A Ford Escort RS Cosworth, driven by Malcolm Wilson on a stage rally.
Rallying, or rally racing, involves two classes of car. The modified Group A, but road legal, production based cars and the Group N Production cars compete on (closed) public roads or off-road areas run on a point-to-point format where participants and their co-drivers "rally" to a set of points, leaving in regular intervals from start points. A rally is typically conducted over a number of "special stages" of any terrain, which entrants are often allowed to scout beforehand at reduced speeds compiling detailed shorthand descriptions of the track or road as they go. These detailed descriptions are known as "pace notes." During the actual rally, the co-driver reads the pace notes aloud (using an in-helmet intercom system) to the driver, enabling them to complete each stage as quickly as possible. Competition is based on lowest total elapsed time over the course of an event's special stages, including penalties.
The top series is the World Rally Championship (WRC), but there also regional championships and many countries have their own national championships. Some famous rallies include the Monte Carlo Rally, Rally Argentina, Rally Finland and Rally GB. Another famous event (actually best described as a "rally raid") is the Paris-Dakar Rally. There are also many smaller, club level, categories of rallies which are popular with amateurs, making up the "grass roots" of motor sports.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Stock car racing
Stock car racing, is hugely popular in the USA and is also widely followed in the UK and Europe. It is the most popular form of racing in the United States
Usually raced on oval tracks made with clay, asphalt, or concrete, stock cars may resemble production cars but are in fact purpose-built racing machines which are built to tight specifications. Early stock cars were actual production vehicles; the car to be raced was often driven from track to track. The modern car however is far removed from the production model which it represents, making the term "stock car" somewhat incorrect.
The largest stock car racing governing body is NASCAR. NASCAR's premier series is the Sprint Cup Series, its most famous races being the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. NASCAR also runs several feeder series. The Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series) conduct races across the entire continental United States. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series conducts races across Canada and the NASCAR Corona Series conducts races across Mexico. NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series.
NASCAR also governs the Whelen Modified Tour. Modified cars are best described as hybrids of stock cars and open-wheel cars. They are heavily altered from stock, with powerful engines, large tires, tubular chassis and light bodies. The Whelen Modified tour is NASCAR's oldest series.
A World of Outlaws late model stock car on a dirt track.
There are also other stock car governing bodies, such as Automobile Racing Club of America and United Speed Alliance Racing.
In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". This takes place on shale or tarmac tracks - usually around 1/4 mile in length. The governing bodies for the sport are the Oval Racing Council (ORC) and BriSCA. Both bodies are made up of individual stadium promoters. There are around 35 tracks in the UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic "divisions" - distinguished by the rules regarding car-contact during racing.
Full Contact formulas include Bangers, Bombers and Rookie Bangers - and racing features Demolitions Derbies, Figure of Eight racing and Oval Racing
Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2 and Superstox - where bumpers are used tactically.
Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods and Lightning Rods.
UK Stockcar racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 60s and 70s. Today it remains one of the most popular forms of motorsport in the UK - with regular events attacting substantial crowds to dramatic and intense events.
The major Promoter of Stockcar racing in the UK is Spedeworth/Incarace, with 10 raceways and 250 events each year.
Usually raced on oval tracks made with clay, asphalt, or concrete, stock cars may resemble production cars but are in fact purpose-built racing machines which are built to tight specifications. Early stock cars were actual production vehicles; the car to be raced was often driven from track to track. The modern car however is far removed from the production model which it represents, making the term "stock car" somewhat incorrect.
The largest stock car racing governing body is NASCAR. NASCAR's premier series is the Sprint Cup Series, its most famous races being the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. NASCAR also runs several feeder series. The Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series) conduct races across the entire continental United States. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series conducts races across Canada and the NASCAR Corona Series conducts races across Mexico. NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series.
NASCAR also governs the Whelen Modified Tour. Modified cars are best described as hybrids of stock cars and open-wheel cars. They are heavily altered from stock, with powerful engines, large tires, tubular chassis and light bodies. The Whelen Modified tour is NASCAR's oldest series.
A World of Outlaws late model stock car on a dirt track.
There are also other stock car governing bodies, such as Automobile Racing Club of America and United Speed Alliance Racing.
In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". This takes place on shale or tarmac tracks - usually around 1/4 mile in length. The governing bodies for the sport are the Oval Racing Council (ORC) and BriSCA. Both bodies are made up of individual stadium promoters. There are around 35 tracks in the UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic "divisions" - distinguished by the rules regarding car-contact during racing.
Full Contact formulas include Bangers, Bombers and Rookie Bangers - and racing features Demolitions Derbies, Figure of Eight racing and Oval Racing
Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2 and Superstox - where bumpers are used tactically.
Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods and Lightning Rods.
UK Stockcar racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 60s and 70s. Today it remains one of the most popular forms of motorsport in the UK - with regular events attacting substantial crowds to dramatic and intense events.
The major Promoter of Stockcar racing in the UK is Spedeworth/Incarace, with 10 raceways and 250 events each year.
Touring car racing
Andy Priaulx leading the World Touring Car Championship 2006 Race 10 in Curitiba.
Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features exciting, full-contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.
The V8 Supercars originally from Australia, British Touring Car Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters originally from Germany, and the World Touring Car Championship held with 2 non-European races (previously the European Touring Car Championship) are the major touring car championships conducted worldwide, along with a European Touring Cup, a one day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships.
The Sports Car Club of America's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America while the venerable British Touring Car Championship continues in the United Kingdom. America's historic Trans-Am Series is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory derived vehicles on various local circuits.
Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features exciting, full-contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.
The V8 Supercars originally from Australia, British Touring Car Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters originally from Germany, and the World Touring Car Championship held with 2 non-European races (previously the European Touring Car Championship) are the major touring car championships conducted worldwide, along with a European Touring Cup, a one day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships.
The Sports Car Club of America's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America while the venerable British Touring Car Championship continues in the United Kingdom. America's historic Trans-Am Series is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory derived vehicles on various local circuits.
HISTORY RACING
Racing began soon after the construction of the first successful petrol-fueled autos; before that time people raced in other vehicles such as horse-drawn buggies. The first race ever organized, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier, was on April 28 1887 and ran 2 kilometers from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. It was won by Georges Bouton, in a car he had constructed with Albert, the Comte de Dion, but as he was the only competitor to show up it is rather pointless to call it a race. On July 22 1894, the first real contest was organized by Paris magazine Le Petit Journal, as a reliability test. The Comte de Dion was first to arrive in Rouen on his steam car, but a Panhard et Levassor was judged to be the winner.
In 1895, one year later, the first real race was staged in France, from Paris to Bordeaux. First over the line was Émile Levassor but he was disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater.
The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March 1897 as a "Speed Week." To fill out the schedule, most types of racing event were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice - La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.
An international competition, between nations rather than individuals, began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.
The first auto race in the United States took place in Evanston, Illinois on November 28, 1895 over an 87.48-km (54.36 mile) course, with Frank Duryea winning in 10 hours and 23 minutes, beating three petrol-fueled and two electric cars.The first trophy awarded was the Vanderbilt Cup.
City to city racing
Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903
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 Europe or France.
These very successful races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Nine fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.[citation needed]
1910-1950
The 1930s saw the transformation from high-priced road cars into pure racers, with Delage, Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz, Delahaye, and Bugatti constructing streamlined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW (612 hp), aided by multiple-stage supercharging. 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 aluminium 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.
In 1895, one year later, the first real race was staged in France, from Paris to Bordeaux. First over the line was Émile Levassor but he was disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater.
The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March 1897 as a "Speed Week." To fill out the schedule, most types of racing event were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice - La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.
An international competition, between nations rather than individuals, began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.
The first auto race in the United States took place in Evanston, Illinois on November 28, 1895 over an 87.48-km (54.36 mile) course, with Frank Duryea winning in 10 hours and 23 minutes, beating three petrol-fueled and two electric cars.The first trophy awarded was the Vanderbilt Cup.
City to city racing
Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903
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 Europe or France.
These very successful races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Nine fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.[citation needed]
1910-1950
The 1930s saw the transformation from high-priced road cars into pure racers, with Delage, Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz, Delahaye, and Bugatti constructing streamlined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW (612 hp), aided by multiple-stage supercharging. 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 aluminium 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.
Friday, February 20, 2009
F1 racing
F1 racing is a monthly magazine focused on Formula One racing which launched in March, 1996.
The previous Editor, Matt Bishop, also writes a fortnightly column for the website of the weekly magazine Autosport (sister publication of F1 Racing). Matt Bishop left in 2007 to join McLaren and was replaced by the new executive editor Tim Scott, later by Hans Seeberg.
In July 2005, F1 Racing celebrated its one hundredth issue; it continues to publish in over twenty countries, and claims the title "The World's Best-Selling Grand Prix Magazine." In the one hundred issues, Michael Schumacher had been cover feature over forty times — more than any other driver — including the first issue in March, 1996. In February 2001, a "Michael Schumacher Special Edition" was published.
Many well respected journalists and photographers contribute to the magazine. Such regulars include journalists Peter Windsor and Alan Henry, and renowned photographers Darren Heath, Steven Tee and Lorenzo Bellanca. Damon Hill was 'Guest Editor' in January, 2000, which featured an interview between him and Michael Schumacher. From the March 2006 issue of F1 Racing Max Mosley, president of the FIA, has a monthly column in the magazine.
At the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix, Darren Heath, an F1 Racing photographer, noticed that the rear brakes of the McLarens were glowing red in an acceleration zone of the track. The magazine discovered through investigation that McLaren had installed a second brake pedal, selectable by the driver to act on one of the rear wheels. This allowed the driver to eliminate understeer and reduce wheelspin when exiting slow corners. This system was entirely legal, but was an innovation, and hence gave McLaren an advantage. While F1 Racing suspected what McLaren were doing, they required proof to publish the story. At the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix the two McLarens retired from the race. This allowed Heath to take a picture of the footwell of Häkkinen's car and the second brake pedal. The story was run in the November issue of F1 Racing and lead to the system being dubbed "brake steer". Ferrari's protestations to the FIA led to the system being banned at the 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Formula1 in Television
Formula One can be seen live or tape delayed in almost every country and territory around the world and attracts one of the largest global television audiences. The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix attracted an average live global TV audience of eighty-three million viewers, with a total of 154 million viewers tuning in to watch at least some part of the event.Official figures from FOM for 2006 that state Formula One television broadcasts were witnessed by 580 million unique viewers during the 2005 season and average viewing figures for 1995–1999 were 50 billion.It is a massive television event; the cumulative television audience was calculated to be 54 billion for 2001 season, broadcast to two hundred countries.
In 2005, the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal was the most watched of the races, and the third most watched sporting event in the world.
During the early 2000s, Formula One Administration created a number of trademarks, an official logo, and an official website for the sport in an attempt to give it a corporate identity. Ecclestone experimented with a digital television package (known colloquially as Bernievision), which was launched at the 1996 German Grand Prix in cooperation with German digital television service "DF1", thirty years after the first GP colour TV broadcast, the 1967 German Grand Prix. This service offered the viewer several simultaneous feeds (such as super signal, onboard, top of field, backfield, highlights, pit lane, timing), which were produced with cameras, technical equipment and staff different from those used for the conventional coverage. It was introduced in many countries over the years, but was shut down after the 2002 season for financial reasons.
TV stations all take what is known as the 'World Feed', either produced by the FOM (Formula One Management) or the 'host broadcaster'. The only station that has any difference is 'Premiere'—a German channel that offers all sessions live and interactive, with features such as the onboard channel. This service was more widely available around Europe until the end of 2002, when the cost of a whole different feed for the digital interactive services was thought too much. This was in large part because of the failure of the 'F1 Digital +' Channel launched through Sky Digital in the United Kingdom. Prices were too high for viewers, considering they could watch both the qualifying and the races themselves free on ITV.
Bernie Ecclestone had announced that F1 will adopt the HD format near the end of the 2007 season. However, details of the races to be covered and the means of showing the content have yet to be announced. Also it was announced early in 2008 that the BBC would be broadcasting F1 for five years, starting in 2009, regaining the rights from ITV who had been broadcasting it since they got the rights in 1997.However, on 31 December 2008, Roger Mosey, Director of BBC Sport announced that F1 would not be broadcast on BBC HD because "no HD world feed is available".
Grands Prix
The number of Grands Prix held in a season has varied over the years. Only seven races comprised the inaugural 1950 world championship season; over the years the calendar has almost tripled in size. Though the number of races had stayed at sixteen or seventeen since the 1980s, it reached nineteen in 2005.
Six of the original seven races took place in Europe; the only non-European race that counted towards the World Championship in 1950 was the Indianapolis 500, which, due to lack of participation by F1 teams, since it required cars with different specifications from the other races, was later replaced by the United States Grand Prix. The F1 championship gradually expanded to other non-European countries as well. Argentina hosted the first South American grand prix in 1953, and Morocco hosted the first African World Championship race in 1958. Asia (Japan in 1976) and Oceania (Australia in 1985) followed. The current eighteen races are spread over the continents of Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America and South America.
Traditionally each nation has hosted a single Grand Prix, which carries the name of the country. If a single country hosts multiple Grands Prix in a year they receive different names. For instance, a European country (such as Britain, Germany or Spain) which has hosted two Grands Prix has the second one known as the European Grand Prix, while Italy's second grand prix was named after nearby republic of San Marino. Similarly, as two races were scheduled in Japan in 1994/1995, the second event was known as the Pacific Grand Prix. In 1982, the United States hosted three Grands Prix.
The Grands Prix, some of which have a history that pre-dates the Formula One World Championship, are not always held on the same circuit every year. The British Grand Prix, for example, though held every year since 1950, alternated between Brands Hatch and Silverstone from 1963 to 1986. The only other race to have been included in every season is the Italian Grand Prix. The World Championship event has taken place exclusively at Monza with just one exception: in 1980, it was held at Imola, host to the San Marino Grand Prix until 2006.
One of the newest races on the Grand Prix calendar, held in Bahrain, represents Formula One's first foray into the Middle East with a high-tech purpose-built desert track. The Bahrain Grand Prix, and other new races in China and Turkey, present new opportunities for the growth and evolution of the Formula One Grand Prix franchise while new facilities also raise the bar for other Formula One racing venues around the world. In order to make room on the schedule for the newer races, older or less successful events in Europe and the Americas have been dropped from the calendar, such as these in Argentina, Austria, Mexico, San Marino, and the United States.
In 2007 it was confirmed that new Grands Prix would be added to the calendar. The first was the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2008, which had the honour of the first night race ever held in Formula One.The second was the Indian Grand Prix which will be held in Delhi, India.Other changes included the removal of the United States Grand Prix from the calendar,and the move of the European Grand Prix to Valencia, Spain.
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