Paris-Toulouse-Paris, Cars, Men

There were 16 different automobile contests at the 1900 Paris Exposition. In the Paris-Toulouse-Paris event, the drivers drove from Vincennes to Montgeron, where they departed for the timed part of the race at 3:07 in the morning, with two-minute intervals between the contestants, covering a course from Paris to Toulouse and back, whose distance is variably mentioned at 1,347 to 1,443 km. The race took place in three stages over three days – Paris-Toulouse, Toulouse-Limoges, Limoges-Paris. Fifty-five (55) vehicles started the three Paris-Toulouse-Paris events, from 78 entrants, but only 21 finished, with nine cars, nine motorcycles, and three small cars (voiturettes) making it to the finish line, although only 18 had a time recorded.

Paris-Toulouse-Paris was one of the major races that year, second only to the first Gordon Bennett race. The major events of the previous years had been divided between René De Knijff, who won Paris-Bordeaux 1898 and Tour de France Automobile in 1899; and Fernand Charron, who won the 1898 Paris-Amsterdam-Paris, the 1899 Paris-Bordeaux, and the 1900 Gordon Bennett race. Charron did not compete at the Paris Exposition due to illness.

The winner of this event was Alfred Velghe, competing as Levegh, who finished more than one hour ahead of Arthur Pinson. Velghe received a prize of 8,000 francs and a gold medal for winning, from a total purse of 30,000 francs. He was one of the pioneer car racers in France, who started that avocation in 1898, and always raced as Levegh, an anagram of his surname. When Velghe/Levegh won the race, he lit up a victory cigar.

Velghe’s nephew, Pierre Boullion, later used the same pseudonym during his racing career. Pierre Levegh is mostly known for the infamous accident at the 1955 24-Hours of Le Mans, when his crash caused the death of more than 80 spectators and himself.

The most serious crash in Paris-Toulouse came when Gilles Hourgières’ car was upended when he needed to avoid a horse with carriage. According to reports, the carriage driver was said to be drunk.