Racing shoes, motorsport shoes or driving shoes are the footwear used for the practice of motorsport or day-to-day driving. They are generally built to provide comfort and precision for operating pedals for an extended period of time, with a narrow, close-fitting construction and thin, flexible soles, as well as to provide protection from fire along with a racing suit, in the context of motorsport. [1] [2] [3] The standards for shoes worn in auto racing, as with other equipment, are regulated by the FIA. [4]
The invention of racing shoes is commonly attributed to Italian shoemaker Francesco "Ciccio" Liberto, in the late 1960s, [5] though another Italian shoemaker, Gianni Mostile, had patented a model of driving moccasins as early as 1963. [6] Prior to that, professional racecar drivers worn ordinary casual shoes for racing, sometimes wrapped in adhesive tape to provide better traction and stability. [7] Racing shoes were popularized among motorsport fans and the general public after the release of the Speed Cat and its successor Future Cat, developed by Sparco and Puma, and their use by use by German Formula One champion Michael Schumacher during the early 2000s. [8] [6]
It is popular among Formula One drivers, especially Australian ones, to drink from their racing shoes to celebrate victories, a practice referred to as a "shoey." [9] [10]
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Professional motorsport safety gear includes SFI certified racing shoes. These shoes are certified by the SFI foundation, a non-profit organization established to issue and administer standards for the quality assurance of specialty performance and racing equipment. [11]
Many professional racing organizations mandate using SFI approved gear, including shoes, emphasizing their importance in ensuring regulatory compliance and driver safety on the track. The primary purpose of these shoes is to provide fire resistance, protecting the driver's feet in the event of a fire in the vehicle.
Moreover, these shoes are crafted for performance, featuring lightweight construction and pedal-friendly design to enhance a driver's control and precision.
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but over time, shoes also became fashion items. Some shoes are worn as safety equipment, such as steel-toe boots, which are required footwear at industrial worksites.
A racing slick or slick tyre is a type of tyre that has a smooth tread used mostly in auto racing. The first production slick tyre was developed by M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in drag racing. By eliminating any grooves cut into the tread, such tyres provide the largest possible contact patch to the road, and maximize dry traction for any given tyre dimension. Slick tyres are used on race tracks and in road racing, where acceleration, steering and braking require maximum traction from each wheel. Slick tyres are typically used on only the driven (powered) wheels in drag racing, where the only concern is maximum traction to put power to the ground, and are not used in rallying.
Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling that make real-world racing so difficult, such as threshold braking, how to maintain control of a car as the tires lose traction, and how properly to enter and exit a turn without sacrificing speed. It is this level of difficulty that distinguishes sim racing from arcade racing-style driving games where real-world variables are taken out of the equation and the principal objective is to create a sense of speed as opposed to a sense of realism.
A semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated, but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and to manually change gears. Semi-automatic transmissions were almost exclusively used in motorcycles and are based on conventional manual transmissions or sequential manual transmissions, but use an automatic clutch system. But some semi-automatic transmissions have also been based on standard hydraulic automatic transmissions with torque converters and planetary gearsets.
James Ellis Hall is a retired American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner. While he is best known as a car constructor, he was one of the greatest American racing drivers of his generation, capturing consecutive United States Road Racing Championships, two Road America 500s, two Watkins Glen Grands Prix for sports cars, the 1965 Canadian Grand Prix for sports cars, the 1965 Pacific Northwest Grand Prix, and scoring a massive upset at the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring over a contingent of factory-backed Ford GTs, Shelby Daytona Coupes, and Ferrari entries. If anything Hall's accomplishments behind the wheel have been overshadowed by his pivotal contributions to race car design through his series of Chaparral sports racing and Indy cars. Hall's cars won in every series in which they competed: USRRC, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, World Sportscar Championship, Autoweek Championship, Canadian Sports Car Championship, and the Indianapolis 500.
Benjamin Lievesley Immi Collins is a British racing driver from Bristol. He has competed in motor racing since 1994 in many categories, from Formula Three and Indy Lights to sportscars, GT racing and stock cars.
Fernando Rees is a retired Brazilian racecar driver. He started his career racing with go-karts back in 1993 at age 8. Fernando made his international single-seaters' debut in 2001, his endurance racing debut in 2007, and has recently competed in various international racing championships.
Alpinestars is an Italian motorsports and action sports safety equipment manufacturer based in Asolo, Italy. Its lines include specialized products for MotoGP, motocross, motorcycling, Formula One, World Rally Championship, WEC, V8 Supercars, NASCAR, mountain biking, and surfing, and motorsports-themed, non-sports clothing. The company has fashion design centers in Italy and California offering products for men, women and children.
The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category. This category was determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport until 2023. From 2024 the championship is contested by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Australian Auto Sport Alliance. Each year, the winner is awarded a Gold Star - from 1957 - 2023 the CAMS Gold Star and from 2024 the AASA Gold Star.
The 2008 Formula BMW Europe season was the first season of a new open wheel racing series that resulted by the merging of the Formula BMW Germany and Formula BMW UK championships. Formula BMW Europe is a continental series for junior drivers, whose mission is to develop talented young drivers and introduce them to auto racing.
Simpson Performance Products is an American motorsports parts supplier that manufactures safety products such as gloves, helmets, harness systems, driver's suits, head restraints, and shoes. It is marketed to racers ranging from participants at local track days to international Formula One and NASCAR teams. It was started by Bill Simpson as Simpson Drag Chutes.
A kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle's kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir for later use under acceleration. Examples include complex high end systems such as the Zytek, Flybrid, Torotrak and Xtrac used in Formula One racing and simple, easily manufactured and integrated differential based systems such as the Cambridge Passenger/Commercial Vehicle Kinetic Energy Recovery System (CPC-KERS).
Junior Strous is a Dutch racing driver, racing team owner, and entrepreneur from Wassenaar. He has competed at various levels and classes of formula racing starting his professional career in Formula Ford at Geva Racing in 2002, advancing into Formula BMW, Formula Renault, Champcar Atlantic and Indycar Lights.
The 2011 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series, was the 61st British Formula 3 International Series season. The season began on 16 April at Monza in Italy and ended on 9 October at Silverstone after 30 races held at ten meetings. Of those meetings, six were held in the United Kingdom, with overseas rounds at Monza, the Nürburgring in Germany, Paul Ricard in France, and Spa in Belgium.
A racing suit or racing overalls, often referred to as a fire suit due to its fire retardant properties, is clothing such as overalls worn in various forms of auto racing by racing drivers, crew members who work on the vehicles during races, track safety workers or marshals, and in some series commentators at the event.
Thomas Smith is an Australian racing driver who is set to compete in the 2025 Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2023 and 2024 with Van Amersfoort Racing. Prior, he raced with Douglas Motorsport in the 2022 GB3 Championship, having won one race & scoring two podium finishes.
Matthew Allen Jaskol is an American professional auto racing driver and spotter. He has competed in a variety of different racing disciplines including kart, open-wheel, and stock car racing. As a spotter, Jaskol won the 2016 Indianapolis 500 as the spotter for Alexander Rossi.
On Holding AG is an athletic shoe and performance sportswear company originating in Switzerland that designs and markets sports clothing and running shoes.
SFI Foundation, Inc. (SFI), formerly known as SEMA Foundation, Inc., is a nonprofit organization which administers standard for motorsports equipment, including racing suits, roll cages and other technical components. The organisation was founded to prevent injuries among drivers, and today plays an important role in standardisation, certification and quality assurance of equipment. The FIA approves or in certain cases requires SFI-approved equipment in competitions.