Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilizes sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built (Prototype) or related to road-going models.
Bruce Leslie McLaren was a New Zealand race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.
A grand tourer (GT) is a performance and luxury automobile capable of high speed and long-distance driving. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. The term derives from the Italian language phrase gran turismo which became popular in the English language from the 1950s, evolving from fast touring cars and streamlined closed sports cars during the 1930s.
Robert William "Bobby" Unser is an American former automobile racer. He is the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louis Unser, the father of Robby Unser and the uncle of Al Unser Jr. and Johnny Unser. He is one of ten drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 three or more times and one of only two to have won the 500 in three different decades. Bobby has also been a spokesman and advocate of many commercial products.
In automotive design, a RMR or Rear Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. In contrast to the rear-engined RR layout, the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle. This layout is typically chosen for its low moment of inertia and relatively favorable weight distribution. The layout has a tendency toward being heavier in the rear than the front, which allows for best balance to be achieved under braking. However, since there is little weight over the front wheels, under acceleration, the front of the car is prone to lift and cause understeer. Most rear-engine layouts have historically been used in smaller vehicles, because the weight of the engine at the rear has an adverse effect on a larger car's handling, making it 'tail-heavy'. It is felt that the low polar inertia is crucial in selection of this layout. The mid-engined layout also uses up central space, making it impractical for any but two-seater sports cars. However, some microvans use this layout, with a small, low engine beneath the loading area. This makes it possible to move the driver right to the front of the vehicle, thus increasing the loading area at the expense of slightly reduced load depth.
Roy Francesco Salvadori was a British racing driver and team manager. He was born in Dovercourt, Essex, to parents of Italian descent. He graduated to Formula One by 1952 and competed regularly until 1962 for a succession of teams including Cooper, Vanwall, BRM, Aston Martin and Connaught. Also a competitor in other formulae, he won the 1959 24 Heures du Mans in an Aston Martin with co-driver Carroll Shelby.
The North American Racing Team (NART) was a motorsports racing team active from 1958 to 1982. It was created by businessman Luigi Chinetti to promote the Ferrari marque in United States through success in endurance racing.
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The Lotus 19 or Monte Carlo is a mid-engine sports-racing car designed by Colin Chapman of Lotus and built from 1960 until 1962.
The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing Championship, a championship that folded after the 1962 season. For its first three seasons, the series featured both open-topped sports cars and GT cars. Shelby American and Porsche dominated the Over- and Under-2 Liter classes, respectively. The USRRC ran from 1963 until 1968 when it was abandoned in favor of the more successful Can-Am series, which was also run by the SCCA.
The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race and those after that year over a series of races. The categories which have contested the championship have not always been well defined and often have become a home for cars orphaned by category collapse or a sudden change in regulation.
The Six Hours of Watkins Glen is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship, United States Road Racing Championship, World Sportscar Championship, IMSA GT Championship, Rolex Sports Car Series and currently the United SportsCar Championship.
The Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio is a sports car race held annually at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The race began in 1963 as a part of the United States Road Racing Championship. It was part of the IMSA GT Championship from 1972 until 1993, and the American Le Mans Series from 2001 to 2002 and again from 2004 to 2012. From 2007 until 2012 the race took place on the same weekend as the IndyCar Series' Honda 200 and the event was sponsored by Acura from 2007 until 2009 and again in 2018. It was announced in July 2017 that the race would return on May 4-6 2018 as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Group D Production Sports Cars was a CAMS motor racing category current in Australia from 1972 to 1981.
SCCA Pro Racing is the pro racing division of the Sports Car Club of America. SCCA Pro Racing was formed in 1963, the company is a fully owned subsidiary of SCCA.
The Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix featuring AMERICA'S TIRE 250 is a sports car race held annually at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The event began in 1950 as a race on the roads of Pebble Beach, California. In 1951, it was added to the new SCCA National Sports Car Championship. When Laguna Seca Raceway was built in 1957, the races moved there. The event fell dormant after the National Championship was discontinued in 1957, but was revived by the SCCA's new United States Road Racing Championship in 1963. The race fell dormant again in 1969, and was revived in 1973 with the IMSA GT Championship.
The Zerex Special was a sports racing car. Originally a Cooper T53 built for the 1961 United States Grand Prix, it was rebuilt for usage in American sports car racing, and featured open-top bodywork. Initially using a 2.75-litre version of the Coventry Climax FPF straight-four engine, it later used a Traco-Oldsmobile 3.5-litre V8. The car won numerous races throughout its four-year career, being driven by drivers such as McLaren and Roger Penske.
