The United Kingdom has been a major player in the Formula One World Championship since it began in 1950, providing ten different world champions, winning 20 titles between them, more than any other nation. Mike Hawthorn became the first British world champion in 1958, defeating Stirling Moss, labelled by many as "the greatest driver never to have won the world championship".[1] The country won four consecutive titles between 1962 and 1965, with Graham Hill, Jim Clark (twice) and John Surtees. Hill won again in 1968, and was succeeded by Jackie Stewart, who won in 1969, 1971 and 1973. James Hunt was world champion for McLaren in 1976, and was the last British champion until 1992, when Nigel Mansell won for Williams. Damon Hill, son of Graham, was champion in 1996, while Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button won back-to-back titles for the country in 2008 and 2009, with Hamilton becoming the first Briton to win back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. In 2017 Hamilton became the first Briton to win four titles. He won again in 2018, 2019 and 2020, he became a seven-time champion, equalling Michael Schumacher's record to become the statistically greatest of all time.
Other than the Italian Scuderia Ferrari, the most successful teams in Formula One have been based in Britain. McLaren and Williams are the most successful of these, with former teams Team Lotus and Brabham also winning multiple titles. Of the ten teams currently competing in Formula One, six are based in England.
The British Grand Prix was first held at the Brooklands oval in 1926. The current host is Silverstone Circuit, whereas Brands Hatch last held the race in 1986. The European Grand Prix was held at Brands Hatch in 1983 and 1985, and at Donington Park in 1993. Aintree Motor Racing Circuit has hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix five times, in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1962.
Dario Franchitti has won four IndyCar titles. Nigel Mansell won one in CART and Dario Resta won one in the AAA. Franchitti also won three time the Indianapolis 500, Dan Wheldon two, Jim Clark and Graham Hill one each.
Britain has enjoyed greater success in the Superbike World Championship, with Carl Fogarty winning four titles in the 1990s. Neil Hodgson won the title in 2003, while James Toseland won the title in 2004 and 2007. The United Kingdom is currently well represented in the Superbike World Championship.
Drag Racing has its origins in the USA during the 1920s. During prohibition the sellers of illegal alcohol, the Moonshine Boys outran the authorities by making their innocuous runabout cars fast and powerful by hiding bigger and more highly tuned engines inside - the Hot Rod was born! After the end of prohibition the Hot Rodders continued and all over America roads were being used to settle the 'mine is faster than yours argument'. Most towns had a main road running down the middle and junctions controlled by traffic lights, the Hot Rodders would race down the main drag from one set of lights to the other - the beginning of Drag Racing.
Drag Racing took off in the UK during the 1960s when, like in the USA, many of the old disused airstrips around the country were converted to drag strips.
Podington airfield, near the villages of Hinwick and Podington, was formerly a wartime airbase used by the USAAF during the Second World War. In 1966 permission was obtained to use the airfield as a drag racing complex, the ¾ of a mile main runway being used as the drag strip. The track was named Santa Pod after the Santa Ana strip in America, combined with the name of the local village of Podington.
Since then the name Santa Pod Raceway has become synonymous with the sport of Drag Racing in Europe. Today the raceway hosts events throughout the year including the FIA European Drag Racing Championships and the 'Run What You Brung' (RWYB) events where anyone with a valid driving licence can have a go and put their own vehicles and skills to the test.
Rallying is a popular form of motorsport in the United Kingdom. The RAC Rally began in 1932, and has since evolved into Wales Rally GB, the country's round of the World Rally Championship. Colin McRae won the World Rally Championship in 1995, and Richard Burns won in 2001, both for the Banbury-based Subaru World Rally Team. Both were recognised as two of the sport's most famous and popular drivers, but Burns and McRae died in 2005 and 2007 respectively. The Ford World Rally Team was also based in England, as is M-Sport.
The British Touring Car Championship is the country's most popular national racing series. Its popularity was highest during the 1990s and the Supertouring era, when it attracted a range of well-known international manufacturers and drivers. Although spiralling costs meant that the series declined during the early 21st century, the series is now regaining popularity.
Brands Hatch annually hosted a round of the prestigious German touring car series, DTM, from 2006 to 2013. This series has had a strong representation from UK drivers. The 2005 championship was won by Gary Paffett and the 2010 championship by Scotsman Paul di Resta.
The United Kingdom has a large 'club racing' scene, with a wide range of series for amateur drivers, with each containing a diverse range of drivers and cars. Clubs include the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC), British Automobile Racing Club (BARC), Classic Sports Car Club (CSCC), 750 Motor Club (750MC) and Monoposto Racing Club (MRC) amongst others. Each club holds a range of meetings throughout the year, with each meeting consisting of races in several different categories.
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 British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship every year since 1950. In 1952, following the transfer of the lease of the Silverstone Circuit to the British Racing Drivers' Club, the RAC delegated the organisation of races held at Silverstone to the BRDC, and those held at Aintree to the British Automobile Racing Club. This arrangement lasted until the RAC created the Motor Sports Association in the late 1970s and it reclaimed organising control of the event. The RAC MSA was renamed Motorsport UK in 2019 when it formally split from the RAC.
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Derbyshire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned by the Wheatcroft family, is currently under lease by MotorSport Vision until 2038. It has a capacity of 120,000, and is also the venue of the Download Festival.
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created World Championship of Drivers. The race rotated between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch from 1955 to 1986, but settled permanently at the Silverstone track in 1987. The circuit also hosts the British round of the MotoGP series.
Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit, with modified production or specially built touring cars. It is mainly popular in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain. An inexpensive, entry level type of rallycross is the Swedish folkrace or its Norwegian counterpart, the so-called bilcross. The folkrace is most popular in Finland where it was founded back in the late 1960s. In Europe, rallycross can also refer to racing 1:8 scale off-road radio-controlled buggies.
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. The venue is owned and operated by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation.
Mondello Park is Ireland's only international motorsport venue and is located in Caragh, County Kildare off the R409 regional road, approximately 48-kilometre (30 mi) from Dublin city centre.
Lydden Hill Race Circuit is a motorsport venue in Denton with Wootton, about half-way between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, England. The mile-long circuit is mainly used for Rallycross, Drift, Saloon and Sports car racing as well as Motorcycle racing.
Cadwell Park is a motor racing circuit in Lincolnshire, England, 5 mi (8.0 km) south of Louth, owned and operated by MotorSport Vision, a business associated with former racing driver Jonathan Palmer. Sited on former parkland across a steep-sided valley with dips and crests, the circuit features sharp changes in gradient, including one section called The Mountain where bikes can become airborne by up to several feet. Its mix of challenging corners has led to its nickname as the Mini-Nürburgring.
Croft Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Dalton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England. The tarmac circuit is 2.127 mi (3.423 km) long and is based on the lands of an airfield, but has long since moved on from being a basic airfield circuit. The circuit holds meetings of the British Touring Car Championship, British Rallycross and Pickup Truck Racing race series.
Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is in the countryside about 6-mile (9.7 km) north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA-approved circuit in Scotland.
Motorsport.tv is a global streaming OTT platform specialized in motor racing and motoring content, live and on demand launched in September 2018. It is a fully integrated video ecosystem developed and operated by Motorsport Network to specifically cater to different motor racing and automotive audiences.
Andrew Phillip Jordan is a British racing driver, who has driven in the British Touring Car Championship. He was the 2013 British Touring Car Champion.
MotorSport Vision (MSV) is a motorsport organization and operates six UK venues. MSV's activities include managing two- and four-wheel championships, as well as organizing the PalmerSport corporate driving event.
Harry William Tincknell is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Dempsey-Proton Racing. He won the LMP2 class on his Le Mans 24 Hour race debut in 2014 and again in LMGTE Pro in 2020, the first driver in the race's history to win in both LMP2 and LMGTE Pro. Other notable victories include the 2016 European Le Mans Series title and the overall win at the 2020 12 Hours of Sebring.
Scott Aaron Malvern is a British racing driver, currently competing in the British GT Championship who is best known for winning the 2011 British Formula Ford Championship, the 2012 Formula Renault BARC championship and twice being nominated for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.Malvern was also awarded the British Racing Drivers Club Henry Surtees Award in 2011 and the Autosport Club Driver of the Year in 2012. Scott's younger brother Jon was also a successful kart racing driver and then set up his own performance & fitness company for racing drivers and is also the personal performance coach for Formula One driver Lando Norris
The 2013 BRDC Formula 4 Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across England. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers competing in 2 litre Duratec single seat race cars that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2013 season was the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 Championship organized by the British Racing Drivers' Club in the United Kingdom. The season began at Silverstone Circuit on 27 April and ended on 29 September at Donington Park. The series had eight triple header events all held in the United Kingdom.
The 2014 Protyre Formula Renault Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across England. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers competing in 2 litre Formula Renault single seat race cars that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2014 season was the 20th British Formula Renault Championship organised by the British Automobile Racing Club and the third season as the premier Formula Renault 2.0 championship in the United Kingdom. The season began at Rockingham Motor Speedway on 4 May and ended on 28 September at Silverstone Circuit. The series formed part of the BARC club racing meetings at six events all held in England, with three triple header events.
The F4 British Championship is a single-seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The series is run to the FIA's Formula 4 regulations, and is administered by Motorsport UK. The championship is designed as a low-cost entrance to car racing, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from karting.
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