erst two Of the automobile road races
that will focus the attention OF the auto
mobile world at Savannah during the week
will be started Late reports from the
South Indicate that all arrangements for
Tho greatest speed carnival OF the year
have bocn completed The famous course
IN Chatham County IS smooth as board
the troops that will guard the circuit await
the call 20 duty.
Tho early contests Will serve TO introduce
the greater attractions OF the programme.
Rather than hu the course with cars that
might retard the speed OF the real myers
the Savannah Automobile Club Will let the
light machines competing for the Tlede-
mann and Savannah challenge trophies
fight II out in the carly hours. The baby
racers VII thus be saved the necessity OF
riyine way 10 their big brothers. as they
would have been obliged TO 90 had the
original ideas been followed.
After the ught cars finish their races will
come the real treat Of the day-the Wander
hit Gun race. II will be the first time that
the competition for the oldest Of American
automobile trophies has taken place away
from the plains of Long Island The aver
age New Yorker will feel resentful that the
contest mas gone such a prohibitive dis
tance from home. but the fatalities attend
ING the last renewal made such a move inn
perative There is at least the prospect,
which amounts almost 10 a certainty, that
now record Will be hung up for the clas-
tic Smooth as were the roads Of Long
Island. they cannot compare with the spe-
cially groomcd circuit that the South offers.
ON Thursday. when any flaws in the
circuit due TO to-morrow's races have
been eliminated. the Grand Prize race for
the $4,000 gold cup offered IN 1905 by the
Automobile club Of America viii be de-
cided ss p climax to the weeks sport
The Grand Prize IS the only international
automobile contest OF 1911 worthy Of the
name
This Will be the third. and not improb-
ably the last struggle for the prize, and
81 viii be contested for by field entirely
worthy Of the best traditions Of road
racing Italy, Germany and America are
represented by cars that have IN a major
ity Of cases been built especially for the
race. and the greatest Of the worlds ex-
ponents Of road racing viii pilot them.
All conditions being favorable, there is
every prospect that new worlds record
Of better than 7A97 miles an hour will be
hung up. At any rate, the existing Grand
Prize record Of 7O.55. made last year by
Bruce Brown, in a Benz car, is almost cer-
tain TO be placed in the discard
Twelve cars viii be lined up in front
of the long grandstand when Fred Wag-
ner, the official starter. gives the word for
the start Of the races at daybreak to-mor-
row. Mortimer Roberts. driving an ABB
bott Detroit, will lead off for the small
class competing for the Tiedemann Tro-
ply. az III miles. and Bruce Keene, in q
Narmon, viii show the way TO the Sa-
vannah Cup entrants when they start in
tho 222-mile run called for in that class.
Three hours should see the little cars
through their race. and an hour later, at
the most. the larger cars Of the small
classes will probably have finished. 1t is
expected that II the light cars are not
delayed I'm starting by rain or fog the
Vanderbilt Cup contestants Will be under
way by II o'clock OF shortly after that
hour
The Vanderbilt distance is POI miles, or
seventeen laps around the 1714-mile
course. Fourteen cars are entered for
the cup. Of which fve--two Mercedes and
remaining eleven are American machines.
and If the example set in the last three
years is repeated the race viii be won by
one Of these. Harry Grant, twice winner
Of the classic with an Alec. IS to lead Off,
this time plotting Lozier.
Reports from Savannah make IL appear
probable that the Vanderbilt Cup winner
viii average more than seventy miles an
hour this year. On these figures the race
should not occupy more than four hours,
and by o'clock the days races will prob
ably have ended.
The start OF the Grand Prize, which calls
for twenty-four laps Of the course, is not
likely TO be set for earlier, than 9 O'Clock
on Thanksgiving Day. There are fourteen
entries for the international contest, ard as
many Of them have shown q speed we'll
over seventy-1ve miles an hour in pr Lctice
a worlds record IS in sight. Last year
there were several sharp turns that neces-
stated slowing down, but these have all
been rounded of and banked, and experts
predict that the winner Will have 10 aver
ase at least seventy-hve miles an hour
Barring accident, the huge machines rep
resenting Benz. Of Germany. and Fiat, Of
Italy, are regarded as the most likely con-
tenders There are three OF each, all spe-
cally built for racing and IN the finest
possible condition. In motor volume they
are far ahead OF anything that America
has 10 offer, and there appears to be hardly
the slightest possibility Of a victory for a
domestic car In the two previous Grand
Prize races each Of the foreign firms scored
a victory. so that Thursdays race IS the
rubber for which each will strive 10 the
limit
The weeks racing Will bring together
nearly every great automobile driver in the
world Chief Of these are Victor Hemery
and Louis Wagner. both OF French birth,
who have competed IN nearly all the clas-
sic events Of the last six years. Hemery
comes fresh from his victory with a Fiat
IN the French Grand PriX, to drive It's
greatest rival at Savannah. He has twice
been second in the Southern contest and
has a long string Of European victories
20 his credit, including the ST. Petersburg
70 Moscow race in 1903. Wagner won the
1896 Vanderbilt Cup with a Darracq, the
hrst Grand Prize in 1903 and many other
notable contests
OF the American entrants David Bruce
Browns work will be most closely watched,
for the reason that he won the Grand Prize
a year ago. Then he won with Benz;
I'm the same race and In the Vanderbilt
Cup this year he will pilot Fiat cars. Ralph