G. Bourcier de St. Chaffray Driver, French De Dion

An aristocratic 36-year-old Frenchman drove the de Dion. St. Chaffray dubbed himself Commissionaire General of the race, claiming responsibility for charting the race route – a claim that was heavily disputed.  St. Chaffray specialized in organizing impossible events, including a motorboat race from Marseille to Algiers that resulted in every single boat sinking in the Mediterranean Sea.   He would do almost anything to win the Great race – including buying up all the petrol in Vladivostock.

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