| 1908 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race details | |||
| Date | July 7, 1908 | ||
| Official name | Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France | ||
| Location | Dieppe, France | ||
| Course | Public roads | ||
| Course length | 76.989 km (47.840 miles) | ||
| Distance | 10 laps, 769.889 km (478.400 miles) | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | .svg.png.webp) Otto Salzer | Mercedes | |
| Time | 36:31.0 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Mercedes | ||
| Second | Benz | ||
| Third | 
 | Benz | |
The 1908 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Dieppe on 7 July 1908.
Formula Changes
The race was run under a new formula agreed in Ostend in 1907. There was no fuel consumption limit, but the cars had a minimum weight of 1100 kilograms, and a maximum cylinder bore of 155 millimetres.[1]
This formula differed from the regulations in place for the American Vanderbilt Cup series, which discouraged American manufacturers from entering the race.[2] Lewis Strang drove the single American entrant, the Thomas Flyer.[3] D. Napier & Son cars were disqualified from the race due to their use of Rudge-Whitworth center locking hubs, which the organizers believed were unsafe.[4]
The Race

Christian Lautenschlager won the race in his Mercedes finishing nearly nine minutes ahead of Victor Hémery's Benz. Lautenschlager's average speed for the race was 69.045 mph (111.117 km/h). Otto Salzer set fastest lap in his Mercedes, with an average speed of over 78 mph (126 km/h).[5][6] The race was notable for tragic reasons. Henri Cissac's car lost a tyre and rolled, killing Cissac and Jules Schaube, his riding mechanic. This was the first fatal accident in Grand Prix history.[7]
Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | .svg.png.webp) Christian Lautenschlager | Mercedes | 10 | 6:55:43.8 | 
| 2 | 6 |  Victor Hémery | Benz 150 hp | +8:40.2 | |
| 3 | 23 |  René Hanriot | Benz 150 hp | +9:29.2 | |
| 4 | 11 |  Victor Rigal | Clément-Bayard | +34:52.8 | |
| 5 | 2 | .svg.png.webp) Willy Pöge | Mercedes | +36:47.2 | |
| 6 | 27 | .svg.png.webp) Carl Jörns | Opel | +43.56.2 | |
| 7 | 39 | .svg.png.webp) Fritz Erle | Benz | +56:48.0 | |
| 8 | 37 |  Sergey Dimitriewich[6] | Renault | +1:07:39.0 | |
| 9 | 16 | .svg.png.webp) George Heath | Panhard-Levassor | +1:09:03.0 | |
| 10 | 49 | .svg.png.webp) Perpère | Germain | +1:12:34.4 | |
| 11 | 12 | .svg.png.webp) Alessandro Cagno | Itala | +1:21:23.0 | |
| 12 | 28 |  Fernand Gabriel | Clément-Bayard | +1:25:11.2 | |
| 13 | 36 |  Courtade | Motobloc | +1:26:10.0 | |
| 14 | 20 |  Pierre Garcet | Motobloc | +1:33:23.0 | |
| 15 | 21 |  Gustave Caillois | Renault | +1:33:23.4 | |
| 16 | 14 | .svg.png.webp) Camille Jenatzy | Mors | +1:38:11.8 | |
| 17 | 31 | Landon | Mors | +1:52:47.4 | |
| 18 | 18 |  JTC Moore-Brabazon | Austin | +1:56:17.0 | |
| 19 | 1 |  Dario Resta | Austin | +2:00:17.4 | |
| 20 | 29 |  Henri Fournier | Itala | +2:00:47.4 | |
| 21 | 10 | .svg.png.webp) Friedrich Opel | Opel | +2:21:38.6 | |
| 22 | 17 |  François Degrais | Germain | +2:27:01.0 | |
| 23 | 32 |  Henry Farman | Panhard-Levassor | +2:38:07.0 | |
| Ret | 8 |  Léon Théry | Brasier | 9 | Wheel | 
| Ret | 41 |  Paul Bablot | Brasier | 9 | Magneto | 
| Ret | 9 |  Emile Stricker | Porthos | 9 | |
| Ret | 43 | Michel | Opel | 9 | Radiator | 
| Ret | 48 |  Henri Cissac | Panhard-Levassor | 8 | Fatal crash | 
| Ret | 13 |  Pryce Harrison | Weigel | 5 | Crash | 
| Ret | 44 | .svg.png.webp) Lucien Hautvast | Clément-Bayard | 5 | Wheel | 
| Ret | 34 |  Warwick Wright | Austin | 4 | Engine | 
| Ret | 33 | .svg.png.webp) François Marie Roch-Brault | Germain | 4 | |
| Ret | 15 | .svg.png.webp) Lewis Strang | Thomas | 4 | Clutch | 
| Ret | 40 |  Louis Wagner | Fiat | 3 | Gearbox | 
| Ret | 24 | .svg.png.webp) Felice Nazzaro | Fiat | 3 | Engine | 
| Ret | 3 |  Pierron | Motobloc | 3 | Crash | 
| Ret | 30 |  Gregor Laxen | Weigel | 3 | Crash | 
| Ret | 25 |  Paul Baras | Brasier | 3 | Engine | 
| Ret | 38 | .svg.png.webp) Ferdinando Minoia | Lorraine-Dietrich | 3 | Magneto | 
| Ret | 5 | .svg.png.webp) Arthur Duray | Lorraine-Dietrich | 2 | Clutch | 
| Ret | 4 | .svg.png.webp) Ferenc Szisz | Renault | 2 | Wheels | 
| Ret | 19 | .svg.png.webp) Otto Salzer | Mercedes | 2 | Wheel | 
| Ret | 42 |  Jules Simon | Porthos | 2 | Water pump | 
| Ret | 7 | .svg.png.webp) Vincenzo Lancia | Fiat | 1 | Engine | 
| Ret | 22 |  Henri Rougier | Lorraine-Dietrich | 1 | Magneto | 
| Ret | 46 |  Shannon | Weigel | 1 | Steering | 
| Ret | 45 | .svg.png.webp) Giovanni Piacenza | Itala | 1 | Gearbox | 
| Ret | 26 |  J. Gaubert | Porthos img | 0 | Water pump | 
References

- ↑ Etzrodt, Hans (2007-06-19). "Grand Prix Winners 1895-1949. History and Formulae". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- ↑ "Foreign Autoists Eager for Racing" (PDF). The New York Times. 1908-01-06. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- ↑ "The American Car in Grand Prix Race" (PDF). The New York Times. 1908-05-03. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Matteucci, Marco (1976). History of the Motor Car. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc. p. 250. ISBN 978-0706400007. OCLC 4168687.
- ↑ Higham, Peter (1995). The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. Guinness Publishing. pp. 194–195. ISBN 0-85112-642-1.
- 1 2 "1908 Grands Prix". Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
- ↑ "Motorsport Memorial - Henri Cissac". Retrieved 2014-01-29.