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Art and the French Grand Prix, 1921
Art and the French
Grand Prix, 1921
by Gary D. Doyle Art and the French Grand Prix, 1921
By Gary D. Doyle
Few races in the history of motor sport have attracted as much interest from
automotive artists as has the French Grand Prix of 1921. The artistic focus on
the dramatic Duesenberg victory began in 1921 and continues today. What
intrigues the artists also motivates automotive historians to investigate this
most significant race.
While remembered as part of the Golden Age of automobile racing the
1921 Grand Prix was the first modern event. Prior to WWI the Grand Prix
was the most prestigious race in the world and 1921 was the first running
since 1914. It was high drama, at least for the French, given the results of the
1914 race in which Germany finished 1-2-3, and the legendary, national hero
Georges Boillot on Peugeot (winner of the 1912 and 1913 races) suffered
equipment failure on the last lap of the race. Many historians believe that the
Germans used team tactics for the first time in 1914, to wear down the Peugeot
entrants, particularly Boillot. Mercedes had five cars in the race and it did
appear that they responded to direction from the team leader in the pits. The
German victory was less than a month before the outbreak of the Great War
and the initial military offensive was to see the German Army 75 miles from
Paris before the end of the year. With the difficult Germans banned from
participation because of the aftermath of the War, the French believed 1921
would mark their return to automotive racing dominance. That did not hap-
pen.
An American car equipped with new technology and a gutsy driver won. This
new technology was the in-line 8-cylinder engine, which would dominate rac-
ing power plants for the next decade. All but two cars running at Le Mans had
this configuration. The 8s first appeared at the 1919 Indianapolis Motor Speed-
way powering both the major manufacturers, Ballot and Duesenberg, that would
contest the 1921 dust up in France. As is the case many times in racing, the
breakthrough technology did not win the Indy 500 in 1919 or 1920. While the
Ballots were particularly fast, updated 4 cylinder engines powered the vic-
tors (a historic Peugeot in 1919 and a new Frontenac in 1920) and 1921
saw a Frontenac 8 steal the race from the faster Ballot and Duesenbergs in
a magnificent drive by Tommy Milton.
Car racing, at this time, like today, was an international sport and Europe had
routinely sent equipment and drivers to America to contest Indianapolis, on
1
purse of any race in the world. ($20,000 to the winner) European drivers and
or cars had won from 1913 to 1919. Perhaps the most colorful was Jules
Goux (a driver at Le Mans) who won in 1913 by a wide margin and refreshed
himself with Champagne at his numerous pit stops! Vive la France! There
were some
instances of
Americans
racing in Eu-
rope, but no
cars or
teams until
1921. Since
1920 the en-
gine formula
was the same
for both Eu-
rope and
America at
183 cid or 3
liters. The
stage was
set for an
Fig. 1 Jules Goux at one of his many stops. Fred Stout
American effort in Europe and Duesenberg took up the challenge. To win a
formula grand prix race with a 100% American car and driver, historically
never duplicated, was significant. Shortly after 1921, the racing on both con-
tinents would diverge and neither European nor American cars would be com-
petitive out of their unique venues, board tracks and ovals here and road racing
there.
The artists have recognized and depicted the 1921 contest as part of the
heroic age of motor racing. The cars and drivers were accessible and re-
vealed in a way that contemporary racers suffer by comparison. Big plastic
helmets, corporate logos, ground effects, and chassis attachments obscure
todays subject matter and as a result they are not as interesting. There is
something compelling about unprotected drivers who we see manhandling
vintage machinery on courses that were not perfect, doing there own pit work,
because the rules required it, and the show was all out in the open for us to see.
The artists have found the mixture of history, drama and subject matter compel-
ling. Every historically significant automotive painter has contributed to the
mix and many have fashioned multiple images. They are beautiful to view as mix and many have fashioned multiple images. They are beautiful to view as
art and interesting historical documents. Only Gordon Crosby, Bryan De
Grineau and Peter Helck had the opportunity to be on hand for the race. The
rest of the artists have had to rely on contemporary photographs for inspira-
tion. While drawing and painting car details, road conditions, the crowd, build-
ings, atmosphere and course particulars the artists have functioned as histori-
ans by selecting what facts to present and interpret. Cumulatively, while not
traditional history, these interpretations begin to give a feeling for the cars,
competition, drivers, atmosphere and the times. The art also overlays emo-
tion and feel that photographs dont convey.
Historians generally do not rely on art to tell and support their story. They are
much more accustomed to printed records that help supply the narrative line,
though pictures can help the story by illustrating basic facts and answering
who, what, and where questions. Also, the technical requirements of printing
works against the inclusion of artwork in most accounts because of cost. When
paintings are included it is usually isolated from the text in a special section
of the publication. The circumstances and interests of the recorder , of course,
result in an interpretion. Before discussing the artwork, a brief summary of the
race follows for context.
The Race
It was decided that Duesenberg would contest the 1921 race sometime in
1920 or early 1921. The entry fees had been paid as of March 1, 1921. Four
cars were manufactured in Elizabeth, New Jersey and finished at the new
Duesenberg factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. They were then shipped to France
and driven from Le Harve to Le Mans. The drivers were all on hand by mid-
July and practice commenced. The entered cars at this point were Duesenberg
(4), Ballot (4), STD (7), Mathis, (1) and FIAT (3). Neither all of the teams nor
all the cars made the start. FIAT withdrew at the last minute because of politi-
cal turmoil in Italy and STD had numerous problems, which resulted in only 4
of the 7 cars making the show.
Practice indicated that the Duesenbergs were quick and both Joe Boyer and
Jimmy Murphy, two of their four drivers, were turning laps at over 84 mph.
The Ballot and Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq (STD) cars were also fast. The
race was run on Monday, July 25, 1921 and was for 30 laps or 321.78 miles.
The cars went away in twos from a standing start at 30-second intervals.
Duesenberg went to the front early and had part of or the lead from lap 1 to lap
12. Boyer (car #6) was tied with Ralph De Palma (car #1) who was driving
a Ballot, at the end of lap one. Jimmy Murphy (car #12) gained the lead on lap
2 and held it until a pit stop on lap 12. He was pressed by Jean Chassagne (car
#8) driving a Ballot who then led from lap 12 to the end of 17 when he retired
with a broken car. Murphy regained the lead and held it to the end though not
without problems in the form of flat tires and a punctured radiator towards the
end of the race. Jimmy Murphy won with an average speed of 78.1 mph with
a lap record of 83.2 mph, which lasted on this course until 1930. The second
place car a Ballot, with Ralph De Palma driving, was 15 minutes behind.
Jules Goux was third in a Ballot, was the first French driver to finish and had
no time for champagne this trip. The STD cars proved to be uncompetitive
because of their tires which did not hold up well on the course. Henry Segrave,
one of their drivers and future winner of this race in 1923, and Land Speed
Record holder, changed tires 9 times.
All the cars had brakes on all four wheels. The Duesenbergs had hydraulic
versions made by Lockheed, of future airplane fame, and most consider it the
American cars competitive advantage. The brakes were so effective stop-
ping the cars it allowed the four Duesenberg drivers, Murphy, Boyer, Guyot
and Dubonnet to drive much deeper into corners. Murphy was particularly
adept at the technique and could pass others as they applied their mechanical
brakes approaching the turns. All the machines had straight 8 engines save
the Mathias and Gouxs Ballot, which had 4 cylinders. The Goux car was a
substitution because one of the 8 cylinder Ballots had been destroyed in prac-
tice. The principle problem during the race was the course itself. The roads,
never fully recovered from the military activity of WWI, q