![]() ![]() ![]() Regarding the use of the chequered flag with a number displayed, that would likely be because the race regulations allowed following drivers a limited amount of time to complete the full race distance after the race winner crossed the line in order to be classified. The only thing reasonably certain is that the checkered flag appears to have been used since the very beginning of motorsports, and if the 1864 claim is true, then the checkered flag would precede even the automobile itself by some 20 years. The most logical theory points to an emergence from within bicycle racing in France, sometime in the 1860s.Īn investigation conducted back in 1950 suggested that a "bone crusher" race on a cobbled street in Paris in 1864 may have inadvertently caused the beginning when a lady in the crowd loaned a checkered scarf to an official in order that his signal to start the race might be seen by the contestants. We have talked with some of the world’s leading historians over the years, and most of them have had no idea. Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer, its origin having either gone unrecorded or been lost in history. This is quite possibly the most frequently asked question in all of motorsports. I found interesting this Q&A by Donard Davidson in his archive portion of the Indy 500 site. ![]()
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