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René de Knyff

René de Knyff
  • Surname
    de Knyff
  • First name
    René
  • Date of birth
    10.12.1865
  • Date of death
    1954

Hailing from Antwerp, Belgium, the Baron was one of the pioneers of motorsport. De Knyff was a shareholder and member of the supervisory board of the Paris-based car manufacturer Panhard & Levassor and was well acquainted with Gottlieb Daimler as a partner in the company. Its engines, manufactured under licence, powered the French brand's vehicles from 1890 onwards.

De Knyff competed in 18 motorsport events between 1897 and 1903, winning five of them. The Belgian took his first victory in 1898 in the Paris - Bordeaux endurance race, followed by three more the following year with Spa - Bastogne - Spa, the Tour de France and the Circuit de Sud-Ouest Pau. In 1900, he also took first place in the Nice - Marseille - Nice race. In the 1902 Paris - Innsbruck race, he had to give up 40 kilometres from the finish line after being far in the lead.

After 1903, he retired from active sport. De Knyff was one of the founding fathers of the Automobile Club de France (A.C.F.) and later chairman of the sports commission Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR), the predecessor organisation of today's FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile).

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