page_title: Paris–Rouen (motor race)
section_title: 1894 – Paris to Rouen
hierarchical_section_title: Paris–Rouen (motor race) / 1894 – Paris to Rouen
caption_attribution_description: English: 1894 Paris-Rouen event. Serpollet Steamer No 44 - DNF. Leon Serpollet is 3rd from left.
context_page_description: Paris–Rouen, Le Petit Journal Horseless Carriages Contest, was a pioneering city-to-city motoring competition in 1894 which is sometimes described as the world's first competitive motor race.
  The contest was organised by the newspaper Le Petit Journal and run from Paris to Rouen in France on 22 July 1894. It was preceded by four days of vehicle exhibition and qualifying events that created great crowds and excitement. The eight 50 km qualifying events started near the Bois de Boulogne and comprised interwoven routes around Paris to select the entrants for the main 126 km event.
  The first driver across the finishing line at Rouen was "le Comte de Dion" but he did not win the main prize because his steam vehicle needed a stoker and was thus ineligible. The fastest petrol powered car was a 3 hp Peugeot driven by Albert Lemaître. The premier prize, the 5,000 franc Prix du Petit Journal, for 'the competitor whose car comes closest to the ideal' was shared equally by manufacturers Panhard et Levassor and Les fils de Peugeot frères, with vehicles that were 'easy to use'.
caption: 1894 Paris-Rouen Serpollet Steamer No 44 DNF (Leon Serpollet is 3rd from left)
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