Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines.
The Dakar Rally or simply "The Dakar", formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally", is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal. Security threats in Mauritania led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, and events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, professionals typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests, navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. Rallies may be short in the form of trials at a single venue, or several thousand miles long in an extreme endurance rally.
Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.
The Plymouth-Banjul Challenge is run by 'Dakar Challenge' and self described as 'The original Banger Challenge’ and previously known as the Plymouth-Dakar Challenge, is an annual car event for charity. Established in 2002, the first rally went to Dakar in 2003, and then on to Banjul from 2005. It very roughly follows the route of the more famous Dakar Rally, visiting many of the same countries.
Gumball 3000 is a brand known for the annual Gumball 3000 Rally, an international celebrity motor rally that takes place on public roads. The brand was founded in 1999 by English entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper, with his vision to combine cars, music, fashion and popular culture.
Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is likely as old as the automobile itself. It became especially prevalent during the heyday of hot rodding (1960s), muscle cars, Japanese imports (1990s) and sports cars (2000s). Since then, it continues to be both popular and hazardous, with deaths of bystanders, passengers, and drivers occurring every year. In the United States, modern street racing traces its roots back to Woodward Avenue, Michigan, in the 1960s when the three main Detroit-based American car companies were producing high-powered performance cars. Since a private racing venue was not always available, street races would be held illegally on public roads.
The Mongol Rally is an intercontinental car rally that begins in Europe and ends in Ulan-Ude, Russia. The rally originally ended in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. However, to avoid punitive costs and taxes associated with vehicle imports and disposal, the rally now passes through Mongolia and ends in Ulan-Ude. The principal launch is from Goodwood Circuit in the United Kingdom, with subsidiary starting points in the Czech Republic. There are three fundamental rules to the rally:
The Budapest-Bamako or Great African Run is a charity car race in Europe and Africa, and the largest amateur rally in the world. It is a low-budget version of the Dakar Rally, and goes from Budapest, Hungary to Bamako, Mali through the Sahara. It passes through Hungary, Austria or Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali. The Budapest-Bamako was inspired by the Paris-Dakar Rally. There are few entry restrictions: as long as a vehicle is street legal, it can join the event.
The Indian Autorickshaw Challenge is an international autorickshaw rally. The entrants use the autorickshaw or tuk-tuk, a common vehicle of India's urban east, to cross large portions of the Indian sub-continent over a period several of days. The simple construction of the autorickshaw and the diversity of the landscape requires the participants to be resourceful and determined in order to finish the course. The event is organised by Chennai Event Management Services.
The Australasian Safari was an off-road motor sport racing event held in Australia between 1985 and 2014.
Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event for automobiles and motorcycles. Along with shorter baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) co-organise a common World Rally-Raid Championship featuring the same events for both types of vehicle.
Mark Miller is an American professional off-road racer, competing in both cars and on motorcycles.
The Scumrun is an annual charitable event in the form of a road rally from the United Kingdom to mystery destinations around Europe. It has been running since 2006, originally as the Scumball 3000.
A decrepit car is a car that is often old and damaged and is in a barely functional state. There are many slang terms used to describe such cars, such as beater, clunker, chod, flivver, hooptie/hoopty, jalopy, old banger, but the most popular being junk car.
The Silk Way Rally is an annual rally raid held in Russia and neighbouring countries. The first Silk Way Rally was run in 2009 from Kazan, Russia, to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is organised by the Silk Way Rally Association.
The Baja 4000 is a biennial off-road charity rally and road trip organized by the creators of the largest amateur rally in the world, the Budapest-Bamako. It's a low budget, amateur version of the famous Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally. The first edition was held in January 2017. The rally started in Los Angeles and traveled 4000 kilometers on the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. In 2018 before the second edition of the event organizers changed the event's name to Baja XL.
The Gambler 500 Rally is a mostly off-road rally-style navigational adventure using cheap, impractical or fun vehicles to run through the country picking up trash and removing abandoned vehicles and boats. Participants are encouraged to spend no more than US$500 on their vehicle; however, this limit is not enforced. Vehicles can be modified with no cap, but as public roads are used they should still be in compliance with the law. The Gambler 500 began in Oregon, where it is now known as "OG500", and has since spread across the United States, Canada and Iceland (G500ÍS). The motto is "Always Be Gambling,″ abbreviated as "ABG".
The Baja XL is a biennial off-road charity rally and road trip. The rally is organized by the creators of the largest amateur rally in the world (Budapest-Bamako). It is the successor of the Baja 4000, and it's a low budget, amateur version of the famous Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally. The first edition was held in January 2017. The rally started in Los Angeles, and traveled 4000 kilometers on the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. In 2018, before the second edition of the event, organizers changed the event's name from Baja 4000 to Baja XL. From Jan 29-Feb 7, 2019 the second edition was held with 120 teams entering the event.
The 2021 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally. The event was held for 14 days, starting from 3 January and ended 15 January 2021. It was the second time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race started and ended in Jeddah, allowing the competitors to venture through the desert and alongside the Red Sea. The route consists of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Ha'il on 9 January. The rally was originally intended to run through 2–3 additional countries, with Egypt and Jordan being rumoured likely candidates. However, due to travel and border restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the route stayed entirely within Saudi Arabian territory.
