Copyright © 1999

Porsche Club of America Hysterical Rambings May, 1999 Howard Wasserman HWasser@ix.netcom.com

There were no correct answers submitted. Here's a clue and another month to come up with the right name. The "inventor" was European but English was not his native tongue. There were no correct, or for that matter, incorrect answers submitted. There were some lame attempts at answers, which didn't identify an individual. That certainly doesn't cut it with me. So here's the real story:
 
Timing is everything. This is the May issue and May is Monaco month. (It used to be Indy month but who cares about the IRL Indy?) The inventor was Monegasque Antony Noghes (1890-1990) who was the founder of the Grand Prix of Monaco. In 1931, Noghes invented the checkered flag to give a clear signal to drivers that the race was finished. Initially the flag was two black and two white squares. Over the years the number of squares has multiplied. Here 's some more info on Monsieur Noghes and his Grand Prix as supplied by the Automobile Club de Monaco.

WHY NOT A GRAND PRIX IN THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO?
"For the first time a fast race has just taken place on a race track right in the heart of town. It is the Principality of Monaco with its Grand Prix, which has taken this initiative. The race circuit, laid out entirely within the Principality, between Monte-Carlo, the Condamine (Port) and Monaco proper, works out to be just over 3 kilometres. It goes without saying that the track is made up entirely of bends, steep uphill climbs and fast downhill runs. Any respectable traffic system would have covered the track with <<Danger>> sign posts left, right and centre It is on a 100 laps of this circuit that the first Grand Prix ran..." - - La Vie Automobile, 25 April 1929.
 
With the Le Mans 24 hour and the Indianapolis 500, the Monte-Carlo Rally and the Monaco Grand Prix constitute two of the four great automobile sports events most known to the world at large.

The smallest European state, after the Vatican City, has seen the efforts and imagination of its leaders well rewarded The appearance of the Monaco Grand prix on international calendars is the undeniable result of a determined sports policy of the Grand Prix's President Antony Noghes. In fact it all goes back to the mid-twenties, when Antony Noghes and his friends set up the Automobile Club de Monaco, an association which stemmed from the Sport Automobile et Vélocipédique, which itself already goes back as far as the Sport Vélocipédique Monégasque founded in 1890.

In order to expand and be recognised internationally by the A.I.A.C.R.
(Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs... Reconnus), the predecessor of the International Automobile Federation, which similarly retained the real sports authority and rivaled the European record makers, an automobile sports event had to be organized on its own territory. Being a man of action and a passionate sportsman, Antony Noghes proposed the creation of an Automobile Grand Prix, which would take place right in the streets of the Principality. The idea itself was not new since high-speed races were already being fought over in towns, notably in the United-States with the trials of Santa Monica or Corona.

As soon as he returned to Monaco, Anthony Noghes had to put his idea into action. He obtained the official support of Prince Louis II and when he presented his plans to Louis Chiron, the famous Monegasque racing driver, he too expressed his enthusiasm. After some analysis, one realised that the topography of the place was admirably well suited to setting up a natural racetrack. On the 14 April 1929, under the High Patronage of His Sovereign Highness Prince Louis II, the first Monaco Grand Prix was organized. Sixteen competitors left the start line to carry out 100 laps of the 318 kilometers long circuit. It was Williams in his Bugatti 35 B who brought this first Grand Prix to an average speed of 80.104 kilometers per hour.

Since the launch of the first race, the Principality has known only 14 years without a Grand Prix, namely from 1939 to 1947 and then 1949, 1951, 1953 and 1954. From 1950 onwards the Monaco Grand Prix featured permanently in the calendar of World Champion Racing events, except in 1952 when the organisers decided they preferred "Sports" cars to the single-seater Formula 2 (2 litres) normally retained for the World Championship. The circuit itself had not undergone any major changes, the length being 3.180 km up until 1950. In 1952 some modifications to the Saint Devote bend led to the shortening of the length of the track to 3.145 km and it was not until 1973 that the layout underwent a change again. It was extended another 135 metres by the addition of a new track along the port, a track which was to join the track of the new pool and which would end in a hairpin bend around the restaurant "La Rascasse". From then on grand stands were reinstalled on the old quay. As the length of each lap was increased, the Grand Prix was shortened to 78 laps. In 1976, the addition of two more zigzags, one at Sainte Devote, the other coming round the La Rascasse hairpin bend, extended the length of each lap by 34 metres. Ten years later, for the 44th Grand Prix, the widening of the road at the beginning of the Quai des Etats Unis at the foot of the Boulevard Louis II descent, allowed the creation of a new zigzag which brought the length of a lap to 3.328 metre.

April Retrospective
April's question: For 20 points, what is the first appearance of the word "motel." You must give me the name of the establishment and its location. For an additional 20 points, name the year of first use.

Answering correctly were Darice Wareham, Carl Bessone, Davis Pan, Randy Robinson and Bruce Corwin. Bruce wrote:

On December 12, 1925, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles in San Luis Obispo, architect Arthur S. Heineman built and opened a group of cottages designed so that guests could drive up to the door of their rooms. The establishment was originally called the Milestone Motel and later renamed the "Mo-Tel Inn." The names, sans hyphen, caught on. The Motel Inn, located at 2223 Monterey Street, opened on historic El Camino Real, now known as Highway 101 at the foot of Cuesta Grade. The Spanish revival structure had accommodations for 160 guests. Heinemans's original plan for a chain of 18 motels along the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle was halted by the Depression. The industry peaked in 1961, with some 61,000 motels. The Motel Inn went out of business long ago and now stands, forlorn but not forgotten, next to 101 on the grounds of the Apple Farm restaurant and motel.

Randy points out that "the building featured a sign with flashing lights that alternated the letters H and M preceding the letters otel to spell out "Hotel" and "Motel."

1999 Standings after Five Months
National PCA (Natpucker) Trivia Championship

Bruce Corwin        190 points
Carl Bessone         170 points
Chris Weber          150 points
Davis Pan              140 points
Randy Robinson    90 points
Darice Wareham   70 points
Don Johnson          50 points
Paul Young            50 points

                                                                  May's Question
This month's question: For 20 points, name the car and driver depicted in the largest bronze sculpture (11.5 feet, 2000 pounds) of a car and driver ever cast? For an additional 20 points, where can you now find the sculpture?

Please send your trivia answers to me at 6930 N. Woodridge Drive, Parkland, FL 33067 or, if you prefer Email: HWasser@ix.netcom.com or 73764.3363@compuserve.com. They must be postmarked or emailed by the 14th of the month of publication.