1902 Gordon Bennett Cup

The 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup, formally titled the III Coupe Internationale, was a motor race held on 26–28 June 1902, on public roads between Paris, France, and Innsbruck, Austria. The race was held over a 565 km section of the route of the Paris–Vienna race, held concurrently. France were to attempt to defend the Gordon Bennett Cup against Britain, and each country was represented by three entries, with the car that finished the race in the shortest time winning the race on behalf of his country.

The first day of the race saw three of the six competitors retire from the race; two French drivers and one Briton. The only remaining French driver, Rene de Knyff led the race by over an hour from British driver Selwyn Edge, with the other British driver Montague Grahame-White over five hours behind. The second day took the competitors through Switzerland, where motor racing was banned, and so this was deemed a neutralised section with cars required to adhere to a speed limit of 15 mph. The third and final day of the race for the Gordon Bennett Cup began at Bregenz and ran to Innsbruck in Austria. The route took the competitors over the Arlberg Pass, and this section of the route caused de Knyff's differential to break and Grahame-White's crankshaft to fail, forcing them both to retire and leaving Edge as the only competitor remaining in the race. Edge reached Innsbruck to claim victory for Britain, in a time of just over 11 hours.