Auto Racing

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.

A year later the first real race was staged in France, from Paris to Bordeaux. First over the line was Emile 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

Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903With 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.

Single-seater racing

Open wheel racing

A modern Formula One car: Michael Schumacher's Ferrari at the 2005 United States Grand Prix.Single-seater (open-wheel) racing is perhaps the most well-known form of motorsport, with cars designed specifically for high-speed racing. The wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track.

Single-seater races are held on specially designed closed circuits or street circuits closed for the event. Many single-seater races in North America are held on "oval" circuits and the Indy Racing League races mostly on ovals.

The best-known variety of single-seater racing is the Formula One World Championship, which involves an annual championship featuring major international car and engine manufacturers in an ongoing battle of technology and driver skill. Formula One is, by any measure, the most expensive sport in the world, with some teams spending in excess of 200 million US dollars per year. Formula One is widely considered to be the pinnacle of motorsports, and a seat in a Formula One car is undoubtedly the peak of any driver's racing career. In North America, the cars used in the National Championship (currently Champcars and the Indy Racing League) have traditionally been similar to F1 cars but with more restrictions on technology aimed at helping to control costs.

Other single-seater racing series are the A1 Grand Prix (the world cup of motorsport), GP2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and Formula Two), Formula Nippon, Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as the World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan), Formula Three and Formula Atlantic.

There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing, which employs a small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of today's top drivers started their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents a popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts.

Rallying

Rallying, or rally racing, involves highly modified production cars 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 stages of any terrain, which entrants are often allowed to scout beforehand. The co-driver uses the "pacenotes" to help the driver complete each stage as fast as possible, reading the detailed shorthand aloud over an in-car intercom system. Competition is based on lowest total elapsed time over the course of an event.

The top series is the World Rally Championship (WRC), but there also regional championships and many countries have their own national championships. Some famous rallies include the Monte Carlo Rally and Rally Argentina. Another famous event (actually best described as a "rally raid") is the Paris-Dakar Rally. There are also many smaller, club level, categories of rallies which are popular with amateurs, making up the "grass roots" of motorsports.