24th May 1903 - The infamous Paris-Madrid (Race of Death)

Gordon Crosby: The Paris - Madrid (Bordeaux) Race 1903. 

The (very rare) Paul Moreau-Vauthier bronze trophy.

On 24th May 1903 216 vehicles departed Paris for the inaugral Paris-Madrid race - only 38 reached Bordeaux where the race was 'red-flagged'. This tragic event effectively became the LAST GREAT OPEN-ROAD RACE.

To celebrate the growth of the 'new industry' of motoring The Automobile club of France sanctioned a road race between Paris & Madrid to demonstrate how the motor car could open up  the borders for pan-European travel. In an attempt to stop this becoming a pure 'speed' challenge the organisers ruled that this was to be a challenge based on the overall performance of a 4 car team of the same make and model of car, meaning that on a points based system the winner would not necessarily be the first past the post - on the face of it, a sensible decision! Despite this precaution, once the flag dropped it became clear that to both spectators and drivers that it really was all about speed!

Almost immediately the casualties began to mount, with many spectators and drivers being killed. At the end of the 1st day only 38 of the starting 216 entrants reached Bordeaux, and with a mounting and unacceptable death toll, the French authorities stepped in and brought the race to a halt. The race had been split into 3 categories - Light, Heavy & Voiturette and at Bordeaux the leaders of each class were as follows: Heavy - Gabriel/ Mors: Light - Renault ( Louis): Voiturette - Masson - Clement. As leader in the 'heavy class' Gabriel was acknowledged as the overall 'winner' (If it can be called that!). Tragically for Louis Renault winning the 'light class' was very bitter-sweet as his brother Marcel had been killed after crashing into a tree earlier in the day.

Charles Jarrott (The only English competitor) describes the race very clearly and graphically in his excellent book 'Ten years of Motors and Motor Racing' (Probably the best record written of early motor racing by 'a man who was there'and highly recommended reading!).

So.....you may be wondering, What has this got to do with a gallery in Cheltenham, UK?

The event achieved massive media coverage (for all the wrong reasons) at the time and has gained historical status, with many portrayals by artists - see the Gordon Crosby at the top of this blog. It has been recorded on canvas, bronze and porcelain by many great artists. We are proud & privileged to say that we have an original bronze of Gabriel on the Mors here at The Mabileau! (see the 2nd image). This is particularly poignant because the sculptor was Paul Moreau Vauthier - Paul was Gabriel's riding mechanic in the Mors, so there was no-one better placed to recapture the drama of the event - this is clear in the posture of both occupants in the vehicle. These bronzes are rare, which makes them even more special.

There was a ceramic 'replica' of this bronze by the great ceramicist Emile Decoeur, and I have often seen this wrongly attributed (both ways - the bronze by Decoeur and the ceramic by Moreau-Vauthier! so it is nice to own 1 and put the record straight!)

An image of the ceramic by Decoeur.

'Our' bronze has the foundry mark of Moreau Vauthier - which helps!

Both the Bronze and the ceramic are desirable and collectable pieces - If you see one, and the price is right - don't hesitate! (The ceramic is slightly rarer). As the time passes, it is important to remember these little pieces of motor racing heritage, often unappreciated nowadays in the age of digital creation!