The 1908 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Dieppe on 7 July 1908.
The race was won by Christian Lautenschlager driving a Mercedes.
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. This formula differed from the regulations in place for the American Vanderbilt Cup series, which discouraged American manufacturers from entering the race. Lewis Strang drove the single American entrant, the Thomas Flyer. 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.
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 . Otto Salzer set fastest lap in his Mercedes, with an average speed of over . 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.
Classification PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/Retired 1 35 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 Willy Pöge Mercedes +36:47.2 6 27 Carl Jörns Opel +43.56.2 7 39 Fritz Erle Benz +56:48.0 8 37 Sergey Dimitriewich Renault +1:07:39.0 9 16 George Heath Panhard-Levassor +1:09:03.0 10 49 Perpère Germain +1:12:34.4 11 12 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 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 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 Lucien Hautvast Clément-Bayard 5 Wheel Ret 34 Warwick Wright Austin 4 Engine Ret 33 François Marie Roch-Brault Germain 4 Ret 15 Lewis Strang Thomas 4 Clutch Ret 40 Louis Wagner Fiat 3 Gearbox Ret 24 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 Ferdinando Minoia Lorraine-Dietrich 3 Magneto Ret 5 Arthur Duray Lorraine-Dietrich 2 Clutch Ret 4 Ferenc Szisz Renault 2 Wheels Ret 19 Otto Salzer Mercedes 2 Wheel Ret 42 Jules Simon Porthos 2 Water pump Ret 7 Vincenzo Lancia Fiat 1 Engine Ret 22 Henri Rougier Lorraine-Dietrich 1 Magneto Ret 46 Shannon Weigel 1 Steering Ret 45 Giovanni Piacenza Itala 1 Gearbox Ret 26 J. Gaubert Porthos img 0 Water pump
References