From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
The "Pits": There can be few, if any, readers who don't understand the term "the pits". It refers, of course, to the area where refuelling or other repairs or adjustments are carried out on racing cars during a race. But where did this strange name for this area arise and what has it got to do with a pit?
For an answer, we must go back to the origins of the Grand Prix. After the 1903 Irish Gordon Bennett Race, the Gordon Bennett series of races continued in 1904 in Germany and in 1905 in France.
The Automobile Club de France (ACF) then decided to abandon the series and replace it with a new event to be called the French Grand Prix. Their reasons for doing so were entirely rooted in self-interest - they simply didn't like the limitation of three cars from each country which the Gordon Bennett rules stipulated.
Under their new Grand Prix rules, a country could have as many cars entered as it wished. This suited the French motor industry - at the time it was by far the largest and most successful in the world.
The new French Grand Prix kicked off in 1906 on the Circuit de la Sarthe, a road circuit based close to the town of Le Mans. The new race was a success and for 1907 was moved to a more suitable circuit near Dieppe.
A large grandstand was erected by the ACF along the portion of the track containing the start and finish area, where the mechanics for each car had been positioned the previous year.
To enable the paying patrons in the lower part of the grandstand to see the action, it was decided to dig a long trench five feet deep along the side of the road in front of the grandstand. The trench was divided into sections for each entrant and became known as "the pits", a name which survives to this day even though the trench has long since departed and the pit area is today more likely to be a high-tech facility for carrying out almost any kind of work on a racing car. Who said tradition is dead?
THE GOOD OLD DAYS: Road accidents, however regrettable, are by no means a peculiarity of the motor vehicle. They have been happening as long as there have been roads.
Deaths on the roads of France in 1899, the first year for which comprehensive records are available, numbered the surprising total of 876 - two were the result of motors while the rest involved horse-drawn traffic. In the same year, an incredible 8,700 were injured in horse-related accidents on France's roads.
BATTLE OF THE FLOWERS: A popular competition on the continent in the early days of motoring was the decoration of cars with flowers. These events did not catch the imagination of the Irish motoring public and there are few records of them taking place here.
One such event that is recorded was held in conjunction with a fête run by the Royal Horticultural Society at the RDS, Ballsbridge, in 1904. The contest was something of a disappointment for the organisers as only two suitably decorated cars turned up on the day.
The winning car was an Argyll decorated with "arum lilies, azaleas and daffodils" entered by a Mrs Westby who received a silver cup given by the Wolseley Company.