The start

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The year: 1905. The place: Circuit des Ardennes at Bastogne. It’s a fine sunny morning and as early as 5 a.m. a huge crowd gathers along the roads of the circuit. By 6 o’clock the marshals are in place, supported by the officials of the Automobile Club and the organiser, Baron Pierre de Crawhez (show-must-go-on.com), who will mastermind the entire event. At precisely 6.30 hrs. the first car, a CGV driven by Behr, makes a disastrous start, breaking its propeller shaft and finishing the race twenty metres from the start… No. 2, Victor Hémery (hartlana.co.uk) on a Darracq, makes a good start at 6.34 hrs. The other cars are waved off at four-minute intervals. Five complete laps of the circuit are to be driven; making a total of almost 600 km. Hémery’s time for the first lap is one hour, five minutes and 44 seconds. He maintains his lead throughout the five laps, with the Belgian, Camille Jenatzy (germancarfans.com), only one minute behind him at the start of the second lap. The front-wheel of the De Dietrich driven by the Frenchman Gabriel collapses and the car rolls over. Driver and mechanic escape with grazes but the car is out of the race. During the final lap an excited crowd amass at the finish line, where after almost six hours of furious driving, Hémery finally flashes past with fifteen minutes lead over his pursuers.

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