Wilfred Bourque also known as Billy Bourque and William Bourque, was a Canadian racecar driver, born in W. Farnham, Québec

Farnham, Quebec

Farnham is a town located in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Brome-Missisquoi regional county municipality, in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,809, making it the second most populated community in the RCM.- History :The...

. At the time of his racing career, he lived in West Springfield, Massachusetts

West Springfield, Massachusetts

The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...

.

Racing career

Bourque is known to have started at least 35 automobile races, during the years 1907-1909. He drove primarily for the team operated by Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

-based auto maker, Knox. Most of his known race starts were hill climbs. He did, however, earn 2nd place in each of two road course events, the 1908 Garden City Sweepstakes Race (187.68 miles, held in Long Island, New York), and the 1909 Cobe Trophy Race

Cobe Trophy Race

The Cobe Trophy Race was an automobile race held in Indiana, in 1909 and 1910. The trophy was named for, and donated by, Ira M. Cobe, president of the Chicago Automobile Club. As one of the first long-distance races in the area, it was billed as the "Vanderbilt of the west," a reference to the ...

 (395.59 miles, held at the Crown Point Road Race Circuit

Crown Point Road Race Circuit

The Crown Point Road Race Circuit was an automobile race course located in northwest Indiana, and operated only during the summer of 1909. It was made up of public highways, with a lap distance of . The majority of the course was on rural highways, with several long straightaways, one exceeding . ...

). On August 19, 1909, Bourque won the third automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

 (a five-mile race). Later that day, he was killed in an accident during the feature Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race

Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race

The Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race was an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in each of the two years prior to the first Indianapolis 500. The trophy was sponsored by the Prest-O-Lite Company, a manufacturer of automotive lighting systems...

. Witnesses said Bourque's fatal crash occurred when he looked back after being notified by his riding mechanic, Harry Holcomb, that another car was approaching. While glacing back, the car swerved, hit a rut, and flipped over. Bourque suffered a fractured skull and punctured lung, and later died in the hospital, making him the first driver to die at Indy.http://www.indymotorspeedway.com/500d-09.htm Holcomb also died in the crash.

Sources

Scott, D. Bruce; INDY: Racing Before the 500; Indiana Reflections; 2005; ISBN 0-9766149-0-1.

Galpin, Darren; A Record of Motorsport Racing Before World War I.

• http://www.motorsport.com/stats
• http://www.champcarstats.com