Just Finished Reading: The Race to the Future – An Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St Clair (FP: 2023) [289pp]
France, 1907. It all started as an idea to increase a newspapers circulation. The Parisian Le Martin would issue a challenge to any motor vehicle which could travel from Pekin (now Beijing) to Paris – the prize, world fame (and a trophy). After some initial problems, a little indifference and some well-placed scoffing at the possibility of such a thing, a total of 5 vehicles and crews signed up. Two, the favourites naturally, were a pair of French De Dion-Bouton motors with 10hp engines one of which was piloted by a famous French racing driver, another was a 15hp Spyker driven by an unknown who had managed to scam his way into the competition and one, a much more powerful 45hp Italia, was driven (and indeed financed) by an Italian prince – Prince Scipione Borghese. The outsider, although its driver firmly believed the opposite, was a tiny 3-wheel Contal Mototri producing an equally tiny 6hp. It was going to quite a trip running for 8,000 miles across mountains, desert, steppe with the hazards of flood, fire, bandits, an overly officious border guards. It was a test of both man and machine, of power, integrity, honour and technology. Advertised as a challenge as well as proof of a brighter future for the internal combustion engine it soon turned into a race for national pride and the triumph of western civilisation.
To be honest I picked this up because of its colourful cover and bought it because I thought it, at least in part, would cover the Italian ‘Futurists’ and their obsession with motor cars and speed – it didn't. However, this was FAR from disappointing, indeed it was a delight from beginning to end. Although primarily focused on the ‘race’ itself (and some of the odd-ball competitors) it also looked at the social and political conditions in China, Russia and Europe that the competitors travelled through on their way to Paris. Although there were many funny moments, I remember one in particular when they crossed the German/Russia border which (on BOTH sides) had “suspiciously well-maintained roads”. Honestly, this had me crying laughing especially knowing what was going to happen just 7 years later! Another feature I really liked was the interspersion of chapters on the development of the early car industry, the early processing of recently discovered oil in various places, the early focus on female drivers (apparently early cars for women were fitted with electric starters considered ‘too feminine’ for men who had to use crank handles), and the often-forgotten fact that internal combustion was only one of (and not always the most popular) choice for motor engines – the others being steam and electric.
Despite not being (nor ever being) a ‘petrol head’, I really enjoyed this. Not only was it a detailed look at a long-forgotten event but it was FULL of fascinating details of the beginnings of a recognisable modern age. Definitely recommended, especially if you have any interest in early motoring, technology or racing. More to come...
