Indy 500 - Jules Goux First Frenchman to Win Indy

During my research on 500 information to post in the merry month of May, I found this little snippet of a 500 documentary covering the years 1911 to 1913. I thought it was notable that Jules Goux, winner of the 1913 race, consumed four bottles of champagne during the race. Of course the average speed of 76 mph meant the race took more than six hours to complete.



Goux had been successful in European road races, winning the Catalan Cup twice and as a part of a four-man Peugeot team he helped develop what was at the time a radically new straight four-cylinder racing engine. In 1913 Goux traveled to the United States where he became the first European and the first Frenchman to win the Indy 500. Goux managed a fourth place finish in 1914, but before he could compete again the specter of World War I intervened.

After the war Jules Goux continued racing. He won numerous European events and eventually competed in five Indy 500 races, but 1913 would remain his only win. He died in his home town of Valentigney, France in 1965 after a severe allergic reaction.