Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat
Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat was a French aristocrat and race car driver. He was the son of Prosper, Marquis of Chasseloup-Laubat, minister of Napoleon III, and of his American wife Marie-Louise Pilié.
He is known for setting the first recognised automobile land speed record on December 18, 1898, in Achères, Yvelines, using a Jeantaud electric car. The record was set as part of a competition organised by the French automobile magazine La France Automobile. He completed a single flying run in 57 seconds to give an average speed of.
He further improved this record to one month later on January 17, 1899, also at Achères, in the first of a series of record setting duels with Camille Jenatzy. Ten days later Jenatzy managed to break this record with a speed of, although it would revert to de Chasseloup-Laubat on March 4, 1899, when he increased it to. Jenatzy finally took the record on April 29, 1899, with the first run to exceed with an average speed of, a record that was to last 3 years.
Chasseloup-Laubat managed to win the Marseille-La Turbie long-distance race in 1897 with a steam vehicle built by Trépardoux & Cie, predecessor of De Dion-Bouton. This was the only major city-to-city event won by a steam car.
The count died in Le Cannet, near Cannes, aged 37, after a two-years long illness.
