page_title: Pierre Giffard
section_title: Paris–Rouen, world's first motorcar race
hierarchical_section_title: Pierre Giffard / Events organiser / Paris–Rouen, world's first motorcar race
caption_attribution_description: English: #65 Albert Lemaître in Peugeot 3hp at 1894 Paris-Rouen race (2nd place) but judged the official winner. Adolphe Clément is the front seat passenger.
context_page_description: Pierre Giffard was a French journalist, a pioneer of modern political reporting, a newspaper publisher and a prolific sports organiser. In 1892, he was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur and in 1900 he was appointed an Officier of the Légion d'Honneur.
  Parisian newspapers used sporting events as circulation aids, and Giffard created the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race in 1891, the 380 kilometre Paris–Belfort running race in 1892, the world's first car race from Paris to Rouen in 1894, the Paris marathon in 1896, and a foot-race from Bordeaux to Paris in 1903.
  Giffard served as the editor of Le Petit Journal and then the sports daily Le Vélo, where his passionate support for Alfred Dreyfus and thus his opposition to the car-maker Comte Jules-Albert de Dion over the whole Dreyfus affair led de Dion to create a rival daily, L'Auto, which in turn created the Tour de France cycle race.
context_section_description: In 1894, when Giffard was editor in chief of newspaper Le Petit Journal, he organised what is considered to be the world's first car race from Paris to Rouen, sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. The paper promoted it as a Competition for Horeseless Carriages (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux) that were not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey. Thus it blurred the distinctions between a reliability trial, a general event and a race, but the main prize was for the first across the finish line in Rouen. 102 people paid the 10 franc entrance fee.
  On 22 July 1894, 69 cars started the 50 km selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 127 km race from Paris to Rouen. The entrants ranged from serious manufacturers like Peugeot, Panhard or De Dion to amateur owners, and only 25 were selected for the main race.
  The race started from Porte Maillot and went through the Bois de Boulogne. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of 19 km/h. He finished 3’30" ahead of Albert Lemaître (Peugeot), followed by Doriot (Peugeot) at 16’30", René Panhard (Panhard) at 33’30’’ and Émile Levassor (Panhard) at 55’30”. The official winners were Peugeot and Panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics, and De Dion's steam car needed a stoker which was forbidden.
caption: Georges Lemaître classified 1st in his Peugeot 3hp
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