Mercedes celebrates 120 years of motorsport by taking a look at the world’s first race

The first motor car race in history, which took place on 22 July 1894 over the 126-kilometre route from Paris to Rouen, was not just about speed. Rather the aim was for vehicles to demonstrate their excellent road-going credentials as part of the competition organised by the French daily newspaper “Le Petit Journal”. Two cars fitted with a Daimler two-cylinder V-engine shared first prize in the world’s first motor car race in 1894 and a Benz vehicle received 5th prize. The reliability test drive from Paris to Rouen paved the way for the unique tradition of 120 years of Mercedes-Benz motor sport history. But the winners of the race from Paris to Rouen were not only the vehicles from Panhard & Levassor and Peugeot, but the motor car with a combustion engine per se. After all, on the 126-kilometre-long route, the motor vehicle powered by the fast-running Daimler engine demonstrated its superiority over road-going vehicles with other propulsion systems. 21 vehicles in total were approved for the race from Paris to Rouen. They had to go through test drives on the three days before the final competition to qualify to take part in the long-distance race. From 7 a.m. on 22 July 1894, the vehicles lined up on the starting grid at the Porte Maillot in the Paris district of Neuilly sur Seine, located right next to the Bois de Boulogne. The start on the Boulevard Maillot was scheduled for “8 o’clock sharp” The steam tractor of Count de Dion with its single-axle passenger trailer in tow was the first vehicle to set off at 8.01 a.m., with the remaining vehicles following at intervals of 30 seconds.