The 1903 Irish Gordon Bennett: The Race That Saved Motor Sport

$109.95

Bob Montgomery

Description

For one day in 1903, a sporting event took place in Ireland which not only profoundly altered the future of that sport worldwide, but also had a lasting impact on both Irish sport and society. The race was the International Gordon Bennett Cup race, carried out on newly repaired, and sometimes rolled, roads of Carlow, Laois and Kildare.

In a country still discovering the motorcar, people remembered how noisy they were, how exciting they were, and how it would change so many people’s lives. It certainly changed the perception of how racing should be run, at a time when all of Europe was about to ban it altogether as being too dangerous, not just to the drivers, but to the spectators as well. The Irish Gordon Bennett Cup Race changed all that.

Detailed account of this 1903 motor race which became the basis for all future Grand Prix events. 224pp, well illustrated