Today in history - 1906

The first French Grand Prix--the first race of that type to be held anywhere--was staged in Le Mans by the Automobile Club of France and won by Hungarian driver Ferenc Szisz in a 90hp Renault. The race covered 1,200 kilometers over two days, and was run under a new set of rules that would become a standard element of Grand Prix racing. The Automobile Club of France stipulated that all cars were to weigh no more than 1,000 kg. Three cars could be entered by each manufacturer, with each car operated by a two-man crew. The rules encouraged the entry of lightweight cars with absurdly large engines. The Panhard entry, for example, had a four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 18,279cc and pistons the diameter of pie plates. Szisz's 13-liter Renault covered the 768 miles of rural dirt roads at an average speed of 63mph. The leading cars were all hitting close to 100mph. Their nose-heavy weight distribution, lightweight chassis, and primitive tires made the cars nearly impossible to handle. While the Renault car's drive shaft was less advanced than others in the race, the car boasted the important innovation of removable tire-carrying rims. Tire changes with removable rims took around four minutes, as opposed to the 15 minutes required to change the fixed-rim tires. Szisz stopped his car nine times to replace tire punctures, but he was still able to finish 32 minutes ahead of the second place Nazzaro's Fiat.