Quiz Archive

About Quiz # 182: Elliot Shepard / Hotchkiss HH / French GP 1906 (UPDATE: the Mechnic

A frightening large number of competitors crossed the finish line of Quiz #182 with nothing more than a noselenght of difference. All (!) competitors came up with the right driver. Almost every competitor came up with the right car and year. No less than eight competitors Jan Gauffin, Marc Lee Fellman, Stefan Ittner, David Green, Jean-Marie Guivarch, Carleton Hughes, Danny Hermans, Radu Comsa and Peter Slootweg plus jury members Mark Dawber and Kit Foster) all coughed up the right basic facts. (A) the event was the 1906 Grand Prix near Le Mans as organised by the Automobile Club de France (this 26-27 June it will be exactly 100 years ago) (B) The car was a Hotchkiss HH (they were also known for making arms including the earliest machine guns) and C. the driver Elliot Shepard, who was a son of Margaret Vanderbilt-Shepard and cousin of William Vanderbilt-Cup ). So these resuilts did put us into the position to change this quiz into a lottery, but we don't like lotteries. Better stay close to the quiz question 'Who is it?' We thought about giving the prize to the men who told us more about the mechanic (was it indeed William J. Muller?). Finally we decided to give courtesy to the man who had it all right plus that he named the full Hotchkiss team being Le Blon, Salleron & Shepard and on top of that in reality is closest to the truth as he lives and is working near Le Mans! Congratulations to artist Jean Marie Guivarch !! (this quiz is sponsored by the Ault Park Concours d'Elegance with special thanks to the Arthritis Foundation and Toyota USA) Many thanks to 'Golden Era'experts Hans Etzrodt and Leif Snellman.
UPDATE by Robert Dick:"Acording to the contemporary French magazine "L'Automobile - Revue des Locomotions nouvelles", Shepard's mechanic in the 1906 GP de l'ACF and the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup was Charles "Baby" Lehman. This is confirmed by "The New York Times" of September 9, 1906: "Elliott F. Shepard, who is to drive the 125 horse power Hotchkiss car in the Vanderbilt Cup race on the Long Island course on Oct. 6, arrived here early yesterday morning on the French Line steamship La Lorraine. He brought with him his mechanician, Charles Lehman, popularly known as the "Baby" in French automobile circles." (Elliott with two "t"s in the NYT)"

Friday, 02 June 2006