5 Léon Théry
France
Richard-Brasier

1B Camille Jenatzy
Germany
Mercedes

8 Pierre de Caters
Germany
Mercedes

Théry wins the fifth Gordon Bennett Race for France

The 1904 Gordon-Bennett Cup race, organized by Deutscher Automobil Club of Germany, was the main race of the year. The Automobile Clubs of Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Italy, France, and Belgium each entered three cars and Switzerland just one to race for 550 km around the 137.5 km Homburg Circuit. Last year's winner Jenatzy (Mercedes) led the first lap by only one second over Théry (Richard-Brasier) chased 5 minutes later by three English drivers, led by Edge (Napier). The remaining thirteen contenders suffered from minor delays while the German Opel retired.       After the second lap Théry was almost two minutes ahead of Jenatzy who had lost three minutes at Limburg control restarting his Mercedes. The grandstand crowd knew nothing about his trouble, they were just disappointed. The battle remained between France and Germany while Edge fell to 15th place and Girling (Wolseley) advanced to third, 8 minutes behind the leader. The other runners struggled with a variety of setbacks. The Belgian Pipe driven by "Augières" gave up.       After three laps Théry led by almost 10 minutes over Jenatzy who had lost about 5 minutes at the Limburg control again struggling to start his Mercedes and later spent over 12 minutes refueling. The French crowd was jubilant while the Germans hoped that Jenatzy would catch the French car on the last lap. De Caters (Mercedes) was third 42 minutes back. Neither he nor any of the remaining contenders had any meaning. Warden on the Austrian Mercedes and Storero (F.I.A.T.) retired.       After the fourth lap Théry passed victorious, over 11 minutes ahead of Jenatzy in second place, who had not been able to make up time. France had won the Gordon Bennett Trophy. The French people in the stands were wild with excitement. The German Emperor who was present in the grandstand acclaimed the victorious Léon Théry and the delighted constructor Henri Brasier. There was just one prize for first place, all other eleven finishers left emptyhanded.

The fifth Gordon Bennett Cup race in 1904 was with teams of not more than three cars from each national automobile club, the cars built entirely in the country they represented and were not to exceed the 1,000 kg weight limit (2205 lb.) and 7 kg (15 lb.) allowed in case of magneto while the minimum weight was 650 kg. Germany would be defending the Gordon Bennett Cup against France, England, Italy, and Belgium. The American cars painted in red, the English were green, the French blue and the Germans white. The Austrians black and yellow, the Belgians yellow, and the Italians black.

Circuit: The Homburg Circuit was located about 15 km north-west of Frankfurt at the River Main. The hilly course ran anticlockwise with start and finish at Saalburg, near an old Roman fort, erected in the first century. The magnificent Saalburg grandstand had been built on either side of the roadway at the starting point on top of the Saalburg Hill and both were connected by a bridge so that the racers were passing under this archway and spectators were kept off the road. It seated over four thousand persons, further it was ornamented with beautiful sculptures, also decorated with evergreens and gold ornaments. Although the timekeepers' box was exactly opposite that of the emperor stand, the cars started 250 meters before that finish line. The net time of each car was officially hoisted on a white board erected on the bridge spanning the course. As the start was on a gradient sufficiently steep to prevent the drivers getting top speed only until after passing the stand.       From the start the circuit headed north for 8.1 km passing Wehrheim before reaching Usingen, which was neutralized. Then leading north-west for 30.4 km to Weilburg, which was also neutralized. The circuit headed first west but soon turned southward for 22.6 km to reach neutralized Limburg, a town with the old cathedral. From here the course turned south for a long stretch before heading north-east at Neuhof, a stretch of 36.9 km to neutralized Idstein. After a few kilometers was reached the small place of Esch, which was also neutralized and further east for 20.5 km to neutralized Königstein. Next for 9.2 km east to neutralized Oberursel. Then the course headed north for 4.4 km on a level road to Homburg, also neutralized. Next the road climbed north-west for 5.4 km to reach Saalburg start and finish. The exact length was 137.5 km and the total distance after four laps was 550 km. There was no dust on the roads since they were "westrumited" at all the curves, steep gradients, neutral controls and in front of the grandstands. This effectively stopped the dust nuisance. All the controls were in telegraphic and telephonic communication with the Saalburg Start, where a large telegraphic office was to deal with the dispatch of telegrams and press messages.

Entries: Deutscher Automobil Club did not need to hold Eliminating Trials because the Belgian Camille Jenatzy was defending the trophy, driving the 90 hp Mercedes that belonged to American Clarence Dinsmore. The Belgian gentleman driver Baron de Caters had his own 90 hp Mercedes. So, the DAC decided on another German manufacturer, Opel, who built French Darracq cars under license. Fritz von Opel was the third selected driver. Jenatzy had been absolutely living on the course, which he was stated to have covered no less than fifty times. Some friction was said to exist between him and the German Daimler Company as to the terms on which he would drive their car. Jenatzy started the race with the number 1ʙ spare car.       Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland decided to hold Eliminating Trials at the Isle of Man on 10. May 1904. The race took place on an 82 km long course, driving five laps.       1. Five Napier cars for S. F. Edge, Mark Mayhew, John Hargreaves, J.W. Stocks and Clifford Earp.       2. Three Wolseley cars for Charles Jarrott, Sydney Girling and Campbell Muir.       3. Three Darracq cars for Rawlinson, Edmond and Hémery as drivers. The three cars that finished the course in the best time and to the satisfaction of the Judges were two Wolseleys and one Napier. Consequently, the three cars represented Great Britain in the final race. The Drivers and cars were S.F. Edge (Napier), Sydney Girling (Wolseley) and Charles Jarrott (Wolseley). Edge had a crankshaft of his car break eight days before the race. A new one arrived from England on Sunday night, also another six-cylinder Napier racer Clifford Earp brought as reserve.       Oesterreichischer Automobil-Club made use of three Mercedes-Austria cars. D.M.G. had a plant in Wiener-Neustadt south of Vienna, run by Technical Director Paul Daimler. The requirement for local manufacture was ignored but the cars were assembled in Austria with parts made in Stuttgart. The drivers selected were Hermann Braun, born 1847 in Cannstatt, an employee of DMG and DMG factory driver Wilhelm Werner who was employed as driver by American Clarence Dinsmore. The third driver was the American amateur John Warden who came fifth with a 60 Mercedes at Paris-Madrid where he was also the fastest driver of the seven Mercedes entries. The Continental tires had to be made in Austria.       Reale Automobile Club d'Italia represented the three F.I.A.T. cars driven by Vincenzo Lancia, Luigi Storero and Alessandro Cagno. Cars equipped with Italian Michelin tires.       Automobile Club de France told their Sporting Committee to run the French Eliminating Trials in the French Ardennes on 20. May 2004 on an 88.5 km circular track, where the 29 cars had to drive four laps.       1. Three De Diétrich cars for Gabriel, Jarrott, and Baron de Forest.       2. Three Darracq cars for Barras, Béconnais and Wagner.       3. Three Bayard-Clément cars for Hanriot, Guders and A. Clément.       4. Three Hotchkiss cars for De Crawhez, A. Fournier and Amblard.       5. Three Richard-Brasier cars for Théry, Caillois and Stead.       6. Three Serpollet cars for Le Blon, Chanliaud and Pelser.       7. Three Mors cars for Salleron, Léger and Lavergne.       8. Three Panhard Levassor cars for Farman, Teste and Tart.       9. Three Gobron-Brillié for Rigolly, Duray, Burton.     10. Two Turcat-Méry for Rougier and Touloubre. The Trial resulted in the following three cars being chosen to represent France in the final race on 17. June.       1. Théry (Richard-Brasier) in 5h20m28s at 99.416 km/h average speed.       2. Salleron (Mors) in 5h40m02s at 93.889 km/h average speed.       3. Rougier (Turcat-Méry) in 5h45m05s at 92.593 km/h average speed.       Gabriel on the De Diétrich car was the first reserve.       Automobile Club de Belgique informed that the Pipe Company was the only Belgian firm that entered by nominating three Pipe cars driven by Pierre de Crawhez, Lucien Hautvast and "Augières." The latter driver had established a world speed record with a 70 hp Mors car on 17. November 1902 at Dourdan at 124.137 km/h or 29 seconds for the kilometer. According to Robert Dick, Augières was the nom de course of Georges Auger, born 16. September 1864 in Montfermeil an eastern suburb of Paris.       Automobile-Club de Suisse entered just one car for Fréderic Dufaux from the Dufaux Frères in Geneva. As there was no tire company in Switzerland, the Michelin Company in Paris sent twenty men to Geneva, where a special shop was rented, and four pairs of tires were made. Motor Age reported that an accident disabled the Dufaux, which was due to malice. As he was passing the Kurhaus on the way to the weighing place, the steering pin of the right front wheel suddenly snapped. It did not look like a break. There was not enough time to obtain a replacement from Geneva, so the red-and-yellow car was out.       The drivers' mechanicians stand named on the list of Entries.

Scrutineering: The event started with scrutineering and weighing on Thursday morning of 16 June in Homburg. The weighbridge was on the narrow Elisabethen Street, alongside the volunteer fire brigade station. At 9:00 a.m. the first car appeared, Edge on his Napier. There was a terrible disorder despite a previous request on 15 June by the police to completely block the street. Amongst the cluster of racecars and people were only two police men who tried to bring order, unfortunately without any success. Edge could not climb from his car since a horde of photographers surrounded him taking pictures. Then appeared Fritz Opel. The cars drew up in line and many spectators were round them. The cars had to be weighed without water, fuel, and oil, so Edge emptied the water from the Napier, then drained the petrol into a can. Some of it must have spilled next to the can, running off into the gutter flowing downhill, when a thoughtless smoker lit a cigar and threw down the lightened match. Immediately a tall column of fire ran up the gutter and a burning stream was pouring out of the overturned can running along the declining road. The crowd downstream scattered in panic while at the upper end of the wall of fire, the Napier and Opel-Darracq were pulled out of the fire. But the Napier was still burning at the bottom which the team whacked with their coats and no damage was sustained by either vehicle except for some blistering of the paint. Officials and spectators who had rushed from the spot found their boots flaming. They had been standing in petrol and were now hopping about stamping out the flames. Meanwhile sand was thrown to snuff out the flames and the petrol had burnt itself out scorching the fire station doors and wall. By now the police had arrived after they had been busy at the Kaiser's arrival. Then the officials lost their heads, and getting ropes, began to shut out everybody - Pressmen, notable car designers, drivers, and less important people. But friends of the Club -Ladies as well- were in the ousting process, and thus the press and others who had genuine claims to be present had to argue and force their way through whilst there was still a crowd about.       Chevalier René de Knyff, Mr. Tampier of the French Club and Mr. Orde of the English Club, provided the inspecting skill. Baron von Schrenck-Notzing supervised the weighbridge and found a small number of cars were overweight and complied with the regulations only after a second or third re-weighing. The Wolseley cars had their beetle noses removed because they obstructed the radiators. A French protest was lodged against the Austrian Mercedes cars since they were weighed without the seat for the mechanics, who were intended to sit on the floor. But then the Austrian cars had to add seats, which were found to be nearby. The Mors was 14 lbs. over and stripped off its sprag bar and a few gearing covers. Cagno had to reweight with non-skid tires. In the line-up of the regular cars there also showed up some spare cars equipped with anti-skid tires, in view of the wet weather the day before, so Jenatzy, Théry, Salleron, Jarrott and Rougier brought their spare cars. All cars had to have lateral exhaust, two brakes of which one had to work the rear wheels. After checking these items, each car was provided with the start number and then had to be started in front of the controllers, then drive forward and reverse, which ended the long-winded procedure. The Weighing lasted till 4:00 p.m. Théry's Richard-Brasier and his reserve appeared not until the last car had gone. The Dufaux car did not weigh, because it broke the steering gear on the way to the scale and could not appear in time, so the red-and-yellow car was out.       The weights in kg differed between the sources researched and stay listed below. No.   Driver   Country embodied Racing Car Color of car Tires fitted Nationality of Driver Weight in kg 1 Jenatzy Germany Mercedes white Continental     Belgian 999 1ʙ Jenatzy Germany Mercedes white Continental Belgian 1005 2 Edge England Napier green Dunlop Australian 988 3 Werner Austria Mercedes-Austr.   blk/yellow   Continental German 998 4 Lancia Italy F.I.A.T. black Michelin Italian 1005 5 Théry France Richard-Brasier light blue Michelin French 988 5ʙ Théry France Richard-Brasier light blue Michelin French 982 6 de Crawhez Belgium Pipe yellow Continental Belgian 1007 7 Dufaux Switzerland Dufaux red/yellow Michelin Swiss --- 8 de Caters Germany Mercedes white Continental Belgian 1007 9 Girling England Wolseley green Dunlop English 995 10 Braun Austria Mercedes-Austr. blk/yellow Continental German 1002 11 Storero Italy F.I.A.T. black Michelin Italian 1006 12 Salleron France Mors light blue Michelin French 1005 12ʙ   Salleron France Mors light blue Michelin French 997 13 "Augières" Belgium Pipe yellow Continental French 994 14 Opel Germany Darracq white Continental German 1005 15 Jarrott England Wolseley green Dunlop English 992 15ʙ Jarrott England Wolseley green Dunlop English 1000 16 Warden Austria Mercedes-Austr. blk/yellow Continental American 1007 17 Cagno Italy F.I.A.T. black Michelin Italian 1005 18 Rougier France Turcut-Méry light blue Michelin French 1000 18ʙ Rougier France Turcut-Méry light blue Michelin French 985 19 Hautvast Belgium Pipe yellow Continental Belgian 1002

Timing, Scoring and Controversy: The organizer revealed the neutralization times at the different controls only at the last moment since they had to be deducted from the gross lap times. The times for the seven stops were Usingen 5 minutes, Weilburg 7 mins., Limburg 10 mins., Idstein 8 mins., Esch 5 mins., Königstein 7 mins., Oberursel 6 mins. and Homburg 8 minutes. The total of 56 minutes had then to be deducted from each gross time to give the net racing time, listed here as the lap time. Each car had to stop at 1he controls 28 times, an absurd idea, copied from the preceding Gordon Bennett race at Ireland, only made slightly worse. Each of the seven controls had a starting line where the car had to stop. Behind the line were the tents of Continental, Michelin, and Dunlop, also the stands of the manufacturers, German, French, English, Belgian and Italian, it all made a colorful mix-up. Normally there were four men for each factory, managed by an engineer.       There were timing differences amongst the sources researched. The following one affected the intermediate times of the leading two drivers after the first lap. 1. After the first lap Jenatzy in 1h26m56.8s was leading Théry in 1h26m57.8s. This version is approved by L'Auto, Le Figaro, La France Automobile, La Vie Automobile, The Autocar, The Motor, The Motor-Car Journal, AAZ, Der Motorwagen, Automobil-Welt. So, this amounted to ten 1903 sources for Jenatzy against five 1903 voices for Théry. The above times and drivers appear in this report. 2. The contradicting report showed Théry leading by one second, 1h26m56.8s with Jenatzy 1h26m57.8s in second place. This version is confirmed by Le Matin, La Presse, L'Automobile, Le Petit Parisien and Motor Age, adding up to five 1903 sources supported by later reviews, Gerald Rose in 1949, Peter Helck in 1961, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in The Gordon Bennett Races in 1963, Edmond Cohin in 1977. Gerald Rose influenced those reviews after his.       The second dispute would alter the Final results of the third and fourth drivers, which were in the order of Théry, Jenatzy, De Caters and Rougier in fourth place. This version proves correct by most sources and for that reason is used in this report. Gerald Rose > Baron de Caters came in third, three-quarters of an hour later, despite his bad start. After the race, Rougier was allowed one minute after a protest, and this brought him into third place, thus Baron de Caters dropped to fourth." The above 1949 Rose version is confirmed only by 1903 La France Automobile, also by Peter Helck 1961, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in The Gordon Bennett Races in 1963 and in 1977 by Edmond Cohin. The statement by Rose is questionable because the International Gordon Bennett Commission met on Saturday, 18. June, morning and considered the protests made but they were not public. After the meeting, the official statement published the Final results and did not include Rose's version and for that reason cannot appear in this report.       Intermediate and final times differed between all sources. To sort out this tricky situation, the times selected in the tables are all from Gerald Rose. Each of his times has been rechecked, so adding up all lap times have also the correct total times. There are two exceptions. First, we only changed two intermediate times of the first lap, placing Jenatzy one second ahead of Théry while in his book Rose placed Théry one second ahead. Secondly, we changed the final times, placing de Caters in third and Rougier in fourth place.

Race: On Friday 17. June 1904 the start took place at 7:00 in the morning. The eighteen drivers started at intervals of seven minutes in the following order:

Start Time No.   Driver   Country embodied Racing Car 7h00m 1ʙ Jenatzy Germany Mercedes 7h07m 2 Edge England Napier 7h14m 3 Werner Austria Mercedes-Austr. 7h21m 4 Lancia Italy F.I.A.T. 7h28m 5 Théry France Richard-Brasier 7h35m 6 de Crawhez Belgium Pipe 7h42m 8 de Caters Germany Mercedes 7h49m 9 Girling England Wolseley 7h56m 10 Braun Austria Mercedes-Austr. 8h03m 11 Storero Italy F.I.A.T. 8h10m 12 Salleron France Mors 8h17m 13 "Augières" Belgium Pipe 8h24m 14 Opel Germany Darracq 8h31m 15 Jarrott England Wolseley 8h38m 16 Warden Austria Mercedes-Austr. 8h45m 17 Cagno Italy F.I.A.T. 8h52m 18 Rougier France Turcut-Méry 8h59m 19 Hautvast Belgium Pipe DNS 7 Dufaux Switzerland Dufaux

The morning with bright sunshine proved too warm for both drivers and spectators. Jenatzy was the first to appear, being on the course over an hour before the start. The Kaiser was wearing the uniform of a Hussar, the Empress accompanied him, arriving before 6:30 a.m. when the grandstand was practically empty. After the Emperor had entered the Royal box, Prince Henry of Prussia joined the party, also Presidents of the Automobile Clubs including a large group of distinguished spectators. Although the time-keepers box was in the center of the grandstand exactly opposite that of the Kaiser, the cars were started 250 meters ahead of the grandstand on a gradient sufficiently steep so that the drivers were still accelerating past the stand before they reached top speed only after passing downhill.       The first to start at the sound of a ceremonial fanfare was Jenatzy. His mechanic cranked the engine to life just before 7:00 a.m. The German starter Baron Molitor von Mühlfeld was ready for the count-down at 7:00, he lowered his red flag and Jenatzy started off two seconds early; the error being due to Baron von Molitor, who held the red flag, having mistaken the instructions of Mr. Tampier, the official timekeeper of the French AC, to whom the German Club had entrusted the timing. Jenatzy shot away like an arrow, followed by the thundering applause of the crowd.       Edge on the green Napier started at seven minutes after seven and was much faster than Jenatzy, whose engine had been backfiring. Werner on an Austrian Mercedes was third, Lancia's F.I.A.T. fourth, while Théry and de Crawhez followed, both failing to get their fourth speeds in before reaching the crest of the hill. In seventh place was Dufaux who did not start, as the day before he had damaged his car at Homburg. Eighth was de Caters, his engine was running in good style but when the red flag fell, the engine stalled. The mechanic jumped off and quickly cranked the engine which ran with loud rumble and then stopped. Once more the engine was cranked but in vain. De Caters had been started but the car was pushed back. He had to watch cigarette smoking while the Mercedes mechanics systematically repaired a short in the oiled ignition system. It was not till after Girling and Braun had started that De Caters got off, after a loss of 14 minutes 30 seconds. Storero, Salleron, "Augières" and Opel followed in that order, those at the starting point being enveloped in their loud exhaust. Opel made a false start, nearly knocked over the timekeeper, and although he only moved a little bit and stopped, then went on, he lost 4.8 seconds over it. Jarrott was next away, then followed Warden, Cagno and Rougier. Hautvast took off one minute to nine o'clock, the last of all drivers. The stand had filled up during the two hours devoted to the starting process, and the scene was very cheerful. The expectation now turned to the arrival of the first driver of the first lap. 1st lap   Driver/Car                              Lap time     140.7 km   1. Jenatzy (Mercedes) 1h26m56.8s   2. Théry (Richard-Brasier) 1h26m57.8s   3. Edge (Napier) 1h31m44.0s   4. Girling (Wolseley) 1h32m54.8s   5. Jarrott (Wolseley) 1h35m18.0s   6. Salleron (Mors) 1h36m57.6s   7. Cagno (F.I.A.T.) 1h42m23.8s   8. De Caters (Mercedes) 1h43m15.2s   9. Hautvast (Pipe) 1h46m46.6s 10. Lancia (F.I.A.T.) 1h54m53.0s 11. Storero (F.I.A.T.) 1h54m56.6s 12. Braun (Mercedes-Austria) 1h56m24.4s 13. Werner (Mercedes-Austria) 1h58m41.2s 14. Rougier (Turcut-Méry) 2h06m22.8s 15. Warden (Mercedes-Austria) 2h07m14.4s 16. "Augières" (Pipe) 2h23m07.2s 17. De Crawhez (Pipe) 2h28m32.0s DNF Opel (Opel) retired Once the drivers were dispatched there was a tedious wait of about twenty minutes, during which hardly any news was received. The last driver had only been gone twenty-four minutes when the bugler signaled an approaching car. It was Jenatzy, who at 9:23 a.m. swept past the Grandstand at a speed of about 80 km/h amid strong cheers. His arrival time or gross time was not given. After deducting 56 minutes for controls, his lap time of 1:26:56 was displayed at the grandstand which was the net time. Jenatzy had experienced an exciting incident at Wehrheim owing to a locomotive obstructing his passage at a level crossing. He had to slow down, and he claimed to have lost a minute. At 9:35 a.m. arrived Edge on the Napier with a time of 1:31:44, almost five minutes slower than Jenatzy. The third arrival at 9:51 a.m. was Théry, who had passed Lancia and Werner, both had started ahead of him and his time was just one second slower than Jenatzy at 1:26:57, as shown at the display. The race was at once interesting when it was realized that it would be a hot battle, and the smallest trouble could decide defeat. Werner appeared next at 10:08 a.m. after 1:58:41, followed at 10:11 a.m. by Lancia, who had to stop at Idstein owing to a puncture. His lap time was 1:54:53, next arrived Girling at 10:18 a.m. with 1:32:55, he was just a bit behind Edge. At 10:21 a.m. arrived de Caters at 10:21 a.m. after 1:43:15, when deducting his lost 14 ½ minutes, his lap time would have been 1:28:45, so the third best time, close to Jenatzy and Théry. As each car passed the net time was officially hoisted on a white board erected on the bridge spanning the course. At 10:43 a.m. appeared Salleron after 1:36:53 lap time, followed at 10:48 a.m. by Braun 1:56:24 and Storero at 10:53 a.m. after 1:54:57. Next arrived de Crawhez, who came in very late at 10:59 a.m. in his shirt sleeves, suggestive of some trouble, he had fallen far behind with 2:28:32. Just three minutes after him at 11:02 a.m. passed Jarrott with the excellent time of 1:35:18. Twenty minutes later at 11:23 a.m. appeared Cagno who made the lap in 1:42:24. Next followed Hautvast at 11:41 a.m. after 1:46:47, at the same time turned up Warden after 2:07:14. At one of the controls Warden's radiator had started a leak and the dripping place was smeared with putty. At the control exit the Mercedes men filled up his car with fresh water. Next was "Augières" at 11:36 a.m. with a time of 2:23:07 and finally passed Rougier at 11:54 a.m. with 2:06:24. Opel did not show up, he came to a stop after a few kilometers ahead of Usingen when the universal joint of his driveshaft broke. It would have taken too long to repair, so the driver resigned.       At the end of the first lap, it was remarkable that the three English drivers Edge on Napier, Girling and Jarrott on Wolseley were close together on the third, fourth and fifth pace. The F.I.A.T. cars were in the middle not too far apart and the Austrian cars likewise close together but in the last third and from the Pipe cars only Hautvast had gained a half-way decent time. 2nd lap  Driver/Car                               Lap time        Total time     281.4 km   1. Théry (Richard-Brasier) 1h26m44.8s 2h53m42.6s   2. Jenatzy (Mercedes) 1h28m32.4s 2h55m29.2s   3. Girling (Wolseley) 1h34m25.6s 3h07m20.4s   4. Cagno (F.I.A.T.) 1h44m19.2s 3h26m43.0s   5. Hautvast (Pipe) 1h44m23.8s 3h31m10.4s   6. Jarrott (Wolseley) 1h57m32.6s 3h32m50.6s   7. De Caters (Mercedes) 1h49m36.4s 3h32m51.6s   8. Lancia (F.I.A.T.) 1h42m13.4s 3h37m06.4s   9. Storero (F.I.A.T.) 1h43m05.0s 3h38m01.6s 10. Braun (Mercedes-Austria) 1h41m38.4s 3h38m02.8s 11. Salleron (Mors) 2h03m46.0s 3h40m43.6s 12. Rougier (Turcut-Méry) 1h37m00.0s 3h43m22.8s 13. Werner (Mercedes-Austria) 1h52m47.6s 3h51m28.8s 14. Warden (Mercedes-Austria) 1h57m17.2s 4h04m21.6s 15. Edge (Napier) 2h36m08.0s 4h07m52.0s 16. De Crawhez (Pipe) 2h16m37.4s 4h45m09.4s DNF "Augières" (Pipe) retired How would the duel develop in the second lap? The spectators looked with great suspense at the road towards Homburg from where Jenatzy had to come. A trumpet fanfare announced the nearing of a race car. Then great jubilation at 11:47 a.m. when Jenatzy was flying past after 1:28:33, with shouting and waving still after the car had long ago hurried down to Usingen. Known only to a few officials, Jenatzy had lost in this round three-minutes in restarting his engine at the Limburg control, according to The Motor. An anxious wait followed when at 12:13 p.m. Théry was speeding past after 1:26:45, he had passed Edge.       About noon the Kaiser left for Lunch at Homburg, and at a quarter to one there was a sort of luncheon interval, the people in the grandstand got tired of waiting in the broiling sun, the seats on the grandstand becoming empty. Girling arrived next at 12:48 p.m. after 1:34:25 net time, followed within two minutes at 12:50 p.m. by Lancia after 1:42:13. Werner, who had to stop to change a tire was next in at 12:57 p.m. after 1:52:47, then at 1:06 p.m. appeared Edge who had been delayed by tire trouble with 2:36:08 net time, so he was out of the game. Likewise, de Caters passed by simultaneously after 1:49:37 net time for the second lap against the first lap in 1:43:15, so his time worsened by six minutes, although he had lost the 14 minutes at the start. 20 minutes later at 1:26 p.m. arrived Braun after 1:41:38, then came Storero at 1:33 p.m. after 1:43:05 net time, nine minutes thereafter at 1:42 p.m. passed Salleron, who encountered serious delay due to tire trouble with a lap time of 2:03:46. The next car passed after 13 minutes at 1:55 p.m., it was Jarrott after a lap in 1:57:32. He had to stop to adjust his chain, after which the governor of the engine broke. He was followed at 2:03 p.m. by Cagno after 1:44:19 net time, then at 2:12 p.m. came de Crawhez , who had fallen further back, after 2:16:37 and ten minutes later at 2:22 p.m. passed Hautvast after 1:44:23, then arrived Rougier at 2:27 p.m. after 1:37:00, followed by Warden at 2:34 p.m., who had suffered from tire troubles after a lap in 1:57:17. "Augières" with the Pipe car did not turn up, he had experienced ignition troubles which kept him back all the time until he gave up.       It was at the end of the second round that the display board showed that Théry had run into first place with a lead of two minutes. When the news became known, the French spectators became wildly excited and prepared to give their hero a rousing reception on his next round. Jenatzy had made a slower lap than he did in the first round. Unknown to the spectators, he had lost three minutes restarting his engine at Limburg control, but the slower running was disappointing. The Richard-Brasier of Théry had an advantage, as the car was equipped with shock absorbers reducing the bouncing on uneven road sections, giving better road holding, while Jenatzy's Mercedes only had rubber pads on their springs. Compared to the first lap some remarkable changes were seen. The car of Edge had become sick, he was trailing. Girling took his place, he advanced from fourth to third place. Jarrott had been passed by Cagno and Hautvast. England's hope stood only with Girling's Wolseley. The three F.I.A.T. cars had advanced, Cagno from seventh to fourth place, Lancia from tenth to eighth place and Storero from eleventh to ninth place. From the Pipe cars Hautvast advanced from ninth to fifth place. De Crawhez on another Pipe remained the last driver. France had, like Germany, only a single trump, but a good one. 3rd lap  Driver/Car                                Lap time       Total time     422.1 km   1. Théry (Richard-Brasier) 1h29m56.6s 4h23m39.2s   2. Jenatzy (Mercedes) 1h37m46.4s 4h33m15.6s   3. De Caters (Mercedes) 1h33m31.6s 5h06m23.2s   4. Cagno (F.I.A.T.) 1h43m30.8s 5h10m13.8s   5. Rougier (Turcut-Méry) 1h30m53.0s 5h14m15.8s   6. Braun (Mercedes-Austria) 1h38m29.0s 5h16m31.8s   7. Hautvast (Pipe) 1h51m26.0s 5h22m36.4s   8. Girling (Wolseley) 2h15m54.6s 5h23m25.0s   9. Jarrott (Wolseley) 2h00m30.2s 5h33m20.8s 10. Salleron (Mors) 1h53m50.4s 5h34m34.0s 11. Lancia (F.I.A.T.) 1h48m27.2s 5h35m33.6s 12. Werner (Mercedes-Austria) 1h53m56.6s 5h45m25.4s 13. Edge (Napier) 1h37m41.4s 5h45m33.4s 14. De Crawhez (Pipe) 2h21m52.2s 7h07m01.6s DNF Warden (Mercedes-Austria) retired DNF Storero (F.I.A.T.) retired It was exactly 2:21 p.m. when Jenatzy made his third arrival at Saalburg. His lap time of 1:37:46 indicated that he had suffered trouble, but it emerged that his delay was but a brief one - to fill up with petrol. The Motor > at the Limburg control, the third round was heralded by Jenatzy, just before one o'clock. He was unable to start in the usual way, although his powerful mechanician worked away at the starting handle in a marvelous manner. At last, Jenatzy resorted to the expedient of putting in his reverse and letting the car run down the steep hill. The engine started all right, but on attempting to go forward the driver stopped his engine. The second effort was more successful, and Germany's champion got away with a loss of about five minutes. He seemed, with each round, to become even more terrifying in appearance." Théry also slowed down on the third lap when a fan blade broke off. He decided to remove the remaining fan blades from the now unbalanced fan, for which Der Motorwagen quoted a time loss of about seven minutes. When Théry came in at 2:39 p.m., thus improving his lead over Jenatzy to 10 minutes, the French audience set up a deafening cheer from the stands. It had become more evident that the race settled itself into a keen duel between Théry and Jenatzy, and the spectators, who had become very weary, now watched the contest with renewed interest.       The third round was less entertaining, the intervals remained long drawn out and tiring after Jenatzy and Théry had gone through. After about an hour at 3:34 p.m. appeared the next car, which was Lancia after 1:48:27, next at 3:36 p.m. passed de Caters after 1:33:31, then at 3:40 p.m. arrived Edge after 1:37:41 and at 3:47 p.m. passed Werner after 1:53:56. Girling appeared at 4:00 p.m. after a lap in 2:15:54 after he experienced a serious delay. Girling drove the lowest-powered car in the race, and at one time held third place, which he would have kept to the finish but for a very unlucky occurrence. His engine stopped at the Homburg control, and it took 45 minutes to get his car going again, when at last the trouble was found, it was some cotton waste, which got into the fuel pipe. When this was recovered Girling started off joyfully. Braun also arrived at 4:00 p.m. after 1:38:29. Later at 4:32 p.m. passed Salleron after 1:53:50. Next at 4:43 p.m. after 1:53:50 arrived Cagno who was followed by Jarrott at 4:52 p.m. after 2:00:20, then came Rougier at 4:54 p.m. after 1:30:53. Eventually at 5:09 p.m. appeared Hautvast after 1:51:26. But the last was again Baron de Crawhez who came in after 2:21:52 net time at 5:30 pm. when the winner Théry had already passed as victor at 5:02 p.m. After the excitement had subsided and most of the people had cleared off at the end of his third round with the race over, de Crawhez decided to give up. He came in still in his shirt sleeves and was very dirty even for a mechanic but filthy for a Baron. Warden, whose car got into a ditch near Eschenhahn, but without injury, decided to retire due to a leak in his radiator. Storero also abandoned after a sprocket shaft on his car broke off, when starting from the Usingen outward control.       The third lap brought the decision. Der Motorwagen revealed that Jenatzy twice passed the controls where gasoline was offered ready without him refilling. After driving less than one kilometer he indeed ran out of fuel. His mechanic had to run with a small can back to the control to fetch some gasoline. He lost in total over twelve minutes. Fritz Daimler of the Cannstatt Daimler works said after the race that Jenatzy lost time filling up with petrol. Théry filled up with petrol on the third round, refilling in about three minutes. 4th lap   Driver/Car                               Lap time       Total time     562.8 km   1. Théry (Richard-Brasier) 1h26m22.2s 5h50m01.4s   2. Jenatzy (Mercedes) 1h28m13.8s 6h01m29.4s   3. De Caters (Mercedes) 1h41m06.8s 6h46m31.4s   4. Rougier (Turcut-Méry) 1h32m45.4s 6h47m11.2s   5. Braun (Mercedes-Austria) 1h43m15.6s 6h59m47.8s   6. Hautvast (Pipe) 1h39m58.6s 7h02m35.0s   7. Salleron (Mors) 1h40m40.2s 7h15m14.2s   8. Lancia (F.I.A.T.) 1h52m18.0s 7h17m51.6s   9. Girling (Wolseley) 1h59m38.2s 7h22m53.2s 10. Cagno (F.I.A.T.) 2h13m20.8s 7h23m34.6s 11. Werner (Mercedes-Austria) 1h46m47.8s 7h32m13.2s 12. Jarrott (Wolseley) 2h03m39.8s 7h37m00.6s DNF Edge (Napier) retired DNF De Crawhez (Pipe) retired The completion of the last round was wildly exciting. The Kaiser was back again on the grandstand at 4:30 p.m., shortly afterwards at 4:45 p.m. a bugle sounded, it was for Jenatzy who crossed the finish line, ending the fourth lap in 1:28:13. He received a glorious reception. But had he won? Théry had still 28 minutes before him, and he passed last time ten minutes ahead of his rival. Then at 5:02 a.m. Théry passed the grandstand to the deafening roar, the winner by 11 min. 20 sec. The people in the stands were wild with excitement. It was altogether a remarkable scene. Both drivers took their cars to the rear of the grandstand and there each found himself in the center of an admiring and enthusiastic crowd. The Kaiser called for Théry, who gave himself a hurried wash and then stepped into the Salon. The Kaiser shook him by both hands and was very genuine in his congratulations. Of course, it was yet early to announce a winner, but it was obvious that nobody could equal, let alone beat, Théry's performance. The two cars were paraded before the grandstand. The Kaiser afterwards held a reception in the Royal Box for the officials of the ACF, including Baron de Zuylen and Chevallier René de Knyff and Henri Brasier. Shortly afterwards the Emperor with the Empress left the stand with his entourage. This was the signal for the general exodus, the grandstand was rapidly emptied, and the interest in the race was over. The two cars then proceeded to Homburg with observers on board and cyclists leading the way. The observer had to see that the car was not touched and that it was delivered into the hands of the officials for the re-weighing.       Baron de Caters came in 71 minutes later at 6:13 p.m. He scarcely recognized that he had run in third place despite his bad start. His lap time was 1:41:06. Lancia arrived at 6:22 p.m. after 1:52:18, he was one lap behind and would finish eighth. Werner came in at 6:30 p.m. after 1:46:47 and was also a lap behind and would finish eleventh. At 6:39 p.m. finished Braun in fifth place. Next followed Girling at 6:55 p.m. after 1:59:38, also one lap behind, he would finish ninth. Then at 7:02 p.m. after 1:39:58, appeared Hautvast who placed sixth. Salleron finished seventh at 7:09 p.m. after 1:40:40. Cagno had slowed with tire trouble and finished tenth at 7:23 p.m. after a lap in 2:13:20. Jarrott arrived at 7:36 p.m., after 2:03:39. His delay was due to his governor gone bad, then he broke a chain, both were repaired at the Usingen control. With a leaky radiator, he ended up twelfth. At 7:48 p.m. Rougier finished fourth after 1:32:54, and thus the 1904 Gordon Bennett race was at an end. Edge, who had had bad luck throughout, did not finish his last round due to a failure of his clutch at Wehrheim.       After the cars finished the race, they were boarded by an observer and driven to Homburg, where they were weighed once more. The re-weighing started the same evening at 6:00 p.m. Baron von Schrenck-Notzing, in charge of the cars' weighing, realized that at the Gordon Bennett Race the re-weighing rule was absurd for all other cars except the winner as there was only one prize awarded. The Motor stated that Mr, Brasier made Théry a present of 100,000 francs (£4,000).       The International Gordon Bennett Commission met on Saturday, 18. June, morning under the presidency of the Duke of Ratibor and considered the protests that had been entered, but which have not been made known. It was reported that de Crawhez lodged a protest against Salleron, arising out of his driving. The Wolseley Company protested against Girling, having been unduly penalized 5 minutes at the Homburg control on the third circuit. He was timed in, and the usual 5 minutes allowed for the controls. But for some reason not clear at the time of writing he was detained another 5 minutes, thus losing that time. After the meeting the following official announcement of the results was made. No.   Driver   Car   Country   Total time h.   m.   s. 1. Théry Richard-Brasier France 5 50 03 2. Jenatzy Mercedes Germany 6 1 28 3 de Caters Mercedes Germany 6 46 31 4. Rougier Turcat-Méry France 6 47 11 5. Braun Austr. Mercedes Austria 6 59 49 6. Hautvast Pipe Belgium 7 2 36 7. Salleron Mors France 7 15 15 8. Lancia F.I.A.T. Italy 7 17 54 9. Girling Wolseley England 7 22 54 10. Cagno F.I.A.T. Italy 7 23 36 11. Werner Austr. Mercedes Austria 7 32 14 12. Jarrott Wolseley England 7 36 52