Roads around the track were closed to the public at 5 am on the morning of the race.
A draw took place among the thirteen teams to determine the starting order, and assign each team a number.
Each of a team's three entries was assigned a letter, one of "A", "B", or "C".
Two lines of cars formed behind the start line at Montfort: cars marked "A" in one line and cars marked "B" in the other.
Cars assigned the letter "C" were the last away; they formed a single line at the side of the track so that any cars which had completed their first circuit of the track would be able to pass.
Cars were dispatched at 90-second intervals, beginning at 6 am.
Lorraine-Dietrich driver Fernand Gabriel (numbered "1A") was scheduled to be the first competitor to start, but he stalled on the line and could not restart his car before the FIAT of Vincenzo Lancia, who was next in line, drove away.
Renault's lead driver, the Hungarian Ferenc Szisz, started next, and behind him Victor Hémery of Darracq, Paul Baras of Brasier, Camille Jenatzy of Mercedes, Louis Rigolly of Gobron-Brillié and Alessandro Cagno of Itala.
Philippe Tavenaux of Grégoire, scheduled next, was unable to start; the only other non-starter was the sole Vulpes of Marius Barriaux, which was withdrawn before the race when it was found to be over the weight limit.
The last of the thirty-two starters—the Clément-Bayard of "de la Touloubre", numbered "13C"—left the start line at 6:49:30 am.

Itala driver Maurice Fabry started the fastest of the competitors; he covered the first kilometre in 43.4 seconds.
Over the full distance of the lap Brasier's Baras was the quickest; his lap time of 52 minutes and 25.4 seconds (52:25.4) moved him up to third position on the road and into the lead overall.
A mechanical problem caused Gabriel to lose control of his car at Saint-Calais; he regained control in time to avoid a serious accident but was forced to retire.
Baras maintained his lead after the second lap, but fell back to second the next lap as Szisz took over the lead.
As the day grew hotter the tar began to melt, which proved to be a greater problem than the dust; it was kicked up by the cars into the faces of the drivers and their mechanics, seeping past their goggles and inflaming their eyes.
The Renault driver, J. Edmond, was particularly affected: his broken goggles allowed more tar to seep past and rendered him nearly blind.
His attempts to change the goggles at a pit stop were rejected by officials on the grounds that equipment could not be replaced mid-race.
Nor could another driver be substituted; he continued for two more laps before retiring.

FIAT driver Aldo Weilschott climbed from fourteenth on lap three to third on lap five, before his car rolled off the planks outside Vibraye.
Szisz maintained the lead he had gained on lap three to finish the first day just before noon in a time of 5 hours, 45 minutes and 30.4 seconds (5:45:30.4), 26 minutes ahead of Albert Clément of Clément-Bayard.
Despite a slow start, FIAT driver Felice Nazzaro moved up to third position, 15 minutes behind Clément.
Seventeen cars completed the first day; Henri Rougier's Lorraine-Dietrich finished last with a time of 8:15:55.0, ​2 ¹⁄₂ hours behind Szisz.
All the cars that were competing the next day were moved into parc fermé, a floodlit area guarded overnight by members of the ACF, to prevent teams and drivers from working on them until the following morning.

The time each car set on the first day determined the time they set off on the second day, hence Szisz's first-day time of 5 hours and 45 minutes meant he started at 5:45 am.
Following the same principle, Clément began at 6:11 am and Nazzaro at 6:26 am.
This method ensured that positions on the road directly reflected the race standings.
A horse, which had been trained before the race to be accustomed to the loud noise of an engine starting, towed each competitor out of parc fermé to the start line.
As neither driver nor mechanic could work on their car until they had been given the signal to start the day's running, Szisz and Clément began by heading
Roads around the track were closed to the public at 5 am on the morning of the race. A draw took place among the thirteen teams to determine the starting order, and assign each team a number. Each of a team's three entries was assigned a letter, one of "A", "B", or "C". Two lines of cars formed behind the start line at Montfort: cars marked "A" in one line and cars marked "B" in the other. Cars assigned the letter "C" were the last away; they formed a single line at the side of the track so that any cars which had completed their first circuit of the track would be able to pass. Cars were dispatched at 90-second intervals, beginning at 6 am. Lorraine-Dietrich driver Fernand Gabriel (numbered "1A") was scheduled to be the first competitor to start, but he stalled on the line and could not restart his car before the FIAT of Vincenzo Lancia, who was next in line, drove away. Renault's lead driver, the Hungarian Ferenc Szisz, started next, and behind him Victor Hémery of Darracq, Paul Baras of Brasier, Camille Jenatzy of Mercedes, Louis Rigolly of Gobron-Brillié and Alessandro Cagno of Itala. Philippe Tavenaux of Grégoire, scheduled next, was unable to start; the only other non-starter was the sole Vulpes of Marius Barriaux, which was withdrawn before the race when it was found to be over the weight limit. The last of the thirty-two starters—the Clément-Bayard of "de la Touloubre", numbered "13C"—left the start line at 6:49:30 am.
Itala driver Maurice Fabry started the fastest of the competitors; he covered the first kilometre in 43.4 seconds. Over the full distance of the lap Brasier's Baras was the quickest; his lap time of 52 minutes and 25.4 seconds (52:25.4) moved him up to third position on the road and into the lead overall. A mechanical problem caused Gabriel to lose control of his car at Saint-Calais; he regained control in time to avoid a serious accident but was forced to retire. Baras maintained his lead after the second lap, but fell back to second the next lap as Szisz took over the lead. As the day grew hotter the tar began to melt, which proved to be a greater problem than the dust; it was kicked up by the cars into the faces of the drivers and their mechanics, seeping past their goggles and inflaming their eyes. The Renault driver, J. Edmond, was particularly affected: his broken goggles allowed more tar to seep past and rendered him nearly blind. His attempts to change the goggles at a pit stop were rejected by officials on the grounds that equipment could not be replaced mid-race. Nor could another driver be substituted; he continued for two more laps before retiring.
FIAT driver Aldo Weilschott climbed from fourteenth on lap three to third on lap five, before his car rolled off the planks outside Vibraye. Szisz maintained the lead he had gained on lap three to finish the first day just before noon in a time of 5 hours, 45 minutes and 30.4 seconds (5:45:30.4), 26 minutes ahead of Albert Clément of Clément-Bayard. Despite a slow start, FIAT driver Felice Nazzaro moved up to third position, 15 minutes behind Clément. Seventeen cars completed the first day; Henri Rougier's Lorraine-Dietrich finished last with a time of 8:15:55.0, ​2 ¹⁄₂ hours behind Szisz. All the cars that were competing the next day were moved into parc fermé, a floodlit area guarded overnight by members of the ACF, to prevent teams and drivers from working on them until the following morning.
The time each car set on the first day determined the time they set off on the second day, hence Szisz's first-day time of 5 hours and 45 minutes meant he started at 5:45 am. Following the same principle, Clément began at 6:11 am and Nazzaro at 6:26 am. This method ensured that positions on the road directly reflected the race standings. A horse, which had been trained before the race to be accustomed to the loud noise of an engine starting, towed each competitor out of parc fermé to the start line. As neither driver nor mechanic could work on their car until they had been given the signal to start the day's running, Szisz and Clément began by heading
1906 French Grand Prix