MOTORING 



69 



and have subscribed a large sum of 

 money to repair the old carriage 

 road, the difficulties will not per- 

 haps be so great as at first consid- 

 ered. Mr. Wahlgreen's proposal to 

 hold a race up Pike's Peak is prob- 

 ably the most audacious one ever 

 made in the automobile sporting 

 world. Thus far only one auto- 

 mobile has ever reached the sum- 

 mit of Pike's Peak, — a light steam 

 locomobile being taken to the sum- 

 mit by Messrs. Felker and Yost, of 

 Denver, four years ago. This result 

 was obtained by the combination of 

 a car very light in weight and hav- 

 ing very high power in proportion 

 to its weight, and placed in the 

 hands of two unusually strong and 

 active men accustomed to exercise 

 in mountain air. The road at this 

 time was full of boulders, and the 

 summit was only reached after the 

 most arduous exertion, prostrating 

 both men at the time. If the Pike's 

 Peak climb is held, and from pres- 

 ent indications it seems almost 

 certain that it will be, it ought to 

 be the most exciting and interest- 

 ing of any hill climbing contest 

 ever held either here or abroad 



THE INTERNATIONAL RACE IN 

 FRANCE. 



This month the eyes of the auto- 

 mobile world are focussed on 85 miles of bad 

 road in France over which the famous Inter- 

 national race instituted by James Gordon Ben- 

 nett will be held. We are informed that the 

 Auvergne course must be covered four times 

 during the race, — a total of 340 miles in all. 

 It is undoubtedly the most heart-breaking 

 Gordon-Bennett course yet selected, being 

 very hilly and replete with sharp curves, 

 there being no less than four right-angle 

 turns on the course, and as a further exam- 

 ple of the difficulty of the circuit, it may be 

 stated that the longest straight-away piece 

 of road is but two and one-half miles in 

 length. These conditions will impose a very 

 severe strain on the drivers of the cars, as 

 well as on the machinery, and the race is 

 likely to prove rather more a test of brakes, 

 tires and clutches than of actual speed of the 

 machines themselves. This is just what the 

 French Automobile Club have been wanting 

 to bring about, for the historic course from 

 Paris to Bordeaux and other similar courses 

 are flat and relatively straight, thus afford- 

 ing a test of practically nothing but speed, 

 which in itself is only one of the points of 

 excellence of the modern racing automobile. 

 There can be no doubt that on the Auvergne 

 circuit every part of a car will be tested to 

 the limit, if not to absolute destruction, The 



IT SOMETIMES HAPPENS 



roads are narrow, — so narrow, in fact, that 

 it will be difficult and dangerous for one car 

 to pass another except at a very few points, — 

 and, as is well known, the drivers of racing 

 cars in these big events take great chances. 



FRENCH TRIALS. 



The latter part of June the eliminating 

 trials are held in France for the purpose of 

 selecting the three French cars to represent 

 that country, and as this race is held over 

 the Auvergne circuit, the conditions will ap- 

 proach that of the Gordon-Bennett race in 

 detail, and it has been predicted that owing 

 to the numbers of the cars entered, so many 

 accidents will occur that the Gordon-Ben- 

 nett race will not be held over the Auvergne 

 circuit, and perhaps not be held at all. 



The English eliminating trials were held 

 recently on the Isle of Man, resulting in the 

 selection of two Wolseley cars and one Na-^ 

 pier car. The English trials, held oyer a 

 course comparatively free from danger, were 

 not free from accident, as there were several 

 smash-ups, among; ftem, feeing the wreckage 

 of McDonald's six-cylinder Napier, through 

 running into a tree. This car will be remem- 

 bered as the one which broke the mile rec- 

 ord at Qrrnon4 Beach Jajt winter, 



