Léon Théry

French VictoryEmperor Wilhelm congratulates the winner of the Gordon-Bennett Cup. Le Petit Journal, 3 July 1904.

Léon Théry (16 April 1879 – 8 March 1909) was a French racing driver, nicknamed "Le Chronometer", who won the premier European race, the Gordon Bennett Cup, in both 1904 and 1905.

Career Théry started out as a mechanic which gave him an understanding of the need to drive according to the car's abilities, and nurse it home to victory. His nickname was "Le Chronometer", for his reliable lap times, and he became one of the top drivers in the early 1900s. He is regarded as winning 'one of the first Voiturette races, if not the very first'.

1899

His first race was the Paris to Amsterdam in 1898 at the wheel of a voiturette.

1899

His competed was the Paris-Bordeaux city to city race in 1899. His tiller-steered Decauville voiturelle averaged less than for the race, and when he reached Bordeaux, he was totally exhausted, struck by amnesia and was heard repeating: "“Do not stop me, I have to arrive at Bordeaux!”. Nevertheless, this was enough for second place, behind the Decauville of Gabriel, and ahead of a second teammate.

1901

In 1901, Théry drove a Decauville voiturelle in the Paris-Rouen-Paris race on 11/03/1900, winning the Coupe des Voiturettes (voiturette class).

Théry became renowned for his methodical documentation in a 'race log' of circuit details, road conditions, tyres, engine reliability, and car performance. He then drove scrupulously to the speed he had calculated in the race log.

1902

1902 was a year of trauma. He entered his Decauville in the Paris-Vienna race on 26–29 June, accompanied by his mechanic Muller. Brake failure on the Arlberg pass (1,793 m (5,883 ft)) in Austria tested all his skills in avoiding disaster. In the Ardennes Cup race on 31 July, they hit a cow at full speed.

1903

In 1903, Théry joined the French manufacturer Richard-Brasier.

1904

On 20 May 1904, Théry won the Gordon Bennett Elimination Trial at Argonne, France, driving an Richard-Brasier.

On 17 June 1904, he won the Gordon Bennett Cup at Homburg in the Taunus mountains of Germany. The event drew entries from eight countries and was considered the single most important race in Europe. Théry's Richard-Brasier 80 hp triumphed over Camille Jenatzy's Mercedes. Each lap was of primitive roads, but all his lap times were within a 3-minute range. "Ordinary tires wouldn't have lasted 20 kilometers. That's how impressive the Michelin tires are," Léon Théry (Michelin employee) 1905.

Death and commemoration Théry died of tuberculosis at the age of 29. His tomb is in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

In 2005, the hundredth anniversary of Théry's Gordon Bennett victory in France, many events were organized. The Post Office issued a stamp and the Paris Mint struck a commemorative medal representing Théry driving his Brasier.