Auto Racing
Auto Racing (also referred to as automobile racing, autosport, or motorsport) is a sport involving racing cars or automobiles. It is said that Auto Racing began in France in 1895. Today, Auto Racing has grown to be one of the most popular spectator sports in the world.
Early Beginnings
The construction of the first successful petrol-fueled autos marked the beginning of auto racing. In 1894, Le Perit Journal, a Paris-based magazine, initiated the first auto racing contest as a means to determines which car performs best and is the most reliable. Competitors included factory vehicles from Karl Benz's Benz & Co., Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach's DMG.
A year later, in 1895, the first real auto race was ran from Paris to Bordeaux, France. The race was one by Émile Levassor but he was later disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater.
Auto Racing is one of the most popular spectator sports in the world.On November 28, 1895, the first auto race in the United States took place in an 87.48-km (54.36-mile) course in Chicago. The race was won by Frank Duryea. Duryea finished the race in 10 hours and 23 minutes, beating three petrol-fueled and two electric-powered cars. The first trophy awarded was called the Vanderbilt Cup.
International competition began with the Gordon Bennett Cup.
With early auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from Paris, connecting with another major city in Europe or France or vice versa.
In 1903, these very successful races abruptly ended when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Eight fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.
The 1930s saw the radical differentiation of racing vehicles from high-priced road cars, with Delage, Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz, Delahaye and Bugatti constructing stream-lined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW (612 hp) with the aid of multiple superchargers.
From 1928-1930 and again in 1934-1936, the maximum weight permitted was 750 kg, a rule diametrically opposed to current racing regulations. Extensive use of aluminum alloys was required to achieve light weight, and in the case of the Mercedes, the paint was removed to satisfy the weight limitation, producing the famous Silver Arrows.