In May 1903, a group of some 216 brave but foolhardy drivers gathered in the park at Versailles, near Paris, at the start of the most frightening and disastrous event in the entire history of European road racing. This was the famous Paris to Madrid race, one of the greatest fiascos in the annals of organized sports. It started on the morning of May 24, 1903, and ended dramatically that same night in Bordeaux, approximately 315 miles to the southwest, having left in its wake at least 50 dead, 100 injured, and a never-to-be-forgotten lesson in how not to run a road race.