Vanderbilt Cup Races

That’s an excellent group shot left by Steve Lucas. I like how the group is described within Ariejans pages. Brings to mind a band of misfit superheroes!

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Spring is coming!  Let’s ride!

From Over 125 Car Club Leaders Met Last Sunday at the 2020 Long Island Car Council

Tim Ivers

Articles from:
New York Billboard- July 15, 1911-No location identified for “first aerial show”
Batavia New York Times December 31, 1910

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Ariejan Bos (Netherlands)

Dear Howard,

I hope you’re doing well! Always enjoy the challenge of the mysteries, though I’ve decided to restrict myself to the car mysteries, my core business 😊 As early flight is very much intermingled with early car history I have a small archive on that subject too.

Below the text belonging to the latest Friday mystery. Attached images from a book, explained in the text.

The Moisant International Aviators, Ltd., was a kind of flying (and racing) circus, giving shows on many places on the North American continent in the early years of flying. I add ed pages from the important work ‘Contact! The story of the early aviators’ by Henry Serrano Villard (Dover Publ., 1987), explaining the troupe in detail including the aviators and car drivers. Joe Seymour was indeed also a racing car driver, competing in many racing events. Also the famous Roland Garros and Edmond Audemars were part of this company. The plane on the photo is evidently a Blériot, the car is less evident but looking at the outline of the car possibilities are the 1905 and/or 1906 Mercedes, Fiat or Itala Vanderbilt Cup racers. Difficult to decide which one!

Best wishes,
Ariejan Bos

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

5 mile race, straight run likely, and it’s not the Motor Parkway. Probably Ormond Beach, FL, where you could’ve opened up the throttles without hesitation

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Thanks Sam, but as one who tries to be transparent (most of the time), the idea of the Bridge series came from Al Velocci.  And each bridge was previously documented by Howard.  All I did was put them all together!  And yes, if we all would have known back then many opportunities for documentation would have been available.  But just as Bob was your inspiration, you were mine as I printed out many pages of your website and used that as the basis of my explorations early on.  Thanks!

From Kleiner's Kolumn:Documentation of the Eight Motor Parkway Bridges in Suffolk County (#53 to #60)

As far as the LIRR ROW and the Motor Parkway are concerned I just realized that at that site they were not adjacent as it is in the section where the Motor Parkway had a jog to the north for the grandstand area before a jog back south. I’ve been looking at too many maps.

From Kleiner's Korner: The Long Island Motor Parkway and Levittown

Mystery Foto# 9… The aircraft being flown by Rene Simon is a Bleriot IX.
And Joe Seymour usually raced in a Thomas so I am guessing that that would be the car.

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

And 2nd part of Steak Dinner

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Three more

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Renee Simon - ( 1885 - 1947 ) was a French aviator. I believe he also participated in auto racing, but flying was his passion. Joseph Seymour - ( Born? - Died? ) participated in the 1908 VCR - #8 Thomas 60 HP and 1909 VCR - #17 Isotta ? HP. Soon after, he also became an aviator. He, Renee & several others became a traveling flying group - The Moisant International Aviators. This group performed both driving & flying events across the USA in 1910, 1911.

When I witnessed this image on NYH/ COAM collection, I thought how cool it was that an aviator & race driver were competing with each other! I then realized after researching that this was happening quite a bit in those days.

The same image above is witnessed in the Omaha Daily Bee 4/30/1911. It’s captioned- Machine to fly over Omaha. So this image is from a previous event. There was an event during the groups tour at a Aviation Field in El Paso, Texas early to mid February 1911. I’m guessing the image is from the Feb event. Rene is flying his Bleriot Monoplane, I don’t know what vehicle Joe is driving. Most of the articles mention his 110 or 155 HP VCR racer? He should be leaving the 50 HP planes in the dust : ).

Below is info about The Moisant Flying School, which according to the brochure, was located just E/O Clinton Rd & parallel with the LIMP. Exactly where Hazelhurst became to be in 1917.Tried finding more info on Joe Seymour too.

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Wayne, you’re correct.  Another locator was that the engine was very close to the old puppet theater (~100 yards NE?).  The tracks were still in place with rails in the pavement on Merrick in that 1956 Art Huneke photo linked above and the leading Gerosa tractor is sitting across them, facing south (note the old station building visible to the NW, at left past the truck’s radiator).  Sam, III

From Kleiner's Kolumn: Documentation of the Long Island Motor Parkway Bridges in Nassau County (#28-#42)

Rene Simon was part of the Moisant International Aviators, a “barnstorming” group of early pilots (founded by brothers John & Alfred Moisant) who toured the south and west for around 5 months during late 1910 and early 1911. There is a reference to a Bleriot XI (with 50 HP. Gnome motor) racing a Packard in New Orleans on Dec. 30, 1910. I’m attaching a photo taken at the Houston Airshow (Jan. 27 - 30, 1911) which shows Joe Seymour on the left and Rene Simon 3rd. from the left. I’m thinking that since New Orleans is not all that far from Houston, Simon and Seymour duplicated the event at the old race track in Houston in January, 1911. By this time, Seymour was becoming interested in f lying as well as auto racing after participating in the 1908 and 1909 Vanderbilt Cup Races.

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Great work, Art; thanks.  Yeeks!  I worked for many years on New Highway backing on Adventurers (110) and was all over the Ruland/Maxess/Duryea area and never realized (back then) the significance of it, LIMP-wise.  But then that applies to much of western and central Nassau as well.  Until Bob Miller introduced me to the LIMP history (thanks, Bob), I must have missed endless chances for documentation; rats!  Sam, III

From Kleiner's Kolumn:Documentation of the Eight Motor Parkway Bridges in Suffolk County (#53 to #60)

Howard, Rene Simon and Joe Seymour were two of the seven man Moisant International Aviators group formed by John B. Moisant in 1910. The plane is a 1909 Bleriot. In January 1911 the group put on a show in Houston Texas I think that is were the photo was taken because the show was put on at a closed down race track. A Joe Seymore raced a Fiat in 1907.  A similar auto/plane race was planned on Long Island in September that year on and over local public roads around Garden City. Lou Disbrow in a National automobile and Tom Sopwith piloting a Bleriot. When the Nassau County sheriff forbade it the question was raised why not hold it on and over the privately owned Long Island Motor Parkway? We know it didn’t happen, I guess Willie wasn’t in the mood for any kind of racing.

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Joe Seymour raced in the 1908 and 1909 Vanderbilt Cup races.
Rene Simon was a daredevil piilot who flew this Moisant monoplane and other aircraft.
Moisant had a plant in Garden City.
My guess would be this race took place in July 1911 with Seymour in #16 on a stretch of the LIMP through Levittown.

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

I agree that it will fetch a high dollar. Amazing rig.

Will be there to watch it cross the block.

From Update: A Renault Vanderbilt Racer was Sold Today at the Amelia Island Auction

Making a guess here, but could be from Hutchinson, Kansas Air Show featuring the Moisant International Aviators.  Joe Seymour was not only a race driver but also a flyer for Moisant.  The attached Newpaper articles give details about both Seymour and Simon as well as the plane.  The dates for this show are April 13, 14 and 15 of 1911.

From Mystery Foto #9 Solved: A Bleriot Monoplane Racing a Vanderbilt Cup Racer in 1910/1911

Thanks Art for this historical account of the LIMP near my childhood home of few blocks from this location. I always learn something new here and in this case I was unaware of the 1976 auction. I would love to know why Levitt didn’t acquire those lots. Thankfully the community stood firmly against high density housing which would have been a big mistake. I have a feeling that you are keeping those property posts safe at your home.

From Kleiner's Korner: The Long Island Motor Parkway and Levittown

This is great stuff! I love the relics found along the site. That racing car reminds me of the plastic models sold at Freeport Raceway. The models are of late 30’s cars so probably not from the Vanderbilt races. As far as the selling off of Motor Parkway property is concerned, how does that impact the adjacent LIRR ROW? The Motor Parkway property is in the hands of Nassau County while the LIRR ROW is in the hands of the MTA and therefore NY State. Once again, a great job with this site!

From Kleiner's Korner: The Long Island Motor Parkway and Levittown