The most famous car racing in the world

The first efficient cars with gasoline internal combustion engine appeared in 1886. These were the patented designs of Gottlieb Daimler and his compatriot Karl Benz.

After only 8 years, the world's first automobile competition was organized. It was attended by both innovative “self-propelled crews” and earlier counterparts moving due to the operation of the steam engine. The essence of the competition was to ensure that vehicles independently covered a distance of 126 kilometers.

The winner was considered the most practical crew. He had to combine speed, safety and ease of management. Peugeot and Panar-Levassor cars, which were equipped with Daimler engines with a maximum power of 4 horsepower, became the winner in that historic race.

At first, such competitions were considered only exotic entertainment, but over time, cars became more powerful, and auto competitions became more and more spectacular. Automakers saw in these events a great opportunity to show the world the possibilities of their developments.

Today, a huge variety of sports races has been created, the fans of which are hundreds of thousands of fans around the world.

We offer you an overview of the most popular races taking place in different parts of the world.

The Grand Prix

Initially, riders who participated in difficult and dangerous races between cities fought for the "Big Prize". The first competition of this kind took place in 1894 in France. Since during such car races there were many accidents, the victims of which were spectators, the requirements for races were gradually tightened.

The first race of Formula 1 cars in the form in which fans of modern motorsport are used to seeing them took place in 1950. The sleek, open-wheel, micron-tuned race cars are popular with those who appreciate fine high-speed handling. And in high-class races, cars accelerate to 300 km / h. and faster (the record belongs to Valtteri Botas, who in 2016 accelerated to 372,54 km / h in a Williams car with a Mercedes engine.)

In the name of each individual round of the championship appears the country on the route which passes the race. The points of each race are added up, and the winner is not the one who always comes to the finish line first, but the one who gets the most points. Here are two of the popular championship tours.

Grand Prix of Monaco

Passes on a special highway in Monte Carlo. Among the participants of the championship, the most prestigious victory is considered to be in Monaco. A feature of this type of racing is the track, sections of which pass through the streets of the city. Thanks to this, the viewer can be in close proximity to the track.

This stage is the most difficult, since for all 260 kilometers (78 laps), riders must overcome many difficult turns. One of them is the hairpin of the Grand Hotel. This section of the car runs at a speed incredible for this class of cars - 45 km / h. Due to such segments, the track does not allow to accelerate the car to the maximum speed.

Stirling Moss once said that for a rider, straight lines are boring stretches between turns. The track in Monte Carlo is a test of the skill of driving a car. It is on bends that most beautiful overtaking takes place, from which such competitions are also called “Royal”. To perform a quality overtaking of an opponent, you need to be a real king of motorsport.

Macau Grand Prix

The stage takes place in China. A feature of this event is the concentrate of competitions held over one weekend. Participants of Formula 3, FIA WTCC (an international championship in which Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 class cars participate) and motorcycle racing test their driving skills on the track.

The race track also passes through the city road, in which there is a long straight section where you can pick up high speed to improve lap times. The length of the ring is 6,2 km.

Unlike the track in Monte Carlo, this track experiences the skill of drivers not by frequent turns, but by the small width of the road. On some sections, it is only 7 meters. Overtaking on such turns becomes almost unrealistic.

Many car manufacturers use Grand Prix races to test the reliability of next-generation engines, as well as test new developments. chassis... Since the competition is attended by a large number of spectators, this is a good opportunity to advertise your brand, which is used by such companies as Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, McLaren and others.

Endurance racing

While racing the Grand Prix series can demonstrate the skills of pilots, 24-hour competitions in addition to this are designed to show the endurance, efficiency and speed of cars of different manufacturers - a kind of promotion. In view of this parameter, those machines that spend the minimum amount of time in the boxes deserve attention.

Many of the innovative developments that car makers demonstrate during races are subsequently used on serial sports cars. The following car classes participate in the races:

• LMP1;
• LMP2;
• GT Endurance Pro;
• GT Endurance AM.

Most often, such auto competitions are separate stages of world championships. Here are some examples of such races.

24 hours Le Mann

The most popular auto race, which was first organized in 1923. Not far from the French city of Le Mans on the Sarta circuit, cool sports cars from different manufacturers were tested. In all the popular races, Porsche has taken the first place most of all - 19 times.

Audi is the second in terms of the number of victories - the cars of this brand have 13 first places.

The famous Italian manufacturer Ferrari in this list is in third place (9 wins).

Legendary cars participating in the coolest car racing in the world:

• Jaguar D-Type (3 wins in a row from 1955 to 1957). A special feature of the car was a 3,5-liter engine that develops a power of 265 horsepower. It was equipped with three carburetors, the body was first made in the shape of a monocoque, and the shape of the cockpit was borrowed from a single-seat fighter. The sports car was able to take a hundred in 4,7 seconds - incredible for cars of that era. The maximum speed reached 240 km / h.

• The Ferrari 250 TR is the answer to the challenge of the Jaguar. The elegant Testa Rossa was equipped with a 12-cylinder 3,0-liter. V-engine with 6 carburetors. The maximum speed of the sports car was 270 km / h.

• Rondo M379. A truly unique car that made its debut in the 1980 race. The concept sports car was powered by a Ford Cosworth engine, which was developed for participation in Formula 1 races. Contrary to skeptical forecasts, the car of the French driver and designer came to the finish line very first and was unharmed.

• Peugeot 905 debuted in 1991 and was equipped with a 650-horsepower engine, capable of accelerating a sports car to 351 km / h. However, the crew won victories in 1992 (1st and 3rd place) and in 1993 (the entire podium).

• The Mazda 787B hid 900 horses under the hood, but to reduce the risk of engine failure, its power was reduced to 700 hp. During a race in 1991, three Mazda cars came to the finish line out of nine out of 38 cars. Moreover, the manufacturer said that the engine was so reliable that it could withstand another such race.

• The Ford GT-40 is a truly legendary car that was exhibited by the grandson of the founder of an American company to cease dominance of the Italian rival, Ferrari (1960-1965). The cult sports car turned out to be so good (after eliminating the shortcomings identified as a result of two races) that the pilots of this car stood on the podium from 1966 to 1969. Until now, various modernized copies of this legend remain the most effective in such races.

24 hours Daytones

Another endurance race, the goal of which is to determine which team is able to drive the farthest in a day. The race track partially consists of the Naskarovsky oval and a passing road. The length of the circle is 5728 meters.

This is the American version of the previous car race. Competitions started in 1962. They are held in the offseason of motor sports, so the event has a lot of spectators. The sponsor gives the winner of the race a stylish Rolex watch.

A feature of the qualification race is only one requirement - the car must cross the finish line after XNUMX hours. Such a simple rule allows you to take part even those cars that are not very reliable.

24 hours Nurburgring

Another analogue of the Le Mans races has been held since 1970 in Germany. The organizers of the auto competition decided not to create strict requirements for the participants, which allows amateurs to try their hand. Sometimes prototypes of sports cars appeared on the racetrack in order to identify shortcomings, the elimination of which would make it possible to exhibit models at serious competitions.

This daily race is more like a festival than a sporting event. A large number of fans and fans of different crowd gather at the event. Sometimes only the participants pay attention to the competition, while the rest are engaged in celebration.

24 hours spa

This sporting event ranks second in seniority after the Le Mans races. It has been carried out since 1924. Initially, the Belgian car race was held on a ring track, the length of which was 14 kilometers. In 1979 it was rebuilt, and reduced to 7 km.

This track periodically enters the stages of various world championships, including Formula 1 races. World-famous manufacturers took part in 24-hour races, and the victory was most often won by BMW.

Rally

The next type of the coolest races in the world - rally. They gained popularity due to their entertainment. Most of the competitions are held on public roads, the surface of which can change dramatically, for example, from asphalt to gravel or sand.

In the intervals between special stages, drivers must drive taking into account all the rules of the road, but observing the time limit for each section of the route. Special stages - blocked sections of the road on which the pilot can squeeze the maximum out of the car.

The essence of the competition is to get from point “A” to point “B” as quickly as possible. The passage of each segment is strictly regulated in time. To participate in the race, the driver must be a real ace, because he has to overcome areas with different surfaces and at different times of the year.

Here are some of the coolest rally races.

Dakar

When a motor racing enthusiast hears the word rally, his brain automatically continues: “Paris-Dakar”. This is the most famous transcontinental auto marathon, the main segment of which runs through deserted lifeless areas.

This race is considered one of the most dangerous competitions. There are many reasons for this:

• the driver may get lost in the desert;
• satellite navigation can only be used in an emergency;
• the car can seriously break down, and while they are waiting for help, the crew may suffer from the scorching sun;
• while some participants in the race are trying to dig up a stuck car, there is a high probability that another driver may not notice people (for example, having dispersed in front of a hill behind which evacuation works take place) and injure them;
• there are frequent cases of hitting local residents.

All kinds of transports take part in the auto marathon: from a motorcycle to a truck.

Monte Carlo

One of the rally stages takes place in a picturesque area in the south-east of France, as well as along the azure coast of Monaco. Competitions originate from 1911. They were created in order to maintain tourism infrastructure.

In the period between Formula 1 races, the resort city is significantly empty, which seriously affects the hotel business and other areas, due to which the international tourist center flourishes.

The stage route consists of countless ascents and descents, lengthy and sharp turns. Because of these features, at this stage of the rally championship, large and powerful sports cars are simply helpless in front of nimble cars like Mini Coopers.

1000 LAKES

This stage of the race today is called the "Rally Finland". He is considered one of the most popular among fans of this type of motorsport. The track runs through a picturesque area with lots of lakes.

A particularly difficult stretch of road is Ouninpohja. In this segment, rally cars are developing at a great speed, and the hilly terrain allows jumping to incredible distances.

For greater entertainment, the organizers made markings on the sidelines so that the audience could record the length of the jumps. This site was removed from the tour in 2009, as serious accidents often occurred on it.

The record for jumping belongs to Marco Martin (length of jump 57 meters at a speed of 171 km / h) and Gigi Galli (length 58 m.).

NASCAR

The most popular sporting event in America is the Super Bowl (American Football). In second place for entertainment are the Nascar races. This type of auto racing appeared in 1948. The competition is divided into several stages, after which each participant receives an appropriate number of points. The winner is the one who collects the most points.

In fact, NASCAR is an American association that organizes stock car racing. To date, fireballs have only an external resemblance to serial counterparts. As for the “filling,” these are completely different machines.

Considering that the nature of the race is a circular race on an oval track, the cars experienced serious loads that usually do not occur when driving on public roads, so they had to be modernized.

In the series of races, the most famous are Daytona 500 (held at the Daytona circuit) and Indy 500 (held at the stadium in Indianapolis). Participants must drive 500 miles or 804 kilometers as quickly as possible.

Moreover, the rules do not forbid drivers to "sort things out" right on the track by pushing, which often causes accidents during races, which is why this car competition is very popular.

Formula E

This type of exotic car racing resembles a Formula 1 competition, only single-seat electric cars with open wheels participate in the races. This class was formed in 2012. The main purpose of any automobile competition is to test cars under maximum loads. For models equipped with electric motors, such a "laboratory" did not exist before.

Two years after the founding of the ABB FIA Formula E Championchip class, the first championship started. In the first season, it was planned to use cars of the same production. The prototype was developed by Dallara, Renault, McLaren and Williams. The result was the Spark-Renault SRT1 racing car (top speed 225 km / h, acceleration to hundreds - 3 seconds). He toured the tracks for the first four seasons. In 2018, the Spark SRT05e (335 hp) appeared with a top speed of 280 km / h.

Compared with the "big brother", this type of race turned out to be less speedy - the cars can not accelerate to speeds below 300 km / h. But in comparison, such competitions were much cheaper. The maintenance of the F-1 team on average takes about 115 million pounds, and the team of the electrical analogue costs the sponsor only 3 million. And this taking into account the fact that until 2018 there were two cars in the garage of each team (only enough battery charge half of the race, so at a certain stage the rider just changed to the second car).

Drag racing

The review concludes another view of the coolest races in the world - this is an acceleration race. The task of the driver is to go to ¹/₄ miles (402 m.), ¹/₂ miles (804 m.), ¹/₈ miles (201 m) or a full mile (1609 meters) in the shortest possible time.

Competitions are held on a straight and perfectly flat area. In this car competition, acceleration is important. Often at such events, you can see pumped representatives of Muscle cars.

Owners of absolutely any type of transport can be participants in drag racing (sometimes competitions are even organized between tractors). Professionals act on special fireballs called dragsters.

In such cars, the most important thing is power and maximum acceleration in a straight section, so most of the systems in it are primitive. On the contrary, motors are special. Some of them have a capacity of 12 horsepower. With such power, the car "flies" a quarter of a mile in just 000 seconds at a speed of almost 4 km / h.

With the development of motor sports, a wide variety of auto racing has appeared, which are interesting in their own way. Some are considered especially dangerous, others are exotic, and there are even aggressive ones, for example, the Derby category.

It is impossible to describe each of them in detail, but it can be noted that they all emphasize the uniqueness of a vehicle that has evolved from a "self-propelled crew" into a hypercar, rushing at a speed of under 500 km / h.

Questions and answers:

What car races are there? Ring, endurance, rally, trophy, cross, slalom, trial, drag, derby, drift. Each sport has its own rules and discipline.

КWhat is the name of the circuit race? A circuit race means different types of races. For example, these are: Nascar, Formula 1-3, GP, GT. All of them are held on paved tracks.

What is the name of the second driver in the race car? The co-pilot is called the navigator (literally translated from Dutch, man is the helm). The navigator may have a map, road book or transcript at his disposal.