1. 1895:The famed Paris-Bordeaux Auto Race takes place
Photo: Dailysun
Photo: Pinterest
It was on this date in 1895 that arguably the first auto race ever took place in France. The race would start in Paris and go to the town of Bordeaux and then back to Paris, making it roughly 732 miles. Winning the race was Emile Levassor, who drove a Panhard et Levassor that had a four horsepower Daimler engine. He finished the race in just under 49 hrs with an average speed of 15mph, which at the time may as well have been a land speed record.
