The Heroic Days

Shell made quite a few of these historical movies and this is very much to type. Heavily but interestingly archive laden, it tells the story of the evolutionary racing car. Starting in 1902, we are introduced to standard touring car racing from Paris to Vienna (The Gordon Bennett Cup). There are also specifically designed sports car - all built to the standard that they do not exceed 1 ton! Bigger engines and chassis allow for speeds up to 90mph. France lead the way with Rene de Knyff seen here. In Ireland in 1903, the cars look and sound quite fragile as cheered on by enthusiastic crowds on a closed course, this time, due to city to city races being temporarily banned. Camille Jenatzy took the plaudits in a very clunky looking Mercedes. 1904 see more manufacturers taking part - so we need trials. Selwyn Edge needs his tyres cooled and even the Kaiser turns up for the start. Jenatzy and Edge return to race the four lap, eighty mile circuit but it is the Brazier of Théry that wins after stiff competition from the Fiat of Italy's Queen Elena's personal chauffeur. Now we switch the focus to the first two day French Grand Prix in 1906. Fiat and Mercedes turn up with some fairly bulky units - the latter's being twice the size of a bus! Gabriel sets off for France as the cars individually start in an haze of steam and exhaust - but not always successfully. No mechanics allowed - the crew must do all the running repairs. The coverage is now starting to look a little less staccato, the threads of the racing picking up and there's more continuity for us to follow. Day 2 sees horses tow the cars to the start and Renault win with Hungarian Ferenc Szisz at the wheel. 1907 sees the inaugural (and only) Kaiserpreis take centre stage and the crowd irresponsibly wander about impervious to the danger. Felice Navarro wins and receives his prize from the Kaiser. Then back to the French GP where there are new limits put on fuel consumption as an alternative to weight limits. These lighter cars seem much more prone to accidents and at times this coverage looks more like "Whacky Races". Nazarro takes the title and then onto 1908 and the same race with much better audio present on the race coverage. The weight limit is back and there are crashes and overshoots galore here! Mercedes win with Christian Lautenschlager. Now we move to Brooklands in Britain and to the USA (briefly) for coverage of more amateur track racing. The cars or "voiturettes" are faster but on the bends, they are vulnerable to toppling over. More "Whacky Races", though also a fatality this time. Only a Fiat can complete the reconsonstituted French Grand Prix in 1911 - a race marred by another fatality. Similar coverage is offered from Dieppe in 1912 with plenty of drama. Peugeot, Fiat and Sunbeam emerging as the most stable and quickest. 1913 in Amiens sees Peugeot's superior road holding prove demonstrably successful and Georges Boillot retains his title. Finally, just about everyone turns up for the 1914 race that pitches Mercedes against Peugeot. The cars start in pairs this time, and some quite exciting filming shows us a tense conclusion to the race and a repeat victory for the moustachioed Lautenschlager on this gruelling 23 mile circuit that gives Mercedes the three podium spots and concludes this quickly paced and entertaining chronology of the French Grand Prix and the embryonic sport of motor car racing.