On This Day

The Edison Storage Battery Company was founded in New Jersey, US, primarily to develop a nickel-iron alkaline battery to improve the feasibility of electric automobiles.

The Pope Motor Car Company announced that they had acquired the factory of the INternational Motor Car Company of Toledo, Ohio, US, manufacturers of the 1901-03 Toledo steam and gasoline cars, and that their new cars would be marketed as Pope-Toledo.

The first Buick ‘Valve-in-Head’ engine was completed.

White's 'Whistling Billy' steam car made its racing debut, with Webb Jay winning the opening 10-mile race at Chicago's Harlem Racetrack. Arguably the most famous steam car ever produced, ‘Whistling Billy’ was one of the fastest cars of the American dirt track races in the early 20th century, before being all but destroyed in a crash in 1912 and left to rust on an American farm. Whistling Billy was engineered specifically for racing. Continue Reading →

'Whistling Billy' steam car

The first issue of GMC Truck Talk was published.

Barney Oldfield ran a qualifying lap in his front-wheel-drive Christie at 102.6 mph. It was the first time any driver had rounded the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in excess of 100 mph. Continue Reading →

The first Le Mans 24-Hour race concluded. Winners Andre Lagache and Renee Leonard covered 1,372.928 miles in a 3 litre Chenard et Walcker. Continue Reading →

Chenard et Walcker - winning car of the 1923 Le Mans Prix d'Endurance

Henry Segrave, holder of the land speed record, was knighted by King George V. Seagrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneously and the first person to travel at over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) in a land vehicle. He died in an accident in 1930 shortly after setting a new world water speed record on Windermere in the Lake District, England. Continue Reading →

Henry Segrave

The 77-story art deco Chrysler Building in New York City opened as the world's tallest building (1,048 ft, 319 m). It was the headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation from 1930 until the mid-1950s. Although the building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for the construction of it and never owned it, as Walter P. Continue Reading →

Chrysler Building

Week long celebrations began to mark the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, connecting San Francisco with Marin County, California, US. Approximately 200,000 people crossed the bridge in honor of its opening, paying a sum of $0.25 to cross. Continue Reading →

Golden Gate Bridge

Stirling Moss made his Formula One debut at the Swiss Grand Prix held at Bremgarten. Juan Manuel Fangio in his Alfa Romeo was on pole and set fastest lap of the race to his winning in a time of 2:07:53. over a minute later, Piero Taruffi in his Ferrari was second after starting sixth and Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa was third, he started second on the grid. Continue Reading →

Stirling Moss - 1951

The four-day East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika began, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1960 it was renamed the East African Safari Rally and it kept that name until 1974, when it became the Safari Rally. It was won by Alan Dix and Johnny Larsen in a VW Beetle. Continue Reading →

East African Coronation Safari -1953

Inness Ireland won the BRSCC race at Brand Hatch, England, in a Ferrari 250 GTO.

The 1498cc Lotus-Ford Twin Cam engine made its race debut in a Lotus 23 sports car during the Nurburgring 1000km race.

The 1970 London-Mexico World Cup Rally, the first of two World Cup Rallies to be held and the second of four marathon rallies to be held in a nine-year period beginning with the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon, ended. The motor rally started at Wembley Stadium in London on 19 April 1970 and finished in Mexico City, covering approximately 16,000 miles (25,750 km) through Europe and South America. It was won by Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm, driving a Ford Escort.

The 250,000th MGB, a MGB GT was produced and given away in USA sweepstake.

Dennis Priddle achieved the first six-second run outside the United States with a 6.995 /185 he followed it up with a 6.93/208 mph at the Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire.

Gary Bettenhausen led 138 laps of the Indianapolis 500 until his engine blew on lap 176. Jerry Grant gained the lead but pitted for new tyres on lap 188 in team mate Bobby Unser’s pit. Bettenhausen’s Penske team mate Mark Donohue win after leading 13 laps. Continue Reading →

One of the worst recorded road accidents occurred in the UK, a coach crash on the B6265 near Grassington, North Yorkshire, in which 33 people died. The brakes on the 45-seat coach rapidly overheated as it ran away down a half-mile-long, one-in-six gradient hill, causing it to crash through a steel safety barrier, hitting the parapet of Dibbles Bridge, where the road took a right-hand turn, and plunged 15 feet into a ravine.

Grassington coach crash - 1975

Professional ice hockey player Bob Gassoff (24), who played four seasons in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues, was killed in a motorcycle accident on the country property of his friend and team-mate Garry Unger near Gray Summit, Missouri. His number 3 was subsequently retired by the Blues.

The Donington Park circuit closed in 1939 due to World War II, when it became a military vehicle depot, re-opened.

The 37th Monaco Grand Prix won by polesitter Jody Scheckter in a Ferrari 312T4 ahead of Clay Regazzoni (Williams FW07) and Carlos Reutemann (Lotus 79). Patrick Depailler set the fastest lap of the race in a Ligier JS11. It was the last race of 1976 World Champion James Hunt's Formula One career.

The “pack up” rule was employed as a safety measure in the Indianapolis 500, during caution periods, and for the first time in history the Pace Car appeared on the track during the race.

Rick Mears won his second Indianapolis 500. Race rookies included Michael Andretti, Roberto Guerrero, and Al Holbert.

Arie Luyendyk (Netherlands) completed the Indianapolis 500 in 2 hours 41 minutes 18.404 seconds, at an average speed of 299.3 km/h (186 mph), in a Lola-Chevrolet.

Eddie Cheever at the 1990 Indianapolis 500

The 48th Monaco Grand Prix held over 78 laps of the three kilometre circuit for a race distance of 259 kilometres was won by defending race champion Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, who led every lap of the race driving a McLaren MP4/5B. Like his previous win in the US, Senna's rival for the race was the unexpected form of young French driver Jean Alesi driving a Tyrrell 019. Senna held a one second gap over Alesi at the finish. Continue Reading →

Monaco Grand Prix - 1990

Louis Schweitzer became Chairman of Renault.

Michael Schumacher driving for the Ferrari team won the Monaco Grand Prix, contested over 78 laps. Rubens Barrichello finished second in the other Ferrari with Eddie Irvine third for the Jaguar team. Schumacher's win was his fourth of season, and Irvine's third place was the first podium position for the Jaguar team.