1902 Circuit des Ardennes

The 1902 Circuit des Ardennes was the inaugural circuit race in Europe, held on 31st July 1902. It was the only event in the 1902 circuit racing season, retrospectively recognised in 1920 as the inaugural Grand Prix by CARS. It was won by Panhard driver René de Knyff, who started in third place after the seventeen entered drivers drew lots.

Background
The race was organised by Baron Pierre de Crawhez, who chose not to enter the inaugural edition of his own race. Despite fears that the repetition would eliminate some of the skill required in traditional city-to-city races, Crawhez laid out an 85.34 kilometre circuit in Bastogne and the surrounding area. Regardless, it attracted entries from seventeen of the leading racing drivers of their day.

Summary
The starting order was decided by the drawing of lots, with the first driver selected being first to start the race, the second selected beginning the race one minute later, and so on until the final car (in this case, Guders) set off sixteen minutes later. The driver selected to be the first starter of the first ever major circuit race was Fernand Gabriel, followed by the Panhards of Charles Jarrott and René de Knyff. De Knyff would overhaul the two cars ahead of him before the end of the first lap and held the lead until the end, despite a spirited charge from Gordon Bennett Cup winner Selwyn Edge, driving the only Napier in the race. Surprisingly, twelve of the seventeen entries managed to finish the race, none faster than de Knyff's six-hour effort.