Victor Hemery
The French #18 Darracq Driven by Victor Hemery (1905)
Darracq & Company of France was represented by two 80-hp cars in the race, the #18 car driven by Victor Hemery and the #6 car driven by Louis Wagner. The well-engineered Darracqs were the lightest cars in the race and used shaft drives instead of chains.
The Grandstand Crowd Near the End of the Race (1905)
The Mineola grandstand crowd went wild when Victor Hemery won in the Darracq, averaging 61.5 mph. The 1904 winner, George Heath, finished in second place only three minutes and 42 seconds behind.
Victor Hemery: The Victor (1905)
Known as a ruthless competitor, winner Victor Hemery was one of the most highly regarded drivers in the field. Only weeks before the Vanderbilt Cup Race, he won the prestigious Belgian International Races at the Ardennes Circuit. In 1904 he won acclaim for his victories in the Mount Ventoux and Gaillon hill climbs.
Hemery’s Darracq at the Guinea Woods Turn (1905)
With Lancia delayed 40 minutes for repairs, the race came down to a battle between two French cars, Hemery’s #18 Darracq and Heath’s #14 Panhard. As Hemery made the Guinea Woods Turn during lap nine, he led Heath by three minutes. During the last lap, Heath reduced the lead by almost a minute but could not catch Hemery.
Featured Drivers
- George Arents, Jr.
- William Borque
- Louis Chevrolet
- J. Walter Christie
- David Bruce-Brown
- Albert Clement, Jr.
- Bert Dingley
- Arthur Duray
- Lee Frayer
- Harry Grant
- George Heath
- Victor Hemery
- Foxhall Keene
- Billy Knipper
- Vincenzo Lancia
- William Luttgen
- Herb Lytle
- Felice Nazzaro
- Edward Parker
- Al Poole
- Eddie Rickenbacker
- George Robertson
- Charles Schmidt
- Elliot Shepard
- Emil Stricker
- George Teste
- Joe Tracy
- Louis Wagner
- A.C. Webb
- Walter White
Feature
The 128-page book by Howard Kroplick, a researcher and lecturer on the races, contains rare images of the races from the archives of major museums, libraries and private collectors. The book Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island will be available from Arcadia Publishing in March 2008.
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