Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fuelled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier.[1] It ran 2 kilometres (1.2mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. It was won by Georges Bouton of the De Dion-Bouton Company in a car he had constructed with Albert, the Comte de Dion, but as he was the only competitor to show up, it is difficult to justify it as a race.[1]
Another solo event occurred in 1891 when Auguste Doriot and Louis Rigoulot of Peugeot drove their gasoline-fuelled Type 3 Quadricycle in the bicycle race from Paris–Brest–Paris. By the time they reached Brest, the winning cyclist, Charles Terront, was already back in Paris. In order to publicly prove the reliability and performance of the Quadricycle, Armand Peugeot had persuaded the organiser, Pierre Giffard of Le Petit Journal, to use his network of monitors and marshals to vouchsafe and report the vehicle's performance. The intended distance of 1200km had never been achieved by a motorised vehicle, it being about three times further than the record set by Leon Serpollet from Paris to Lyon.[2][3]
On July 22,[4] 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen.[1] Sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. Pierre Giffard, the paper's editor, promoted it as a Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux (Competition for Horseless Carriages) that was "not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey." Thus, it blurred the distinctions between a reliability trial, a general event, and a race. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10-franc entrance fee.[1]
Sixty-nine cars started the 50km (31mi) selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 127km (79mi) race from Paris to Rouen. The entrants ranged from serious manufacturers like Peugeot, Panhard, or De Dion to amateur owners; only 25 were selected for the main race.[1]
The race started from Porte Maillot and went through the Bois de Boulogne. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours and 48minutes at an average speed of 19km/h. He finished 3'30" ahead of Albert Lemaître (Peugeot), followed by Auguste Doriot (Peugeot) at 16'30", René Panhard (Panhard) at 33'30" and Émile Levassor (Panhard) at 55'30". The official winners were Peugeot and Panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics. De Dion's steam car needed a stoker, which was forbidden.[1]
Early races
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.[dubious–discuss][5] The first to arrive was Émile Levassor in his Panhard-Levassor 1205cc model. He completed the course (1,178km or 732miles) in 48 hours and 47minutes, finishing nearly six hours before the runner-up. The official winner was Paul Koechlin in a Peugeot.[6] Nine of twenty-two starters finished the course.[5]
The first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895.[7] Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile.[7] The 54.36-mile (87.48km) course ran from the south side of the city, north along the lakefront to Evanston, Illinois, and back again. Frank Duryea won the race in 7 hours and 53 minutes, beating the other five entrants.[8]
The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March 1897, as a "Speed Week".[citation needed] To fill out the schedule, most types of racing events were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice– La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.
The Parisian artist Ernest Montaut and his wife, Marguerite, faithfully documented the rapidly changing face of motorised transportation in Europe. They produced large numbers of posters and prints published by Mabileau et Cie, covering racing events involving motorcars, aircraft, dirigibles and speedboats. These images formed a valuable contribution to the history of transport, and particularly to its racing aspect.[9]
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 France or elsewhere in Europe.
The very successful early European rally races ended in 1903, when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal crash near Angoulême in the Paris–Madrid race. Nine fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.[citation needed]
In 1907, the Peking to Paris race covered 9,317 miles over some of the roughest terrain on Earth. Five cars took part in the race, which was won by the Italian Prince Scipione Borghese in a 7,433 cc (453.6 cu in) 35/45hp model Itala.
The longest automobile race in history, with Paris as the finish line, was the 1908 New York to Paris Race. Six teams from France, Italy, Germany, and the United States competed with three teams actually reaching Paris. The American Thomas Flyer driven by George Schuster was declared the winner of the epic 22,000 mile race in 169 days
The first purpose-built racing circuits
Aspendale Racecourse, in Australia, was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit, opening in January 1906. The pear shaped track was close to a mile in length, with slightly banked curves and a gravel surface of crushed cement.
A remaining section of the Brooklands track in 2007
Brooklands, in Surrey, was the first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing venue, opening in June 1907.[10] It featured a 4.43km (2.75mi) concrete track with high-speed banked corners. Brooklands was also a centre of the aviation industry, with Vickers setting up a factory and aerodrome there during World War I. The racing circuit was closed in 1939 as war-time aircraft production took over. Damage done to the track during World War II meant the track never reopened for racing.
The Milwaukee Mile is the second-oldest motor racing track in the world still in existence, with racing being held there since 1903. It was not purposely built for motor racing, however. It started as a one-mile (1.6km) horse-racing track in the 19th century. The first closed-circuit automobile race was held on September 7, 1896 at the Narragansett Trotting Park in Cranston, Rhode Island,[11] and was won by an electric car built by the Riker Electric Vehicle Company.
Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, is the oldest racing venue, and one of the most prestigious, in the United States. It was built in the late 1800s at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Iowa. It was built for a horse-racing track, just like the Milwaukee Mile. Although sanctioned races were not held until 1914, one automobile race was held in 1901. The race was not good because of the wind; but in 1961, the first Knoxville Nationals was won by Roy Robbins. Now the Nationals are sanctioned by the World of Outlaws.
From 1903 to 1914, a one-mile dirt oval track was run on Brunots Island, just south of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River. Louis Chevrolet won the AAA Champion car in 1905. On September 10, 1907, Rex Reinersten was fatally injured in a crash there. In 1916, Chevrolet won the first Universal Films Trophy at the mile and an eighth Uniontown Speedway board track, south of Pittsburgh in Hopwood, Pennsylvania.
Competition gradually spread to other parts of the British Empire. The first competition in India was held in 1905 by the Motor Union of Western India. It ran from Delhi to Mumbai, (Delhi–Bombay trials 1905) a distance of 810 miles (1,300km), in an attempt to expose India to the automobile and test its suitability for Indian conditions. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy, gave his consent to the event.[12][13]
One of the oldest existing purpose-built automobile racing circuits in the United States, still in use, is the 2.5-mile (4.02km)-long Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, built from March to August 1909, when it first opened for racing. It is the largest capacity sports venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257,000+ seated spectators.[14] The oldest asphalt-paved oval track in the United States is Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson, Connecticut, once known as the "Indianapolis of the East."
The 1930s saw the transformation from high-priced road cars into pure racers, with Alfa Romeo, Auto Union, Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, and Mercedes-Benz constructing streamlined vehicles with engines producing up to 450kW (603hp), aided by multiple-stage supercharging. From 1928 to 1930 and again in 1934–1936, the maximum weight permitted was 750kg (1,653lb), a rule diametrically opposed to current racing regulations. Extensive use of aluminum alloys was required to achieve light weight. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. on February 21, 1948, with the help of several other drivers of the time. The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held on June 19, 1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida. The Strictly Stock division was put on hold as American automobile manufacturers were unable to produce family sedans quickly enough to keep up with post-World War II demand.[15]
1950–present
After the Second World War, sports car racing emerged as a distinct form of racing with its own classic races, and, from 1953, its own FIA-sanctioned World Championship. NASCAR's Strictly Stock Division was renamed the "Grand National" division beginning in the 1950 season. Over a period of more than a decade, modifications for both safety and performance were allowed, and by the mid-1960s, the vehicles were purpose-built race cars with a stock-appearing body.
From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars, with the FIA replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers.[16] Through the 1960s, as superspeedways were built and old dirt tracks were paved, the number of dirt races was reduced.[17]
A breed of powerful hybrids appeared in the 1950s and 1960s and raced on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring European chassis and large American engines – from the early Allard cars via hybrids, such as Lotus 19s fitted with large engines, through to the AC Cobra. The combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the Can-Am series in the 1960s and 1970s. This series, based in the United States and Canada, featured lightweight prototype sports cars fitted with large, powerful production-based engines that produced speeds in excess of 200mph. Clubmans provided much entertainment at club-racing level from the 1960s into the 1990s, and John Webb revived interest in big sports prototypes with Thundersports in the 1980s. Group 4 Grand Touring Cars and Group 5 Special Production Cars became the premier form of sports car racing from 1976, with prototypes going into a general decline apart from Porsche 936 domination at Le Mans and a lower-key series of races for smaller two-litre Group 6 prototypes. The last NASCAR race on a dirt track was held on September 30, 1970 at the half-mile State Fairgrounds Speedway in Raleigh, North Carolina. From 1972 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston. The changes that resulted from RJR's involvement, as well as the reduction of the schedule from 48 to 31 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era".
In Europe, the FIA adopted the ACO GTP rules virtually unchanged and sanctioned the Group CWorld Endurance Championship (or World Sportscar Championship), featuring high-tech closed-cockpit prototypes. In the US, the IMSACamel GTP series boasted close competition between huge fields of manufacturer-backed teams and privateer squads – the cars were technically similar to Group Cs but used a sliding scale of weights and engine capacities to try to limit performance. The FIA attempted to make Group C into a virtual "two seater Grand Prix" format in the early 1990s, with engine rules in common with F1, short race distances, and a schedule dovetailing with that of the F1 rounds. The IMSA GT Championship had been prototype-based since 1983, with less emphasis on production cars. Australian Production Car Championship was first contested in 1987, with the inaugural champion determined from the results of two races held at the Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria on September 27. The first World Touring Car Championship, which was open to Group A Touring Cars, was held in 1987 concurrent to the long-running European Touring Car Championship (ETCC). Additional rounds were held outside Europe at Bathurst in Australia, Calder Park Raceway in Australia (using both the road course and the then-newly constructed Thunderdome), Wellington in New Zealand and Mount Fuji in Japan. The Drivers Championship was won by Roberto Ravaglia in a BMW M3, and the Entrants Championship was won by the Eggenberger Motorsport Ford No 7 entry, which was a Ford Sierra. Winston Cup Series underwent a large boom in popularity in the 1990s.[18] This coincided with a decline of popularity in American Championship Car Racing. The FISA decided to separate the rally cars into three classes: Group N (production cars), Group A (modified production cars), and Group B (modified sport cars). Group B was introduced by the FIA in 1982 as a replacement for both Group 4 (modified grand touring) and Group 5 (touring prototype) cars.
The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series, which ran its first season in 1999.[19] The European races eventually became the closely related Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs. The SCCA World Challenge consists of a one-hour race for each round, combining three classes: GT (Chevrolet Corvette, Aston Martin DB9, etc.), "GTS" (Acura TSX, BMW 3 Series, etc.; replaced the former touring car class), and Touring Car (a "showroom stock" class similar to Grand Am's Continental Challenge). NASCAR was becoming increasingly dominant, and the IndyCar Series' split from CART in 1996 put more emphasis on ovals regarding domestic open-wheel racing.
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.
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately 0.25 to 2.66 miles. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southern United States; its largest governing body is NASCAR. Its NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top-level series of professional stock car racing. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the United Kingdom also have forms of stock car racing. Top-level races typically range between 200 and 600 miles in length.
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built sports prototypes which are the highest level in sports car racing or grand tourers based on road-going models and therefore, in general, not as fast as sports prototypes. Sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit auto racing, alongside open-wheel racing, touring car racing and stock car racing. Sports car races are often, though not always, endurance races that are run over particularly long distances or large amounts of time, resulting in a larger emphasis on the reliability and efficiency of the car and its drivers as opposed to outright car performance or driver skills. The FIA World Endurance Championship is an example of one of the best known sports car racing series.
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. It is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American open-wheel car racing, a formula colloquially known as "Indy car racing". The track itself is nicknamed the "Brickyard", as the racing surface was first paved in brick in the fall of 1909. One yard of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with which it typically shares a date.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
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.
Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because early races took place on open roads, accidents occurred frequently, resulting in deaths both of drivers and of spectators. A common abbreviation used for Grand Prix racing is "GP" or "GP racing".
Auto Club Speedway was a 2.000 mi (3.219 km), D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It hosted National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) racing annually from 1997 until 2023. It was also previously used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack was located 47 mi (76 km) east of Los Angeles and was near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track was last owned and operated by NASCAR. The speedway was served by the nearby Interstates 10 and 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. The objective is to complete a predetermined number of circuit laps in the least amount of time, or to accumulate the most circuit laps within a predetermined time period. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on public roads. However, public safety concerns eventually led to most races being held on purpose-built racing circuits.
Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: USAC for open-wheel oval car races; NASCAR for a 500-mile (800 km) oval stock car races; NHRA for drag races; and FIA for Formula One road course races. Additionally, several motorcycle races were held at the track. Constructed in less than two years, the track opened in August 1970 and was considered state of the art at the time.
Homestead–Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, the IMSA SportsCar Championship series, and the Championship Cup Series.
Ascot Park, first named Los Angeles Speedway and later New Ascot Stadium, was a dirt racetrack located near Gardena, California. Ascot Park was open between 1957 and 1990. The track held numerous United States Auto Club (USAC) national tour races and three NASCAR Grand National races. The Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track for several decades.
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid to a professional racing series where the world's largest automakers spent millions of dollars per year.
Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia.
Shangri-La Speedway was a speedway in Owego, New York. It was a half-mile (0.8 km) oval race track facility. Over a span of fifty years, Shangri-La hosted automobile races of various kinds, AAA Championship Cars, stock cars, Modifieds, Supermodifieds, and supporting classes. Shangri-La's weekly racing was widely considered among the best in the sport during several different periods, including years when nine-time NASCAR National Modified Champion Richie Evans and six-time NASCAR National Modified Champion Jerry Cook were regulars. The facility also included an eighth-mile (0.2 km) drag strip and a tenth-mile oval track for microds. Its formal name was changed to Shangri-La Motor Speedway and to Tioga Motorsports Park, but most racers and fans still referred to it as "Shangri-La".
Race results from the automobile and motorcycle races contested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Races have been held on seven different track configurations:
Lakewood Speedway was a race track located south of Atlanta, Georgia, in Lakewood, just north of the eastern arm of Langford Parkway. The track held many kinds of races between 1919 and 1979, including events sanctioned by AAA/USAC, IMCA, and NASCAR. It was a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt track which was located adjacent to Lakewood Fairgrounds. Lakewood Speedway was considered the "Indianapolis of the South" as it was located in the largest city in the Southern United States and it held an annual race of the Indy cars.
The Harvest Auto Racing Classic was a series of three automobile races held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday September 9, 1916. The meet, held four months after the 1916 Indianapolis 500, featured a 20-mile race, a 50-mile race, and a 100-mile race. The main event, a 100-mile Championship Car race, paid points towards the 1916 AAA National Championship. Johnny Aitken won all three races, two of which had a margin of victory of less than a car length.
Electric motorsport is a category of motor sport that consists of the racing of electric powered vehicles for competition, either in all-electric series, or in open-series against vehicles with different powertrains. Very early in the history of automobiles, electric cars held several performance records over internal combustion engine cars, such as land speed records, but fell behind in performance during the first decade of the 20th century.
Motorsports are a popular physically demanding sport competed in many countries worldwide, including in Canada. One of the most internationally significant Canadian events is the Montreal Grand Prix, a race for the Formula One World Championship. Ongoing since 1967. Lance Stroll is the only Canadian competing in the series in 2024.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 Rémi Paolozzi (May 28, 2003). "The cradle of motorsport". Welcome to Who? What? Where? When? Why? on the World Wide Web. Forix, Autosport, 8W.
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