Léon Théry
| Léon Théry | |
|---|---|
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Léon Théry in 1908
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| Born |
16 April 1879 France |
| Died | 8 March 1909 (aged 29) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
Léon Théry (16 April 1879 – 8 March 1909) was a French racing driver, nicknamed "Le Chronometer", who won the premier European race, the Gordon Bennett Cup, in both 1904 and 1905.
Théry started out as a mechanic which gave him an understanding of the need to drive according to the car's abilities, and nurse it home to victory. His nickname was "Le Chronometer", for his reliable lap times, and he became one of the top drivers in the early 1900s.
He competed respectably up until 1903, driving a Decauvillle, and became a voiturette champion. He is regarded as winning 'one of the first Voiturette races, if not the very first'.
His first race was the Paris to Amsterdam in 1898 at the wheel of a voiturette.
His competed was the Paris-Bordeaux city to city race in 1899. His tiller-steered Decauville voiturelle averaged less than 30 km/h (19 mph) for the 565 kilometres (351 mi) race, and when he reached Bordeaux, he was totally exhausted, struck by amnesia and was heard repeating: "“Do not stop me, I have to arrive at Bordeaux!”. Nevertheless, this was enough for second place, behind the Decauville of Gabriel, and ahead of a second teammate.
In 1901, Théry drove a Decauville voiturelle in the Paris-Rouen-Paris race on 11/03/1900, winning the Coupe des Voiturettes (voiturette class).
Théry became renowned for his methodical documentation in a 'race log' of circuit details, road conditions, tyres, engine reliability, and car performance. He then drove scrupulously to the speed he had calculated in the race log.
1902 was a year of trauma. He entered his Decauville in the Paris-Vienna race on 26–29 June, accompanied by his mechanic Muller. Brake failure on the Arlberg pass (1,793 m (5,883 ft)) in Austria tested all his skills in avoiding disaster. In the Ardennes Cup race on 31 July, they hit a cow at full speed.
In 1903, Théry joined the French manufacturer Richard-Brasier.
On 20 May 1904, Théry won the Gordon Bennett Elimination Trial at Argonne, France, driving an 80 hp (60 kW; 81 PS) Richard-Brasier.
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Wikipedia