The 1907 Grand Prix season was the second Grand Prix racing season. It saw a blossoming of circuit events, with the shift from the inter-city races. The popularity of the inaugural French Grand Prix and Targa Florio saw those events held again. The new Kaiserpreis was the first major motor-race held in Germany. This year also saw a number of voiturette races as the number of specialist small-engine cars grew which gave close, exciting racing very popular with spectators.
Felice Nazzaro, former chauffeur for Vincenzo Florio, won the Targa Florio, Kaiserpreis, and French Grand Prix driving for FIAT. Along with victories by Alessandro Cagno (Itala) and Ferdinando Minoia (Isotta-Fraschini) at the Brescia races, these results marked an increase in competitive success for Italian constructors over their French counterparts, who had won the majority of events in the preceding decade.
This year also saw the opening of the first purpose-built racing circuit at Brooklands southwest of London, England on the estate of British entrepreneur Hugh F. Locke King.Legate 2006, p.11
Major races Sources:Monkhouse 1953, pp.232-79Hodges 1967, pp.20-24Sheldon 1987, pp.48-58, 64-68 Date Name Circuit RaceRegulations RaceDistance Winning driver Winningconstructor Report 18 Apr I Coppa delle Vetturette Madonie Voiturette Louis Naudin Sizaire-Naudin Report 22 Apr II Targa Florio Targa Florio Felice Nazzaro Fiat Report 13–14 Jun I Kaiser Preis Taunus Kaiserpreis Felice Nazzaro Fiat Report 2 Jul II French Grand Prix Dieppe ACF Grand Prix Felice Nazzaro Fiat Report I Coupe de la Commission Sportive . de Langhe Darracq 25 Jul VI Ardennes Circuit Bastogne Kaiserpreis John Moore-Brabazon Minerva Report 27 Jul VI Ardennes Circuit ACF Grand Prix Pierre de Caters Mercedes 27 Jul Liederkerke Cup . Porlier Minerva Report 13 Aug I Corsa Siciliano Vetturette Palermo Voiturette Vincenzo Florio De Dion-Bouton Report 1 Sep III Coppa Florio Brescia Kaiserpreis Ferdinando Minoia Isotta Fraschini Report 2 Sep I Coppa della Velocità ACF Grand Prix Alessandro Cagno Itala Report 10 Oct I Corsa Vetturette Madonie Madonie Voiturette Paolo Tasca De Dion-Bouton Report 28 Oct II Coupe des Voiturettes Rambouillet Voiturette Louis Naudin Sizaire-Naudin Report
Season review The success of the first Targa Florio the previous year had been built up since, and 45 cars arrived in Sicily from Italy, France and Germany. Tens of thousands of spectators arrived for the race. In an exciting race, Louis Wagner in his Darracq pursued the FIATs and Italas. But when the Darracq broke its half-shaft on the rough mountain roads, the Italians took the victory. Felice Nazzaro (FIAT) won from his teammate, Vincenzo Lancia, with Maurice Fabry (Itala) in third and Arthur Duray (Lorraine de Dietrich) fourth.
The German Kaiserpreis Rennen was held on a 117 km circuit in the Taunus Mountains north of Frankfurt. It was part of the circuit used for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup. The ADAC regulations stipulated the race was cars of a maximum of 8-litres and 1165 kg in the hope of attracting cars which more closely resembled touring cars. Such was the interest, with 92 entries, that two 2-laps heats were held to get a final 20 qualifiers for the 4-lap final. FIAT dominated the race with Lancia winning the first heat and Nazzaro the second, before he went on to win the final.Cimarosti 1997, pp.28-30
Great Britain had a universal speed limit of on the open road and did not allow motor-racing on public roads, as on the continentRendall 1993, p.50 (however these laws did not apply in Ireland or the Isle of Man). Therefore, constructed at his own expense, Hugh F. Locke King established the first purpose-built racetrack in the world at Brooklands on his estate in Surrey. A pear-shaped course, with banking at each end, it was long and wide. It opened on 28 June with Selwyn Edge setting a new 24-hour distance record of . The first full race meeting was on 6 July with six races.Georgano 1971, pp.70-1
Although the inaugural Grand Prix had made an impact, it had not been a financial success for the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and they declined to host this year's event. Instead, it was held at Dieppe on the northern coast. The French Automobile Club (ACF) also modified the regulations and format. In an effort to limit the trend for ever-increasing engine size in pursuit of power, the ACF dictated a fuel-consumption formula allowing .Venables 2009, p.26 The race was 10 laps of a roughly triangular circuit from Dieppe to Eu, Londinières and back. Though initially of better quality roads, the surface soon broke up.Georgano 1971, p.87 Lancia had his Fiat run out of fuel on the last lap while in 3rd position.Ludvigsen 2008, p.27 But once again it was Nazzaro who claimed the victory. His 16.3-litre FIAT completed the 770 km in 6 hours and 47 minutes, at an average speed of 114 km/h. The 1906-winner, Ferenc Szisz, in a 12.8-litre Renault was second. The Coup de la Commission Sportive was held at the same time as the Grand Prix, but over 6 laps rather than 10, starting three hours later, and with a slightly lower fuel allowance. This race was won by de Langhe in a Darracq.
The Belgian Automobile Club presented its Circuit des Ardennes weekend in three formats: there were only 6 entrants in the race run to the ACF rules (won by the Belgian Baron Pierre de Caters in a Mercedes). The alternative race, using the Kaiserpreis regulations had 23 starters. Belgian car-company Minerva scored a 1-2-3 finish, headed by the British Baron John Moore-Brabazon. Finally there was the Liederkerke Cup. This time Moore-Brabazon finished second behind Porlier also in a Minerva.
Similarly, the Italians ran the Coppa Florio to the two regulations. Ferdinando Minoia, in an Isotta Fraschini, won the third Coppa Florio, run to the Kaiserpreis rules, while the next day Alessandro Cagno in his 18-litre Itala won the ACF-based Coppa della Velocità di Brescia.
Meanwhile, in the United States, with ongoing issues with crowd-control the Vanderbilt Cup was not run this year.Georgano 1971, p.151
There were still several inter-city races held: in June Arthur Duray in his Lorraine-Dietrich won the Moscow to St. Petersburg race in Russia. Perhaps the most epic though was the Peking to Paris race. Sponsored by French newspaper Le Matin, five cars started the 15000 km trial in June. The Italian Conde Scipione Borghese arrived in his Itala exactly two months later and two months ahead of the next finisher, a French De Dion-Bouton.Rendall 1993, p.52
Citations
References Cimarosti, Adriano (1997) The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing London: Aurum Press Ltd Georgano, Nick (1971) The Encyclopaedia of Motor Sport London: Ebury Press Ltd Higham, Peter (1995) The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing London: Guinness Publishing Hodges, David (1967) The French Grand Prix London: Temple Press Books Legate, Trevor (2006) 100 years of Grand Prix Kent: Touchstone Books Ltd Ludwigsen, Karl (2008) Racing Colours - Italian Racing Red Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd Monkhouse, George (1953) Grand Prix Racing Facts and Figures London: G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd Rendall, Ivan (1991) The Power and The Glory – A Century of Motor Racing London: BBC Books Rendall, Ivan (1993) The Chequered Flag – 100 years of Motor Racing London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd Sheldon, Paul (1987) A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing Volume 1 Shipley, West Yorkshire: St Leonard's Press Venables, David (2009) Racing Colours - French Racing Blue Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
External links Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 : Part 1 (1895–1916) – list of the races and winners. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019 Grand Prix Winners 1895–1949 : History – Hans Etzrodt's description of the annual regulations, and changes. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019 GEL Motorsport Information Page - Darren Galpan's list of the races, entrants and winners. Retrieved 16 Jun 2019 Motorsport Memorial – motor-racing deaths by year. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019 La Targa Florio – race report of the Targa Florio race. Retrieved 7 Jun 2019