Editing Athy (section)

===Birth of motor racing===
[[File:1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy. Athy, Ireland. Alexander Winton in the Winton Bullet 2.jpg|thumb|right|1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy. Athy. [[Alexander Winton]] in the ''Winton Bullet 2'']]
{{main|1903 Gordon Bennett Cup}}
On 2 July 1903, the [[Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing|Gordon Bennett Cup race]] routed through Athy. It was the first international motor race to be held in Britain or Ireland. The [[Royal Automobile Club|Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland]] wanted the race to be hosted in the British Isles, and Ireland was suggested as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads. After some lobbying and changes to local laws, County Kildare was chosen, partly because the straightness of the roads would be a safety benefit. As a compliment to Ireland the British team chose to race in [[Variations of green#Shamrock green|Shamrock green]] which thus became known as [[British racing green]].<ref name=Leinster/><ref name=Champanellois/><ref name="Forix GBT 1903"/><ref name="Forix Gordon B"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kildare.ie/heritage/Gordon-Bennett-Race/Leinster-Leader-11-04-1903-2.asp |title=Leinster Leader April 1903 – Review of the coming Gordon Bennett Race |publisher=Kildare.ie |date=11 April 1903 |access-date=14 January 2010 |archive-date=6 January 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170106115721/http://www.kildare.ie/heritage/Gordon-Bennett-Race/Leinster-Leader-11-04-1903-2.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> The route consisted of several loops of a circuit that passed-through [[Kilcullen]], [[Curragh|The Curragh]], [[Kildare]], [[Monasterevin]], [[Stradbally]] and Athy, followed by another loop through [[Castledermot]], [[Carlow]] and Athy again. The {{convert|328|mi|km|0|adj=on}} race was won by the Belgian racer [[Camille Jenatzy]], driving a Mercedes.<ref name=Leinster/><ref name=Bleacher/>