Josef Christiaens

Josef Christiaens, sometimes spelt Joseph (born 1879), was a Belgian engineer, racecar driver and aviator. He was born in 1879 to a prosperous Belgian family. He had an adventurous spirit, and began his adventures with the new mechanical inventions like the automobile and the aeroplane.

Christiaens, the speed demon

And so on 13 August, 1905, this 26-year-old wanderlust began his first adventure by taking part in the first "Coupe de Liedekerke et Williame" race held near Dinant, Belgium. The whole race spanned a total of 102,740km, but Josef failed to complete the race. He also failed to qualify for the "Il Coupe de Normandie" with his Vivinus 6 racecar on 29 August, 1909.
But that very same car helped change his luck and won him his first victory in the 2nd "Coupe de Liedekerke et Williame" in Ostend,Belgium on 13 September, 1909. Josef never looked back, and went on to win a string of victories in Europe and in the US.In 9 September, 1916 Josef and his 2,300lbs English Sunbeam racecar, became the first foreigner to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway "Harvest Classic," composing of three races held at 20, 50 and 100-convert|100|mi|km|sing=on distances. ['Christiaens Sends Entry: Belgian Auto Driver Will Compete At Indianapolis.' "The New York Times", 12 August, 1916] Johnny Aitken, in a Peugeot, came in first in all 3 distances. Josef's Sunbeam failed to start the race due to a broken crankshaft. ['Aikens Sweeps Indianapolis Card', "Motor Age", 14 September, 1916.]

Christiaens, the aviator

Christiaen's adventurous spirit did not stop there. When Henri Farman flew the Voisin-designed biplane and took Ernest Archdeacon for a 1241-metre flight at Ghent, Belgium on 30 May, 1908, he was immediately captivated and inspired by the spirit of flying.

And thus on March, 1910 Josef met Géo Chavez at Camp de Chalons, France and learnt to fly on a Farman plane from him. By 12 April in the same year, he is registered with licence N°7, becoming one of the first 11 pilots registered at the "Aéro-Club de Belgique" (Aero Club of Belgium).

On 14 March, 1911, Josef received much enthusiasm and assistance from the British Colonial Government in Singapore. a squad of Royal Engineers soldiers were dispatched to assemble and test the Bristol Boxkite [The Straits Times, March 15, 1911] . On 16 March, 1911 Josef made history in Singapore as the first man to fly an aeroplane on the island.

Josef died in the road accident while performing a test drive on a Sunbeam racecar near Moorfield Works on 25 February 1919 in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Shortly after leaving the Works, his car crashed into a wall along Upper Villiers Street trying to avoid a horse-cart coming out of Fowler Street. His passenger, Sunbeam mechanic Frank Bills was handicapped from that accident. [ [http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/Cars/Sunbeam/STD.htm Sunbeam, Talbot, Darracq - Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society] ]

Indy 500 results

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