Magazine spread of England's Gordon Bennett Cup Team, 1903
As one of three '
Gordon Bennett Cups' (also for balloons), established by
James Gordon Bennett, Jr., millionaire owner of the
New York Herald, the automobile racing award was first given in
1900 in
France.
The trophy was awarded annually until 1905, after which the
Automobile Club de France (ACF) held the first
Grand Prix motor racing event at the
Circuit de la Sarthe, in
Le Mans.
The Gordon Bennett Cup auto races drew entrants from across
Europe including future aviator
Henry Farman and from the
United States competitors such as
Alexander Winton driving his
Winton automobile. Under the terms of the race, the subsequent race would be hosted by the country of the most recent winner.
As the races were between national teams, it lead to the reorganisation and standardisation of
national racing colours: France - blue, Germany - white, Italy - red, etc. Reputedly as a concession to Ireland where the 1903 race was run (racing was illegal on British public roads) the British adopted shamrock green
[1] which became known as
British racing green, although the winning Napier of 1902 winner had already worn Olive Green. Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours, red, white and blue, because those colours had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively.
'Gordon Bennett Cup winners:'
1. According to Leinster Leader, Saturday 11 April 1903, which also states red as the color for ''American'' cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.
External links
★ http://kildare.ie/heritage/Gordon-Bennett-Race/January-1903.asp
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