City to celebrate Great Race
Original Italian car from 1908 event will be on display
By Tom Buckham NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 05/11/08 7:05 AM
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- This is the Italian Zust auto, which was built in 1901 and placed third in the international Great Race of 1908.
International tensions may have stalled a planned re-enactment of the 1908 Great Race from New York to Paris, but the centennial celebration will go on as planned in Buffalo this week — with a special guest in attendance.
The surprise visitor will be Italy’s entry in the original race, a Zust automobile that overcame all manner of difficulties to finish third behind the winning Thomas Flyer from Buffalo and the German entry, the Protos.
The 1901 Italian-made car, restored after the chassis was found in “bits and pieces” in western Canada several years ago, according to James Sandoro, will be the centerpiece of an “Italian Night” fundraiser Wednesday to benefit the Buffalo Transportation Pierce- Arrow Museum.
It will be the first time the vehicle has been seen in public in nearly a century, said Sandoro, president of the nonprofit Michigan Avenue museum.
Excerpts from a journal kept by Antonio Scarfoglio, a reporter and member of the three-man team that steered the Zust across the United States, Asia and Europe, will be read during the event. Scarfoglio, who went on to found a number of newspapers, including Naples’ Il Mattino, wrote a book about the 21,000-mile journey, “Round the World in a Motor Car.”
The Italians persevered after being penalized for skipping a scheduled layover in Buffalo after crossing the state from Manhattan, and then experiencing a mechanical breakdown somewhere between Fredonia and Ripley, Sandoro said.
But the trip turned tragic in Russia, where a horse spooked by the car trampled a child to death. After that there were few entries in the team’s journal, which to that point had been filled to overflowing with details.
“It must’ve taken the steam right out of them. There was nothing about Germany and just three pages about coming into Paris,” Sandoro said.
Another event connected with the canceled centennial Great Race, “A Night with Jeff Mahl,” will go on as planned May 27 in the transportation museum. Mahl is the great-grandson of George Schuster, who drove the victorious Buffalo- made Thomas Flyer.
The museum will celebrate Thomas Flyer Week, honoring the E. R. Thomas Motor Car Co., in late July.
The repeat race was to have passed through Buffalo May 31, but was put off indefinitely last month after permission to travel through China was put on hold following widespread protests over China’s domination of Tibet.
“Italian Night” will begin at 6 p. m. with light fare and a cash bar. Call 853-0084 for information.
