By Clyde Berryman
A large wooded area on the western edge of Paris played a crucial role in jump-starting motor racing on the European continent after World War ll, exactly 70 years ago this week. Clyde Berryman sums up the racing history of the famous Bois de Boulogne park in Paris, and takes us on a park visit not quite like any other. Part 2 will cover the 1946 event, and Part 3 will focus on the last few races in the Parisian park
In August 1945, the mushroom clouds of atom bombs, and neat rows of white-clad sailors lining the decks of the battleship USS Missouri for VJ-Day in Tokyo Bay were the dramatic images coming from the other side of the globe. Smoke still rose from the rubble of German cities pounded into oblivion by massive strategic bombing. Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in his Berlin bunker as recently as May 1945. The most cataclysmic war in history had come to an end, leaving national economies destroyed, and entire populations ravaged, displaced, and distraught. Seemingly, it was no time for a motor race. [Read more…] about 70 Years ago Tomorrow: The First Post War Race in Europe