For 1914, the Grand Prize and Vanderbilt Cup were staged in Santa Monica, California near Los Angeles, on an 8.4-mile (13.5 km) course, with the start/finish straight along the Pacific Ocean. Oval racing on board tracks had taken off in the United States, to the detriment of road racing. The Grand Prize was not held in 1913, after Long Island's bid was rejected and Savannah refused to provide sufficient prize money. The grid for the 1915 Grand Prize in San Francisco On the final lap of the race, Ralph DePalma collided with eventual winner Caleb Bragg, seriously injuring DePalma and his mechanic and ending any chance of a second race at Milwaukee. As in 1911, tragedy struck in practice when David Bruce-Brown was killed after a puncture sent him off the road. A narrow, 7.88-mile (12.68 km) trapezoidal course was set up on the outskirts of the city, in Wauwatosa. įor 1912, Savannah succumbed to public pressure, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, won the bid for the race. The American entries dominated the support events and ran well throughout the Grand Prize, after poor showings in past years and once again Bruce-Brown triumphed, this time driving a Fiat. Two accidents on the open roads in practice, one resulting in the death of Jay McNay, cast a shadow over the event. The use of convict labor and the militia drew criticism, as did the nuisance of closing roads for the event. Despite the success of the events, public pressure started to mount on the organizers. The 1911 event returned to Savannah, and this time the Vanderbilt Cup came with it the Cup and Grand Prize were to be held together until 1916. Bruce-Brown won another incredibly tight race over teammate Hémery, this time by only 1.42 seconds. The leading trio from 1908 did make it and American David Bruce-Brown joined the Benz squad. A shorter 17-mile (27 km) course was laid out, but due to the short notice, most European teams were not able to make the trip. A last-minute request by the Savannah club saved the race for the year, but only gave one month to prepare the course. After the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup saw more issues, including the deaths of two riding mechanics and several serious spectator injuries, the Grand Prize was cancelled once again. However, only the Vanderbilt race was held and the Grand Prize pushed back to the next year. ĭespite the success of the Savannah event, it was decided that the 1909 race would be held on Long Island, in conjunction with the Vanderbilt Cup. Wagner won the race by the close margin of 56 seconds. The race came down to a three-way battle between the Benz of Victor Hémery and the Fiats of Louis Wagner and Felice Nazzaro. In the race, held on Thanksgiving Day, Ralph DePalma led early in his Fiat, before falling back with lubrication and tire problems. The entry for the inaugural race featured 14 European and six American entries, including factory teams from Benz, Fiat, and Renault. The Governor also sent state militia troops to augment local police patrols in keeping the crowd in check, hoping to avoid the pitfalls of the Vanderbilt Cup races. Hoke Smith authorized the use of convict labor to construct the circuit of oiled gravel. The Savannah Automobile Club laid out a lengthened version of their stock car course, totaling 25.13 mi (40.44 km). American Grand Prize trophy The Grand Prize era The Savannah Automobile Club of Savannah, Georgia, which had staged two days of successful stock car races on March 18 and 19, 1908, won the rights to stage the event. This led the rival Automobile Club of America, an enthusiasts group with strong ties to Europe, to sponsor the American Grand Prize, using the Grand Prix rules. Upon its return for 1908, the American Automobile Association did not adopt the new Grand Prix regulations agreed upon by the Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus (AIACR). However, the race was plagued by crowd control problems, which led to spectator deaths and injuries, and the cancellation of the 1907 event. The Vanderbilt Cup soon became an institution on New York's Long Island, attracting American and European competitors alike. Inspired by the Gordon Bennett Cup and Circuit des Ardennes races he had competed in, William Kissam Vanderbilt II founded a series of road races in the United States to showcase American road racing to the world. History Beginnings and the Vanderbilt Cup Since 2012, it has been held every year at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2023, the Grand Prix has been held 52 times at ten different locations. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize.
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