Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903

Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, autosport or motorsport) is a sport involving racing automobiles. Motor racing or motorsport may also mean motorcycle racing, and it can further include motorboat racing and air racing. It is one of the world’s most popular spectator sports and perhaps the most thoroughly commercialized.

History

The start

Auto racing began almost immediately after the construction of the first successful petrol-fuelled autos. In 1894, the first contest was organized by Paris magazine Le Petit Journal, a reliability test to determine best performance. That first race now is called Paris to Rouen 1894. Competitors included factory vehicles from Karl Benz’s Benz & Cie. and Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach’s DMG.

A year later the first real race was staged in France, from Paris to Bordeaux. First over the line was Émile Levassor but he was disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater.

An international competition began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.

The first auto race in the United States, over a 54.36 mile (87.48 km) course, took place in Chicago, Illinois on November 2, 1895, Frank Duryea winning in 10 h and 23 min, beating three petrol-fuelled cars and two electric. The first trophy awarded was the Vanderbilt Cup.

City to city racing

With 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 Europe or France.

These very successful races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Eight fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.

1910-1950

The 1930s saw the radical differentiation of racing vehicles from high-priced road cars, with Delage, Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz, Delahaye and Bugatti constructing streamlined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW(612HP) with the aid of multiple superchargers. From 1928-1930 and again in 1934-1936, the maximum weight permitted was 750 kg(1654Lbs), a rule diametrically opposed to current racing regulations. Extensive use of aluminium alloys was required to achieve light weight, and in the case of the Mercedes, the paint was removed to satisfy the weight limitation, producing the famous Silver Arrows.

Links

Sanctioning bodies

• The Official Formula One Website with news, results and stats
• The official web site of the Grand American Road Racing Association
• The official Champ Car World Series site
• The official Le Mans Series site
• The official American Le Mans Series site
• National Hot Rod Association
• International Hot Rod Association
• BriSCA F1 Stock Cars
• National Auto Sport Association
• Sports Car Club of America
• Rallye Pardubice Amateur rallye from Czech.(cz)

Student Racing Teams

• Sponsor the University of Manchester Racing Team
• Madison Motorsports, VA

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

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