Paris is still depressed: 1908 car race from new york to Paris.

NASCAR is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and its history and rich myths are rooted in money. Drunk people and moonlight people in the south gave most of the tone to the earliest version of the sport after the war. But long before the emergence of stock racing, petite drivers didn't care much about bonuses or profits, but simply finished the race. On the morning of February 1908 and 12, people lined up in the snow in Times Square and started an almost unimaginable feat: a race from new york to Paris and then to the west. The game was not played by Bank of America or Coors Light, but by French newspapers Martin and * * *. Prize: a trophy weighing 1400 pounds and proved to be possible.

The proposed route will take drivers across the United States, including areas with few paved roads, and then north across Canada. The next one is to turn left in Alaska. In order to reach the Bering Strait, drivers are not allowed to cross this strait, which separates the American wilderness from the Russian wilderness. The organizers of the competition began in the dead of winter, hoping that the strait would freeze. Subsequently, the track passed through Siberia, and no one drove through Siberia, and then entered the last section: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin and Paris. In that era when people thought horses were more reliable than horseless carriages, the journey was as long as 22,000 miles. The race from new york to Paris is considered to be the greatest among them, even surpassing From Beijing to Paris the year before last. In the book, the winner is Italian prince Betas. He asks donkeys and mules to pull his cart and drink oil and water from the radiator to quench his thirst. His reward was a large bottle of champagne.

In Times Square that morning, 17 people, including drivers, mechanics and journalists, crowded into six cars from four countries: three from France, and 1 people from Germany, Italy and the United States. 250 thousand people lined up on Broadway all the way to the northernmost Harlem; Those who can't see the car can only tolerate the smell of gasoline and the performance of brass bands. This American imported car is a 60 horsepower station wagon named Thomas Flyer, equipped with three additional fuel tanks, with a capacity of 65,438+025 gallons, and the original canvas convertible. The game was originally scheduled to start on 1 1 in the morning. At that time, son of the general, American Civil War League and Mayor George B.McClellan Jr planned to launch a starting gun, but he was usually late. A quarter of an hour later, colgate Huo Yite, a railway financier, grabbed the golden gun from the table and shot it into the air.

The contestants represent an international celebrity roster. G. Bourcier de St.Chaffray once piloted the French de Dion and organized a motorboat race from Marseille to Algiers. As a result, every motorboat sank into the Mediterranean Sea. His captain was Hans Hendrick Hansen, a pretentious Norwegian who claimed to have sailed a Viking ship to the North Pole alone. He declared that he and his armored vehicle would arrive in Paris, otherwise "our bodies would be found in the car". Charles Gueudar, a Frenchman, took part in the race from Beijing to Paris by driving a motorcycle group. He had never driven a car before, and set an endurance record of 24-hour uninterrupted driving with one hand.

Emilio Sittori, a Zust driver in Italy, with Antonio Scarfoglio, a journalist and poet aged 2 1 year, threatened to sail a motorboat across the Atlantic if his father refused to let him compete. His father is a famous newspaper editor in Naples, and his heart has softened. ) The German driver is Protos, a noble officer named Hans Coppen. He saw this competition as an opportunity to upgrade his rank from lieutenant to captain. Montag "Monty" Roberts, Manning Thomas flyer, is a favorite of gregarious people and one of the few American drivers who really train for the race. His teammate is George Schuster, 35, a mechanic of E.R. Thomas Automobile Company in Buffalo, New York. Caspar Schustr is one of 265,438+0 children. Caspar Schustr is a German immigrant who once worked. Meanwhile, Zust is in Omaha, Dion is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Moto Group is in Maple Leaf Park, Illinois, and Protos is a little behind in Geneva, Illinois. When Thomas Flying Man approached the crazy crowd in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Monty Roberts knew that his time in this great competition was coming to an end. He wants to go to Paris to take part in the grand prix in May. E Lynn Mathewson, son of Thomas Motor Company's Midwest general agent, will fly over Wyoming to Utah. Harold Brink, a professional driver, is famous for surviving a car accident in which another driver was killed a year ago. He will take over Mandel in Ogden. The indomitable mechanic George Schustr will drive through Alaska and Siberia, and Roberts will return when the car approaches Europe. Before leaving Cheyenne, Schuster bought a 6-inch pony on the grounds that it might come in handy. He continued to sacrifice himself when no one was able or unwilling, and walked 10 miles in the dead of night to find gasoline. When the car drove out of the ravine, they could not escape. His wisdom made the car run in snowstorms, severe cold and sandstorms. At every overnight stop, he will repair the new damage and prepare leaflets for the next trip. He is so obscure that newspaper reports often misspell his name When they mentioned him,

When Americans left Wyoming, they were led by two states. Italians set out from Omaha and crossed Nebraska. Saint Chavre is in Iowa, waiting for Dion's parts, while Captain Coppen of Protos and Charles Godard of Motorcycle Group have just entered Iowa. The motorcycle group encountered mechanical failure, although Godard would not disclose details. Can't wait, he decided to break the routine and transport his car to San Francisco by rail, but when a photographer filmed his behavior, he gave up the idea. Godard received a telegram from the owner: "Quit the race and sell the car home." The motorcycle group is over, leaving only four cars.

This is the German prototype of Ogden, Utah. Harold Brink drove Thomas from Utah through Nevada, bypassing the border of Death Valley, and arrived in San Francisco in the third week of March, 900 miles ahead of his nearest rival Zuster. The factory whistle sounded and the car driver honked his horn in the market street. "* * *" finally said: "Thomas' record from new york to San Francisco is a great feat." . "Many skeptics claim that when racers from new york to Paris set off from new york in the dead of winter, none of them can cross Wyoming before summer, some can't get to Chicago, and some can't get to new york." The Americans are going to ship the leaflets to Seattle by cargo ship. After a two-day trip there, it will be transferred to a cargo ship bound for Valdez, Alaska. Brink begged Schuster to let him stay in the team, even as an assistant, but the mechanic refused. It's finally his turn to drive.

On Wednesday, April 8, the leaflet touched the soil in Alaska. Willin Mitter is made up of all the residents of Valdez, few of whom have seen cars. Schuster lost no time in investigating Valdez fairbanks Trail with a horse-drawn sleigh, and came to the conclusion that the only way is to cross Alaska with a car, take it apart, and carry the parts away with a sleigh. Paris racist Mitt gave up the idea of Alaska and Bering Strait and instructed Americans to return to Seattle. Their new plan calls for a car to go to Vladivostok and then to Paris from there. When Americans were still at sea, their little people, including the protoss who had been in trouble, arrived in Seattle and set sail for Russia. Then, Americans waste time getting Russian visas. This leaflet was the first to arrive at the Pacific coast, and now it is the last to leave. It was a few weeks later than the book, and Gloves made another decision. Considering the time when the pilot failed to fly around Alaska, the United States received a subsidy of 15 days, which means that, in essence, Zuster and Dion could beat the pilot into Paris within two weeks, but still failed. At the same time, Protos will be punished for taking the train from Ogden to Seattle 15 days; Mitt did not completely disqualify Captain Coppen, and concluded that there was some confusion in the rules (different from that in Ge Daer).

Thomas Flair, driven by George Schuster, is in Japan. From Russia

At the beginning, the racers were advised to give up and go to trans-siberian railway. Scafo Liao reported that "Russian great men all wear gold lace" and summarized many reasons for the failure of this expedition: "China bandits, Siberian tigers, fever, plague and famine will be encountered on the road, not to mention mosquitoes such as mud and locusts after three months of rain." Similar joy. "The drivers agreed to restart the race. One day, George Schuster was going to Siberia to find a shortage of gasoline. After returning to the hotel, he received a note telling him to go to St. Chavre's room. When he arrived, he saw that the Italian team was already there.

"There is no gasoline," the Frenchman announced. "There is no way to get anything." I gave it to the car that agreed to take me. "The Italian left the room in disgust. Saint Chavre tried to reason with the Americans, saying that he could find a seat on the German bus, but the leaflets would definitely send the proto family to Paris, hoping to get on the first bus that arrived. He added: "French people don't look very good sitting on German machines. "Schustr said quietly that he would think about it, but he was very excited. Privately, he told his team that he would rather spend the rest of his life in Vladivostok than accept bribes from St. Chavre. Without fanfare, St. Chavre transferred the right to use gasoline to the Italian team, but was not allowed to join. His patron, Marquis Jules Albert DesDios, decided to end his speech.

In Perm, Schustr received a telegram from Thomas factory in Buffalo: "Do you want us to send Montag Roberts to help you when you set foot on the good road of Europe? Schuster was very angry. He can "eat nails", he said, and immediately replied: "July 9: Arrive today. "... is expected to arrive in Paris on July 24th. Schustr said, "Some people say that he is good enough to fly a plane over the swamp in Siberia, but he can't fly over the European capital. Although he was numb and his limbs ached, this sentence prompted him. He is only one day ahead of the prototype now and is determined to stay ahead.

There is a problem: Schustr has been lost. Russians can't understand gestures, and Americans can't understand Russian. A wrong turn cost Americans 15 hours. To make matters worse, the leaflet fell into the mud pit and needed a day's repair. Schustr heard that Captain Coppen left St. Petersburg that day and was preparing for a three-day lead. On Sunday, July 26th, at 6 pm 15, the Italians were still 3000 miles behind in Achinsk.

. Five and a half months later, at a distance of 2 1933 miles from Times Square, Captain Coppen arrived in Paris, and he slowly led Proteus along Bosson Avenue. Martin's editorial delegation warmly welcomed him and provided a cold meal at the reception. At the same time, Schustr was having breakfast at the Imperial Car Club in Berlin, and several people congratulated him on his excellent performance. He didn't explain that Protos would eventually stop for two weeks because of using the train in the western United States, and the pilot was assigned an extra two weeks because he tried to go to Alaska. Schuster had a month to go to Paris, but he still won the competition.

Parisians welcome George Schuster and Otto.