Victor Hémery, 1912

Victor Hémery (November 18, 1876 - September 9, 1950) was a champion driver of early Grand Prix motor racing who was born in Brest, Finistère, France. Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894 Brest (bʁɛst in French, in Breton) is a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. Finistère (Penn-ar-Bed is a département of France, located in Brittany ( Breizh in Breton and Bretagne This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. In 1904 he joined Automobiles Darracq S.A. as their chief tester and helped prepare cars to compete in that year's Gordon Bennett Cup. Automobiles Darracq SA was a French motor vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1896 by Alexandre Darracq. Jenatzy 1903 Gordon Bennettjpg|right|thumb|205px|Jenatzy 1903 winner]]As one of three Gordon Bennett Cups established by James Gordon Bennett Jr He drove a German Opel-Darracq to victory at Hamburg - Bahrenfeld. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Adam Opel GmbH (commonly known as Opel) is a German automaker part of General Motors. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Bahrenfeld is a western quarter of the city of Hamburg in Germany, it is subject to the district/borough ''Bezirk Altona'' and was a independent

1905 was the most successful year in the racing career of Victor Hémery. In August, he drove a Darracq to victory in Circuit des Ardennes at Bastogne, Belgium and in October won the Vanderbilt Cup at Long Island, New York, beating a field that included racing greats such as Felice Nazzaro, Louis Chevrolet, and Ferenc Szisz. Bastogne ( Dutch: Bastenaken, German: Bastenach, Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Belgian municipality The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American Auto racing. Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, USA, its western shores directly across from Manhattan, from which the island stretches Felice Nazzaro ( 1881 - March 21, 1940) was an Italian Racecar driver a native of Turin. Louis-Joseph Chevrolet ( December 25, 1878, Bonfol, Canton of Jura, Switzerland - June 6, 1941 Ferenc Szisz ( September 20, 1873 – February 21, 1944) was a Hungarian race car driver and the winner of the first Grand Prix That same year he set a land speed record of 109. The land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by any wheeled vehicle on land as opposed to one on water or in the air or on rails. 65 mph (175. 44 km/h) on December 30, 1905 at Arles, France driving a Darracq. Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, In 1951, Hémery was retroactively awarded the United States Driving Championship for 1905. Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national Automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level single-seat Open wheel

Victor Hémery at the 1911 Grand Prix de France

He left Darracq to join Benz & Cie. in 1907 and in 1908 he won the St. Petersburg to Moscow race and finished second in the French Grand Prix. Karl Friedrich Benz, sometimes spelled Carl, ( November 25, 1844, Karlsruhe, Germany – April 4, 1929, Ladenburg Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The French Grand Prix ( Grand Prix de France) is a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 's annual Formula One automobile He scored another second place finish behind Louis Wagner at the United States Grand Prix in Savannah, Georgia. For the US Army general see Louis C Wagner Jr Louis Wagner ( February 5, 1882 - March 13, 1960) The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been run on and off since 1908 when it was known as the American Grand Prize. Savannah is a city located in the state of Georgia, United States. The following year, on November 8, 1909 he set another new speed record at Brooklands of 202. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting There is also a type of Windscreen known as "Brooklands" or "Brookland screen" 691 km/h driving the famous "Blitzen Benz" (Lightning Benz). Karl Friedrich Benz, sometimes spelled Carl, ( November 25, 1844, Karlsruhe, Germany – April 4, 1929, Ladenburg In 1910 his Benz racing team finished 1-2 at the United States Grand Prix with David Bruce-Brown winning and Hémery only 1. 42 seconds behind in what was the closest Grand Prix finish up to that time.

In 1911, Victor Hémery won the Grand Prix de France at Sarthe driving a FIAT S61. Sarthe (saʁt is a French department, named after the Sarthe River. Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer

Involved with racing all his life, Victor Hémery died at Le Mans in 1950 at the age of seventy-three. Le Mans (ləmɑ̃ in French) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River.