Automobile Racing

1. Auto racing is a sport involving the racing ofautomobiles for competition. There are numerous different categories of auto racing. .....

The beginning of competition

2. Motoring events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le V locip .....

the worlds first motoring contest

3. On July 23, 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world s first motoring competition fromParis to Rouen. Sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. Pierre Giffard, the paper s editor, promoted it as a Competition for Horseless Carriages that were not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey. Thus it blurred the distinctions between a reliabi .....

Early races

4. The Paris Bordeaux Paris race of June 1895 has sometimes been described as the first motor race , despite the 1894 event being decided by speed and finishing order of the eligible racers. The first to arrive was .....

City to city racing

5. Auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe.The very successful early European rally races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angoul .....

Formula racing

6. The best known variety of single seater racing, Formula One which hosts the famous Monaco Grand Prix, involves an annual World Championship for drivers and constructors. .....

Open wheel car

7. The best known variety of single seater racing, Formula One, involves an annual World Championship for drivers and constructors.In single seater (open wheel) the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to producedownforce and enhance adhesion to the track. In Europe and Asia, open wheeled racing is commonly referred to as Formula , with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the Formula termi .....

Formula Three car racing

8. The other major international single seater racing series is GP2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and Formula Two). Regional series include Formula Nippon and Formula V6 Asia (specifically in Asia), Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as the World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan), Formula Three, Formula Palmer Audi andFormula Atlantic. In 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship brought about the revival of the F2 series. .....

Formula 2 car racing

9. After 25 years away from the sport, former Formula 2 champion, Jonathan Palmer, reopened the F2 category again, most drivers have graduated from the Formula Palmer Audi series. The category is officially registered as the FIAFormula Two championship. Most rounds have two races and are support races to the FIA World Touring Car Championship. .....

Touring car racing

10. Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features full contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.The major touring car championships conducted worldwide are the V8 Supercars (Australia), British Touring Car Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and the World Touring Car Championship. The European Touring Car Cup is a one day event open to Super 2000 specif .....

Sports car racing

11. In sports car racing, production derived versions of sports cars also known as grand tourers , and purpose built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits.The premier championship series of sports car racing is the FIA World Endurance Championship. The main series for GT car racing is the FIA GT1 World Championship. There is also the FIA GT3 European Championship as well as the less powerful GT4 European Cup .....

The Audi R18 Mans Prototype car

12. Sports prototypes, unlike GT cars, do not rely on road legal cars as a base. They are closed wheel and often closed cockpit purpose built race cars intended mainly for endurance racing. They have much lower weight and more down force compared to GT cars making them much faster. They are raced in the 24 hours of Le Mans and in the Le Mans series, Asian Le Mans Series and the United SportsCar Championship. These cars are referred to as LMP cars wi .....

Production car racing

13. Production car racing, otherwise known as showroom stock in the US, is an economical and rules restricted version of touring car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars.Most series follow the Group N regulation with a few exceptions. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan s Super Taikyu and IMSA s Firehawk Series which ran .....

One make racing

14. One make, or single marque, championships often employ production based cars from a single manufacturer or even a single model from a manufacturer s range. There are numerous notable one make formulae from various countries and regions, some of which such as the Porsche Supercup and, previously, IROC have fostered many distinct national championships. Single marque series are often found at club level, to which the production based cars, limite .....

Stock car racing

15. In North America, stock car racing is the most popular form of auto racing.Primarily raced on oval tracks, stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose built racing machines which are built to tight specifications also called Silhouette racing cars.The 2012 FedEx 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International SpeedwayThe largest stock car racing governing body is NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Ra .....

Rallying

16. Rallying at international and most national championship levels involves two classes of homologated road legal production based car; Group N Production cars and more modified Group A cars. Cars compete on closed public roads or off road areas run on a point to point format where participants and their co drivers rally to a set of points, leaving in regular intervals from start points. A rally is typically conducted over a number of special sta .....

Drag racing

17. In drag racing, the objective is to complete a given straight line distance, from a standing start, ahead of a vehicle in a parallel lane. This distance is traditionally ? mile (400 m), though ? mile (200 m) has become popular since the 1990s. The vehicles may or may not be given the signal to start at the same time, depending on the class of racing. Vehicles range from the everyday car to the purpose built dragster. Speeds and elapsed time diffe .....

Off road racing

18. In off road racing, various classes of specially modified vehicles, including cars, compete in races through off road environments. In North America these races often take place in the desert, such as the famous Baja 1000. In Europe, offroad refers to events such as autocross or rallycross, while desert races and rally raids such as the Paris Dakar, Master Rallye or European bajas are called cross country rallies. .....

Kart racing

19. The modern kart was invented by Art Ingels, a fabricator at the legendary Indianapolis car manufacturer Kurtis Kraft, in Southern California in 1956. Ingels took a small chainsaw engine and mounted it to a simple tube frame chassis weighing less than 100 lb. Ingels, and everyone else who drove the kart, were startled at its performance capabilities. The sport soon blossomed in Southern California, and quickly spread around the world. Although oft .....

Historical racing

20. As modern motor racing is centered on modern technology with a lots of corporate sponsors and politics involved, historical racing tends to be the opposite. Because it is based on a particular era it is more hobbyist oriented, reducing corporate sponsorship and politics. Events are regulated to only allow cars of a certain era to participate. The only modern equipment used is related to safety and timing. A historical event can be of a number of .....

Use of flags

21. In many types of auto races, particularly those held on closed courses, flags are displayed to indicate the general status of the track and to communicate instructions to competitors. While individual series have different rules, and the flags have changed from the first years (e.g., red used to start a race), these are generally accepted. .....

Accidents in car racing

22. Due to the inherently dangerous nature of auto racing, many individuals, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Deaths among racers and spectators were numerous in the early years of racing. However advances in safety technology, and specifications designed by sanctioning bodies to limit speeds, have reduced d .....

Racing car setup

23. In auto racing, the racing setup or car setup is the set of adjustments made to the vehicle to optimize its behaviour (performance, handling, reliability, etc.). Adjustments can occur in suspensions, brakes, transmissions, engines, tires, and many others. .....

Racing driver

24. Racing drivers at the highest levels are usually paid by the team, or by sponsors, and can command very substantial salaries.Contrary to what may be popularly assumed, racing drivers as a group do not have unusually good reflexes. During countless physiological evaluations of professional racing drivers, the two characteristics that stand out are racers near obsessive need to control their surroundings, and an unusual ability to process fast mov .....