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Source: John Sanderson
The Detroit Motordrome 1913-1916 Board racetracks came into existence in 1910, when the earliest of ovals were deemed unsuitable for the earliest motorcycles. Averaging speeds as high as 80 mph, these machines, not far removed from bicycles, had instability problems even on flat straightaways. The earliest ovals had no smooth transition from turn to turn.
The famed Detroit Driving Club, where Henry Ford beat Alexander Winton only a few short years before, had a 1/6 mile board track built by Scottish bicycle racer and Eastern race promoter, Jack Prince in 1913, on the western side of the grounds, facing Jefferson Avenue. Virtually forgotten until the recent rediscovery of the actual location of Driving Club, this track proved to be extremely popular to spectators and motorsports enthusiasts.