The 1903 Race
Details of the Race
The race itself was hard-fought and without serious incident except for the terrifying crash of Charles Jarrott from which he and his mechanic were lucky to survive.
The Belgian driver, Baron de Caters compromised his own chances in the race to bring the news that the pair were alive and well to the officials at the start area - an action for which he was justly acclaimed.
It fell to the great Belgian driver, Camille Jenatzy, to run out the winner of the Irish Gordon Bennett Cup Race after a particularly fine drive for the German team. The French placed second, third and fourth while Selwyn F. Edge, the 1902 winner, trailed home in fifth and final place only to be disqualified for receiving outside assistance during the race.
The impact of the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup Race was enormous and it was to shape the future of motor racing world-wide. For the Irish people, it was to have an equally significant impact, being the event that is credited with making the Irish public 'car-conscious' for the very first time.
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