Motor Racing

In the modern day motor racing is a hugely expensive and highly developed sport which is watched by millions of people all over the world. It features cars capable of enormous speeds controlled by drivers who have spent years honing their skills and developing their techniques. It requires an enormous amount of skill, determination and talent to pull off an event of such a size and as a result is part of a world worth millions of pounds. In the case of most of the motor racing sports, the cars involved are high performance models that are capable of reaching speeds regular cars could only dream of.

Perhaps one of the most well known forms of motor racing is Grand Prix motor racing, which has its origins in late nineteenth century France. They initially took the form of endurance tests organised by the Parisian newspaper Le Petit Journal. Later, in 1900 James Gordon Bennett, Jr. hosted the Gordon Bennett Cup, a motor car racing event that aimed to prompt car manufacturers to produce high quality models and improve on their existing fleet.

Today, these types of events are defined by Formula One motor racing, which is a sporting event that derives directly from these old forms. Every year people from all over the world are glued to their screens hoping for the latest talent from their country to cross the finishing line first. In the UK these take the form of Lewis Hamilton but in years gone by other stars have graced the podium such as Germany’s Michael Schumacher and others like Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, Stirling Moss, Mika Hakkinen, Juan Pablo Montoya and David Coulthard. In the UK the Formula One season is at its peak with the British Grand Prix held annually at Silverstone Race Track (and soon Donnington Park), where people from across the country flock to see the latest round of this sport.

But motor racing as a whole developed much earlier and appeared almost immediately following the introduction of the car. Other famous forms of motor racing include drag racing, World Rally and Le Mans 24 Hour. As well as cars, other vehicles can make an appearance such as motor bikes (Manx TT, World Superbikes etc.) and trucks.

Motor Racing has come a long way and it is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.