Albert Clément
Encyclopedia
Albert Clément was a French motor racing driver. In 1904 he won the II Ardennes Cup race and finished third in the III Ardennes Cup race at Bastogne
. He also finished second in the Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island
. In 1906
he finished third in the inaugural French Grand Prix
and 4th in the Vanderbilt Cup. All his driving was in the Clément-Bayard
factory team that was owned by his father Adolphe Clément-Bayard.
Albert Clément died during practice for the 1907 French Grand Prix at Dieppe whereupon his father lost interest in motor racing. The Clément-Bayard team was withdrawn at the end of 1908.
and Céleste Angèle Roguet's four children, Albert, Angèle, Jeanne and Maurice. Angèle (1880–1972) was widowed from Albert Dumont, a director at the family's factory, then remarried Numa Joseph Edouard "Petit" Sasias with whom she had one son. Jeanne divorced Fernand Charron
, racing driver and manager of the plant at Levallois-Perret. Maurice married Renée Hammond and had three children Andrée, Jacqueline and Albert (who was nicknamed "Billy" to avoid confusion and memories of his uncle Albert).
In the year after Albert's death his father changed the family name to Clément-Bayard to emulate the Clément-Bayard automobile brand. It honoured the Chevalier
Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard
who saved the town of Mézières
from an Imperial
army during the Siege of Mézières in 1521.
on 20 May 1904. This was a qualifying contest for the French entry into the Coupe Internationale (Gordon Bennett Race) where only three cars were allowed per country. Clement finished the 6 lap, 532.79 km event in 7 hours 10 minutes 52.8 seconds.
Clément won the II Circuit des Ardennes des Voiturettes on 24 July 1904 at Bastogne
. He completed the 5 lap 240.010 km race in 4h 26m 52.6seconds at an average speed of 53.91 km/h in an 18Hp Clement -(Bayard?) (car no 5). He also set the fastest lap of the race at 45 minutes 2 seconds (63.89 km/h).
Clément drove his Clement-Bayard into third place at the III Circuit des Ardennes race at Bastogne, on 25 July 1904. He completed the 5 lap, 591.255 km event in 6 hours 34 minutes 43.2 seconds.
Clément finished second at the 1904 I.W.K. Vanderbilt Cup Race on Long Island
on 8 October 1904. He led during the eighth lap of the ten lap race and finished the 457.686 km event in 5 hours 28 minutes 13 seconds.
on 16 June. This was a qualifier for the Coupe Internationale (Gordon Bennett Race).
At the 1905 Vanderbilt cup on Long Island Clément drove an 80-hp Clément-Bayard (France #12) but suffered reliability problems.
Clément retired his Clement-Bayard after the first 166 km lap of the II Coppa Florio at Brescia
Italy on 4 September 1905.
at Le Mans
where Clément finished third in his 100Hp machine. He completed the 1,238 km event in 12 hours 49 minutes 46.2seconds. Clément lead the race at the end of laps 2 and 5 on the second day. Punctures were common and tyre manufacturer Michelin
introduced a detachable rim with a tyre already affixed, which could be swapped in about 4 minutes car after a puncture, saving 11 minutes over manually replacing the tyre. These wheels were used by Felice Nazzaro
on his FIAT
enabling him to wrest second place from Clément on the second day. His father Adolphe was the owner of Dunlop France.
Clément finished 6th in the V Circuit des Ardennes on 13 August 1906 at Bastogne. He completed the 7 lap 961 km race in 6 hours 2 minutes 55.2 seconds in a 100Hp Clement-Bayard.
At the 1906 Vanderbilt cup Clément finished 4th driving a 100 hp Clément-Bayard (France #15) and completing the ten laps averaging 59 mi/h.
on 17 May. Of the 3 other Clément-Bayard entries, Pierre Garcet and Elliott Shepard, finished 7th and eighth respectively. Clément's car was entered by 'Alezy' who retired after 4 laps.
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
. He also finished second in the Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. In 1906
1906 French Grand Prix
The 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, commonly known as the 1906 French Grand Prix, was a motor race held on 26 and 27 June 1906, on closed public roads outside the city of Le Mans...
he finished third in the inaugural French Grand Prix
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix was a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One automobile racing championships....
and 4th in the Vanderbilt Cup. All his driving was in the Clément-Bayard
Clément-Bayard
Clément-Bayard was a French manufacturer of automobiles, aeroplanes and airships founded in 1903 by the entrepreneur Adolphe Clément-Bayard . The name celebrated the Chevalier Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard who saved the town of Mézières in 1521...
factory team that was owned by his father Adolphe Clément-Bayard.
Albert Clément died during practice for the 1907 French Grand Prix at Dieppe whereupon his father lost interest in motor racing. The Clément-Bayard team was withdrawn at the end of 1908.
Family life
Albert was the eldest of Adolphe ClémentAdolphe Clément
Gustave Adolphe Clément-Bayard was a French entrepreneur...
and Céleste Angèle Roguet's four children, Albert, Angèle, Jeanne and Maurice. Angèle (1880–1972) was widowed from Albert Dumont, a director at the family's factory, then remarried Numa Joseph Edouard "Petit" Sasias with whom she had one son. Jeanne divorced Fernand Charron
Fernand Charron
Fernand Charron was a French pioneer of motor racing. He started his sporting career as a successful cyclist.Between 1897 and 1903 he took part in 18 car races, 4 of which he won: Fernand Charron (1866 – 13 August 1928) was a French pioneer of motor racing. He started his sporting career as a...
, racing driver and manager of the plant at Levallois-Perret. Maurice married Renée Hammond and had three children Andrée, Jacqueline and Albert (who was nicknamed "Billy" to avoid confusion and memories of his uncle Albert).
In the year after Albert's death his father changed the family name to Clément-Bayard to emulate the Clément-Bayard automobile brand. It honoured the Chevalier
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard
Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard
Pierre Terrail LeVieux, seigneur de Bayard was a French soldier, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his death, he has been known as "the knight without fear and beyond reproach"...
who saved the town of Mézières
Charleville-Mézières
Charleville-Mézières is a commune in northern France, capital of the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the Meuse River.-History:...
from an Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
army during the Siege of Mézières in 1521.
Motor racing
Clément-Bayard started building automobiles in 1903 and then started building racing cars in 1904. The racing team included Albert Clément among others.1904 season
Clément finished 10th at the I Eliminatoires Françaises de la Coupe Internationale, held at the Forest of ArgonneForest of Argonne
The Forest of Argonne is a long strip of rocky mountain and wild woodland in north-eastern France.In 1792 Charles François Dumouriez outmaneuvered the invading forces of the Duke of Brunswick in the forest before the Battle of Valmy....
on 20 May 1904. This was a qualifying contest for the French entry into the Coupe Internationale (Gordon Bennett Race) where only three cars were allowed per country. Clement finished the 6 lap, 532.79 km event in 7 hours 10 minutes 52.8 seconds.
Clément won the II Circuit des Ardennes des Voiturettes on 24 July 1904 at Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
. He completed the 5 lap 240.010 km race in 4h 26m 52.6seconds at an average speed of 53.91 km/h in an 18Hp Clement -(Bayard?) (car no 5). He also set the fastest lap of the race at 45 minutes 2 seconds (63.89 km/h).
Clément drove his Clement-Bayard into third place at the III Circuit des Ardennes race at Bastogne, on 25 July 1904. He completed the 5 lap, 591.255 km event in 6 hours 34 minutes 43.2 seconds.
Clément finished second at the 1904 I.W.K. Vanderbilt Cup Race on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
on 8 October 1904. He led during the eighth lap of the ten lap race and finished the 457.686 km event in 5 hours 28 minutes 13 seconds.
1905 season
Clément retired his Clement-Bayard with overheating after 1 lap of the II Eliminatoires Françaises de la Coupe Internationale at the AuvergneAuvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
on 16 June. This was a qualifier for the Coupe Internationale (Gordon Bennett Race).
At the 1905 Vanderbilt cup on Long Island Clément drove an 80-hp Clément-Bayard (France #12) but suffered reliability problems.
Clément retired his Clement-Bayard after the first 166 km lap of the II Coppa Florio at Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
Italy on 4 September 1905.
1906 season
Clément-Bayard entered 3 cars for the 1906 French Grand Prix1906 French Grand Prix
The 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, commonly known as the 1906 French Grand Prix, was a motor race held on 26 and 27 June 1906, on closed public roads outside the city of Le Mans...
at Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
where Clément finished third in his 100Hp machine. He completed the 1,238 km event in 12 hours 49 minutes 46.2seconds. Clément lead the race at the end of laps 2 and 5 on the second day. Punctures were common and tyre manufacturer Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
introduced a detachable rim with a tyre already affixed, which could be swapped in about 4 minutes car after a puncture, saving 11 minutes over manually replacing the tyre. These wheels were used by Felice Nazzaro
Felice Nazzaro
Felice Nazzaro was an Italian racecar driver, a native of Turin. He won the Kaiserpreis in 1907 as well as the French Grand Prix in 1907 and 1922 and Targa Florio in 1907 and 1913. His European wins in 1907 resulted in an invitation to compete in the 1908 American Grand Prize in Savannah, Georgia,...
on his FIAT
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
enabling him to wrest second place from Clément on the second day. His father Adolphe was the owner of Dunlop France.
Clément finished 6th in the V Circuit des Ardennes on 13 August 1906 at Bastogne. He completed the 7 lap 961 km race in 6 hours 2 minutes 55.2 seconds in a 100Hp Clement-Bayard.
At the 1906 Vanderbilt cup Clément finished 4th driving a 100 hp Clément-Bayard (France #15) and completing the ten laps averaging 59 mi/h.
1907 season
Albert Clément died while practising for the 1907 French Grand Prix1907 French Grand Prix
The 1907 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Dieppe on 2 July 1907.-The Race:38 cars set off at one minute intervals to complete 10 laps of a circuit on a triangular circuit near the city of Dieppe. The field was led away by Vincenzo Lancia's Fiat.The race was run under a 9.4 mpg...
on 17 May. Of the 3 other Clément-Bayard entries, Pierre Garcet and Elliott Shepard, finished 7th and eighth respectively. Clément's car was entered by 'Alezy' who retired after 4 laps.