The Gordon Bennet Cup initially was not really popular among manufacturers, racing drivers and the public. The most thrilling motor racing events of those days simply were the City-to-City races, and these could not be topped. Therefore, the Gordon Bennett Cup only looked like some minor competion in the first three years of its existence, with very few cars competing.
   In 1899, James Gordon Bennett announced his proposals for the races and handed them over to the French ACF. During that year, several additions of different national  automobile clubs were gathered, leading to the accepted rules. They were 22 in all! The different publications will be shown here. 
   The first Gordon Bennet Cup race, the 1900 Paris-Lyon race covered a distance of  568 km and started 14 June 1900. Four countries with seven contestants participated: France with three Panhards, America with two Wintons, Belgium with a Snoeck and Germany with a Mercedes. One Belgian and one American withdrew before the start; three cars broke down during the race, leaving merely two Frenchmen to finish. Fernand Charron in a Panhard won with an average speed of about 62 kmh. Léonce Girardot, also in a Panhard, arrived second about one and a half hours later.
   In 1901, Paris-Bordeaux was the second Gordon Bennett Cup race. It ran on 29 May 1901 over a distance of some 555 km, including some thirty miles of neutralised towns. This year, France was the only particpating country with three cars; no better indication for the poor status of the Gordon Bennett Cup, irrespective of the reasons for the others not to be in it!  Now, it was Léonce Giradot who won, but he was the only finisher with a similar average speed as the year before.
   In 1902, it was the Paris-Innsbruck that was combined with the longer Paris-Vienna city-to-city race, starting 26 June 1902. For the Paris-Vienna race, some 78 (!) cars and some motorcycles were to participate. In contrast to that, only six cars of two countries would challenge the Gordon Bennet Cup. What a difference! But that was not all. Five cars broke down before the finish, handing Selwyn Edge in a Napier the victory of the third Gordon Bennet Cup race.
   It’s not surprising that only little was written on these three first years of the Gordon Bennett Cup races. Therefore, these three early years of the Gordon Bennett Cup races are all combined in this one sub-category (As of September 1st 2026, this page is still under construction).