Bob Burman, Erich Schrader & W.H. Speer's Fatal Crash @ Corona 1916 (Aftermath)
- 3 months ago
When the then rural town of Corona was founded, at the end of the XIX Century, its streets followed the traditional grid pattern commonly used in American cities - but with an interesting addition: a perfectly round, 2.77-mile long road encircled the village. That road, called Grand Boulevard, was in fact supposed to represent the town itself, as the word corona means "crown" in Latin and Spanish.
On 09 September 1913 Grand Boulevard was the venue of a race that was part of the celebrations of the sixty-third California's Admission Day, marking the entry of the state to the Union. The dirt surface of Grand Boulevard was especially oiled for the event - named Corona Road Race. Its 109 laps were first completed by Earl Cooper in a Stutz, and the race was a great success. In fact, so impressive was the repercussion of that race that Grand Boulevard was paved for next year's edition - held not on Admission Day but moved to November instead. That second edition was won by Eddie Pullen at the wheel of a Mercer.
The Corona Road Race was not held in 1915, but it came back with full force on 08 April of the following year. The event attracted several of the greatest American drivers of the time - including Bob Burman, who was coming off an attempt at the world land-speed record at Brighton Beach, New York where he had a run at 129 mi/h (208 km/h).
Burman entered the race with a blue Peugeot, numbered 7, having Erich Schrader as his riding mechanic. Burman led the most laps, but in the last stages of the race one of the wheels of his Peugeot broke, sending the car over the curb, through a crowd barrier and into a telephone pole at a speed of about 100 mi/h (161 km/h). Schrader and William H. Speer, a policeman on duty, were instantly killed. Fifteen spectators were badly injured. Burman was taken to a hospital in Riverside, where he died some minutes after admission. Nevertheless the race marched on, and was won by Eddie O'Donnell in a Duesenberg with Jimmy Murphy as riding mechanic.
The impact of such a tragedy was as impactful as the excitement brought by the two first editions had been, and brought an end to the Corona Road Races.
R.I.P
On 09 September 1913 Grand Boulevard was the venue of a race that was part of the celebrations of the sixty-third California's Admission Day, marking the entry of the state to the Union. The dirt surface of Grand Boulevard was especially oiled for the event - named Corona Road Race. Its 109 laps were first completed by Earl Cooper in a Stutz, and the race was a great success. In fact, so impressive was the repercussion of that race that Grand Boulevard was paved for next year's edition - held not on Admission Day but moved to November instead. That second edition was won by Eddie Pullen at the wheel of a Mercer.
The Corona Road Race was not held in 1915, but it came back with full force on 08 April of the following year. The event attracted several of the greatest American drivers of the time - including Bob Burman, who was coming off an attempt at the world land-speed record at Brighton Beach, New York where he had a run at 129 mi/h (208 km/h).
Burman entered the race with a blue Peugeot, numbered 7, having Erich Schrader as his riding mechanic. Burman led the most laps, but in the last stages of the race one of the wheels of his Peugeot broke, sending the car over the curb, through a crowd barrier and into a telephone pole at a speed of about 100 mi/h (161 km/h). Schrader and William H. Speer, a policeman on duty, were instantly killed. Fifteen spectators were badly injured. Burman was taken to a hospital in Riverside, where he died some minutes after admission. Nevertheless the race marched on, and was won by Eddie O'Donnell in a Duesenberg with Jimmy Murphy as riding mechanic.
The impact of such a tragedy was as impactful as the excitement brought by the two first editions had been, and brought an end to the Corona Road Races.
R.I.P