Wednesday, January 23, 2008

IMCA 1917, part one


The International Motor Contest Association comes to the prairies in earnest. Rather than make this one long list of results I'll split it over a few weeks. So this is Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton results culled from the newspapers of the day.

July 4, 1917, Calgary, Alberta, Victoria Park, 1/2 mile

event #1--one mile--1st, George Clark; 2nd, Fred Horey; 3rd, Dave Koetzla; 4th, Ben Giroux; also ran: Bob Klein, Jay Jewett, Jules Ellinboe, Charles Hawkins, Floyd Willard--time, 1:07

event #2--prize: 1st, $200; 2nd, $100--3 miles--1st, Ellingboe; 2nd, Jewett; 3rd, Willard; 4th, Kline--time, 3:50

event #3--prize: 1st, $200; 2nd, $100--3 miles--1st, Horey; 2nd, Clark; 3rd, Giroux--time, 3:43

event #4--3 laps--novelty with tire change--1st, Koetzla--time, 2:24 1-5--tire change done in 24 1-4 seconds

event #5--five mile free-for-all (1st heat)--prize $1000--1st, Koetzla; 2nd, Horey; 3rd, Willard--time, ??

event #6--10 lap Australian handicap pursuit race--1st, Clark; 2nd, Ellingboe--time, 5:58 1-5


July 5, 1917, Calgary, Alberta, Victoria Park, 1/2 mile

--3 mile--1st, Koetzla; 2nd, Bob Klein; 3rd, Floyd Willard--time, 3:52 3-5

--3 mile free-for-all--1st, Ellingboe

--novelty tire change--1st, Ben Giroux

--mile--1st, George Clark, 1:08
2nd, Horey, 1:08 4-5
3rd, Koetzla, 1:12 3-5

--5 mile free-for-all (2nd heat)--1st, George Clark; 2nd, Jules Ellingboe; 3rd, Ben Giroux; 4th, Chad Jewett--time, 6:18 4-5

--Australian Pursuit--5 miles--1st, Clark; 2nd, Horey; 3rd, Willard

--note: fatal accident: Frederick W. Seigel of Calgary during trial run.


July 7, 1917, Red Deer, Alberta, fair ground (?), 1/2 mile (?)

--official elimination trial--1/2 mile--
Jay Jewett, 40 seconds
Bob Klein, 41
Dave Koetzla, 39
Jules Ellingboe, 38
Floyd Willard, 41
George Clark, 37 4-5
Ben Giroux, 39

--3 miles--1st, Jewett; 2nd, Willard; 3rd, Klein--time, 4:19

--3 miles--1st, Clark; 2nd, Koetzla; 3rd, Giroux--time 4:31 (in this race Clark and Koetzla were tied at the finish and raced another lap with a flying start, Clark just nosing out out Koetzla)

--novelty--tire change--Koetzla, 16 seconds

--3 mile free-for-all--1st, Clark; 2nd, Ellingboe; 3rd, Giroux--time, ??

--Australian handicap--10 laps--1st, Koetzla; 2nd, Klein--time, ??

July 13, 1917, Edmonton, Alberta, Exhibition grounds, 1/2 mile

event #1--3 miles--1st, $200; 2nd, $100--1st, Chad Jewett (Ford); 2nd, Floyd Willard (Prince Henry); 3rd, Bob Kline (Scat)--time, 4:07 1-5

event #2--3 miles--1st, $200; 2nd, $100--1st, George Clark (Case); 2nd, Floyd Willard (Prince Henry); 3rd, Horey (Fiat)--time, 3:46 3-5

event #3--novelty race--Dave Koetzla (Case) and Ben Giroux (Sunbeam) made tire changes in 18 seconds and the distance, 1 1/2 miles, in 2:13 3-5

event #4--free-for-all (1st heat)--1st, $500; 2nd, $300; 3rd, $100--1st, Fred Horey (Fiat); 2nd, Chad Hewett (Ford); 3rd, Dave Koetzla (Case); 4th, Jules Ellingboe (Briscoe)--time, 6:22

event #5--Australian Pursuit race--1st, $200--5 miles--1st, Fred Horey (Fiat); 2nd, Floyd Willard (Prince Henry); 3rd, Jules Ellingboe (Briscoe)--time, 6:15 2-5

event #6--free-for-all (2nd heat)--5 miles--1st, Floyd Willard; 2nd, George Clark (Case); 3rd, Ben Giroux (Sunbeam); 4th, Bob Kline (Scat)--time, 6:05 4-5

note: from Edmonton Journal: noted that Sloan announced the tire change time as a world’s record. “The affable official was probably kidding the populace a trifle but nobody minds a little ‘bull’ now and again.”


July 14, 1917, Edmonton, Alberta, Exhibition, 1/2 mile

event #1--matched race, 3 miles--1st, Floyd Willard; 2nd, Chad Jewett--time, 3:57

event #2--Australian Pursuit race--5 miles--1st, Dave Koetzla; 2nd, Jules Ellingboe; 3rd, Ben Giroux; 4th, Bob Kline--time, 6:20

event #3--free-for-all (final heat)--3 miles--1st, George Clark; 2nd, Fred Horey; 3rd, Floyd Willard--time, 3:33 2-5

event #4--novelty race, one mile including tire change--1st, Ben Giroux; 2nd, Dave Koetzla--time, 1:44 with tire change at 14 3-5 (a new “world’s record”?)

event #5--3 cornered match race--3 miles--1st, Ben Giroux; 2nd, Jules Ellingboe; 3rd, Dave Koetzla--time, 3:40 1-5

event #6--official world’s time trials--one mile--Floyd Willard (Prince Henry), 1:09 1-5; Fred Horey (Fiat), 1:10; George Clark (Case), 1:07 2-5--Canadian record for one mile on a half mile track is 1:07

event #7--free-for-all handicap--2 miles--1st, Fred Horey; 2nd, Chad Jewett; 3rd, Bob Kline; 4th, Floyd Willard; 5th, George Clark--time, 2:20 2-5

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